More than one in five home insurance claims is unsuccessful owing, in part, to the complexity of policies.

Confusion about what is covered by insurance policies is one of the reasons that policyholders fail to receive a payout. Wear and tear, as well as damage caused by a lack of maintenance in homes are also key reasons for claims being rejected, an insurers' group said. In contrast, 99% of motor insurance claims result in a payout. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has published the industry-wide figures for the first time, after analysis of claims made during 2013 and 2014. The success rate figures are based on 6.9 million claims handed by 19 insurers, including 4.3 million motor insurance claims, 1.8 million home insurance claims, and 800,000 travel insurance claims.

Rejections

The analysis showed that 79% of home insurance policyholders who made a claim were successful, receiving a typical payout of £2,520. Of those whose claims were turned down, some made claims that were valued below the policy excess and others had bought the wrong kind of cover. Many home insurance policies have add-ons that cover certain eventualities, but add extra complexity to renewals......Read more here