Despite not claiming on our Tesco Finest Cover insurance, an inspection for cracks affected our premium
Two years ago I bought a Tesco bank Finest Cover home insurance policy. I live in a remote area of the Highlands and wanted insurance I could rely on. In September 2010, I noticed a few cracks on the gable side of my house and called Tesco for advice. It sent a "technical manager" from Glasgow, 220 miles away (a 440 mile round trip). He came out for about 20 minutes, and his inspection of the cracks consisted of a few bangs on the wall with his car keys. The company sent me a report stating that the cracks were "not a result of subsidence or any other peril and, as such, [are] not covered by your building insurance policy". I did not make a claim and did not hear from Tesco again.
Unhappy with this, I paid £420 for an independent local surveyor to do a thorough report. She gave suggestions for repairs which cost me over £1,500. I did not make an insurance claim for any of this.
This year (as I did last), I shopped around for new home insurance, only to find that Tesco has permanently recorded that I have made a subsidence claim, doubling the cost of my home insurance – even though it did not make any payment to me for subsidence. I have asked Tesco to remove this, but it refuses, and now every year I have to pay the extra premium as though I have made a subsidence claim.
Is there anything I can do to get this claim removed? I feel it is preventing me shopping around for my insurance. PJ, Highlands of Scotland
This is a case that has ramifications for anyone else who spots a few cracks in their house. On the face of it, you did seem to have been harshly treated in that you were apparently being penalised with higher premiums, even though you had not made a claim. Inevitably, though, it was more complicated. Tesco says the act of asking it to investigate the cracks constitutes a claim because it paid for a surveyor to come to your home.
Tesco says this was explained to you at the time you rang, though the ramifications were perhaps not entirely spelt out. It says it is duty-bound to record all such incidents on the Claims and Underwriting Exchange (CUE), a central database of incidents reported to insurance companies. It says any insurer who looks at this claim on the CUE system would know it is not a confirmed case of subsidence, "but an investigation and repudiation".
Tesco has sent you a letter setting out the exact position. It says that you can tell any potential insurers that subsidence was investigated but found not to be the case. This should help you when you come to renew your policy.
Meanwhile, the moral of the tale for other homeowners is to get any cracks in your home independently examined before you involve your insurer. As this case shows, any involvement on their part will constitute a claim and be counted against you come renewal. If you had just carried out the investigation and work yourself and not involved Tesco, you would still be paying the old premiums, provided you had made no other claim.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@guardian.co.uk or write to Bachelor & Brignall, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number.
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