How it works
Contents claims rely heavily on the claimant’s own account of what was lost. After a genuine burglary, fire or flood, the list grows. Items that were never owned are added, older items are claimed as recent purchases, and higher-specification models replace what was actually there.
Supporting documents are the weak point. Receipts and invoices are altered, borrowed from friends or issued by a cooperating retailer, and images found online stand in for photos of the insured’s own belongings. Some replacement suppliers issue inflated quotes and share the difference with the claimant.
A contents list is hard to disprove item by item, and the underlying loss is often real. The inflation shows when the claim value is compared with the sum insured, the insured’s profile and peer claims for the same peril and property type, and when items and receipts are checked against earlier claims.
Red flags
- Claim value close to the full contents sum insured, or cover increased shortly before the loss
- Receipts with inconsistent fonts, dates, store details or tax numbers, or from retailers that cannot confirm the sale
- High-value items with no photos, serial numbers, packaging or card payment record
- Items or quantities out of keeping with the property and the insured’s profile
- Same items or receipts appearing on earlier claims
- Replacement quotes from a single supplier the claimant insists on using
Signals the engine evaluates
- Claim value as a share of the contents sum insured, against peers for the same peril and property type
- Claimed item values against the distribution for the same item categories across the claims book
- Reuse of receipts, serial numbers and item lists across claims and claimants
- Recurrence of the same replacement supplier across claims with disputed values
- Time from a cover increase to the date of loss
Investigation and response
- 01Settle the verified portion and hold the disputed items pending proof of ownership
- 02Request bank or card statements, original packaging, serial numbers and photos showing the items in the home
- 03Validate receipts directly with the issuing retailer
- 04Interview the claimant on the disputed items, and refer patterned or fabricated documents to SIU