Unfortunately, we are seeing how insurance companies are “sticking their necks out” in order to fully cover all the food we have in the fridge and freezer, When there has been a power surge in our home, the power goes out and we find that our electrical appliances do not work and most of the food has spoiled. How do we act in these cases?
Does my home insurance cover food in the fridge?
Yes, your home insurance may even cover damage to foodstuffs due to a fault or overvoltage that prevents the operation of our appliances (or, at least, they should be covered).
Recently, we have had several recent claims, known in the insurance world as “damage to refrigerated goods”. It is precisely in the run-up to Christmas that we accumulate the most and best food at home.
The first piece of advice we must give is: at least to have subscribed to a 300 € guarantee, If we have fish, meat, sausage and a few other things, we can exceed 200 €.
How is a refrigerated food claim handled?
We will explain the steps to take when you find your food defrosted:
1. Take photos of the damage
For an insurance company, the key issue is have evidence of what happened. Make sure that there are several sockets, so that you can easily see everything that has been damaged and, if possible, that the appliance can be seen.
2. Prepare a list of refrigerated foods
Make a list of the food that has been damaged, to be submitted to the insurance company.
For example:
- Meat
- Fish and seafood
- Dairy
- Sauces and preparations
- Fruit and vegetables
Here you will have to detail all foods that are no longer edible, together with their purchase amounts. This will be the basis of the claim and the company will assess the amount to be compensated to the insured on this basis.
3. Attach purchase invoices
If they are available, it is much better to be able to provide it to the insurance company (although it goes without saying that this is not always possible, rather the opposite).
What problems are we likely to encounter if we don't do this?
As we said at the beginning of this post, in some occasions it is happening to us with several companies that are proposing half of the compensation for “lack of evidence”.” of the existence of all the maintenance claimed. Here is a list of the best home insurance policies where these problems do not occur.
In many cases, this happens because of absence of photos, Because, when we find the refrigerator turned off, first you throw everything in the trash, and a few days later we remember to report it to the company, so it is impossible to prove the pre-existence of the spoiled food. In other cases, it is simply because the photos of the faulty fridge do not show all the foodstuffs. It is true that we have managed to increase compensation, and in several cases obtain the 100% when there were no photos. But it is important to follow these steps to avoid problems.
If, in addition to the food, the refrigerator is damaged due to overvoltage, here is an article on the electrical damage in home insurance which can be of great help.
As you can see, we can help you with your household insurance, as we have done with these claims. If you want to improve your insurance, contact us.
