Saga left me in the lurch over home insurance cover | Consumer affairs

My buildings insurance policy is with Saga and is underwritten by Royal Sun Alliance (RSA). RSA wrote to me just before my policy was due for renewal, informing me that it is no longer offering cover.

I have had no communication at all from Saga, although my payments have been to it. When I called it for advice Saga said it would take up to six weeks to get back to me.

I am in the middle of a claim for subsidence damage that RSA has agreed to cover but which has not yet been completed.

I have been trying to find another insurer for when the cover ends, but because of this claim I have not had any success.

I am finding this all incredibly stressful as I have recently been widowed.

SM, London

“Cover you can count on,” Saga claims. RSA announced its withdrawal from the home insurance market early last year after selling its personal lines to Admiral Group.

It is very poor that Saga did not write to you with ample warning and seek another underwriter for your policy instead of leaving you in the lurch. This is especially the case since while most insurers will continue to offer cover after a subsidence claim, albeit for a higher rate, it is notoriously difficult to find a new provider.

In desperation, you eventually found cover with a specialist company at a cost of £3,300 a year plus a £5,000 excess. Your Saga premiums were £450 (and the excess was £1,000).

Saga tells me, uselessly, that it will offer an alternative if needed. It just forgot to tell you so.

“In this instance, we apologise that we did not contact the customer directly and talk through options,” it says. Too little too late, especially from a firm that specialises in an older demographic who are more likely than average to be in vulnerable situations.

It has agreed to pay you £100.

RSA had already confirmed to you that it would support your current claim until complete.

Anna Tims was named Consumer champion of the year at this year’s Headline Money awards. The judges said she stood out as the best of the best, with stories and investigations that made a real difference to the lives of her readers.

As well as tackling readers’ problems every week, she exposed how EU citizens were wrongly receiving Ulez fines and councils’ poor treatment of tenants’ relatives after a death. She also forced Eurostar to reverse a wheelchair policy that had left travellers stranded.

“The impressive variety and depth of investigations was underpinned by a determination to get to the truth so that each one was carried out until a resolution was found,” they said. “The impact of her work is demonstrated by the number of examples that led to some sort of regulatory change, or triggered a larger inquiry.”

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