Review of NFU Home & Contents Premium Cover

I have been merrily paying them hundreds of pounds a year for seven years for their "premium cover" and never once made a claim. We have a substantial garden fence running some 30m along a stretch of narrow, blind-bended road and it was hit recently by a large vehicle causing substantial damage with debris strewn across the road. The fence is now bowing out into the line of traffic and poses a far more serious threat to public safety (and the NFU public liability cover supposedly also in place) the longer it is left.

It is a dangerous place to work and the quotation we received from a highly regarded firm was for £595+VAT to repair. Considering I have an excess of £250 we are talking about a cost to NFU of only £350 by the time they have claimed their VAT back and then an entitlement for them to hike my premium to claw even more back subsequently.

To my astonishment however, a superior sounding clerk on the end of the phone seemed qualified to judge an element of betterment in the claim. How on earth did he manage that? I have no inclination for dishonesty and his baseless assumption to the contrary I find offensive. If he can get it repaired properly for less I would be delighted then I wouldn't have to claim at all. Instead he would rather incur additional expense by sending someone round to appraise the damage, which has already been assessed by the contractor (who knew nothing of it being an insurance claim when quoting) to whom I recommended he should speak, but he declined in favour of spending more NFU money to try to con me out of a small and straightforward claim. In addition, choosing to allow the increased risk to 3rd party damage and the potential for a claim on a vastly larger scale to linger.

I am amazed at the level of incompetence and meanness this experience demonstrates. NFU should be ashamed of themselves for slandering and treating their hardworking and loyal customers this way.