Household Property Claims – Themed Inspection – Press Release 24.10.2013
See link below. See Central Bank comment on retentions below and it would appear that those insurers applying arbitrary retentions will now be under pressure to amend their policy wordings to explain the procedure and how it will apply to claims.Unfortunately the legitimacy or otherwise of the procedure has not been addressed at this point, “All of the insurers have a practice whereby a retention amount may be applied to a claim settlement offer and typically the retention withheld would be between 20% and 30% of the settlement amount.
In order for a retention amount to be paid, consumers are required to provide either receipts, invoices or other proof that the repairs have been fully completed. The Central Bank noted that 23% of the monetary amount of all household property (water damage) claim retentions applied by the 7 inspected insurers during 2012 were never claimed by the consumer.
A review of insurers’ policy booklets revealed that only one of the insurers clearly describes the practice of retentions in its policy booklet. Insurers have been requested to make clearer their policy on retentions at the time of the product being purchased and again when a claim is instigated.”