Stay away from CIA home insurance

I’m extremely disappointed with the service received from CIA Insurance. I submitted a claim for water damage to my property, specifically to the walls, only to be met with an unfair and accusatory response.

Firstly, the insurance took almost two months to provide an outcome. The claim was declined. Instead of assessing the situation thoroughly and providing support as expected from a reputable insurance provider, they outright denied the claim. Till date, I do not know why it was declined. However, it was appealed and the insurance is only covering 50%. To make matters worse, they accused me of causing the damage myself by removing the skirtings—an allegation that is both baseless and offensive. The contractor was repairing my laminate flooring and had to remove the skirtings so that flooring sits flush against the wall. The assessor on inspection confirmed that it was water damage and led us on to say that the claim would be covered with no excess. The reason for the insurance only covering 50% is apparently because not all skirtings had to be removed to repair the flooring. So basically, they wanted my flooring to be repaired poorly and the water damage on the walls to be hidden.

It’s incredibly disheartening to pay a bond and premiums in good faith, only to be treated with suspicion and disregard when you genuinely need help. The lack of empathy, poor communication, and speaks volumes about how CIA Insurance treats its customers. Furthermore, their assessors led on clients during their assessment.

I did not know that home insurances like to take short cuts and encourage poor workmanship. They need to take lessons from car insurances.

I would caution anyone considering them—what’s the point of having insurance if you're left high and dry when something actually goes wrong?