Claim Case Study: Local Authority Search Unadopted road Background A personal search company provided a Local Search to a purchaser of a property. The Local Search revealed that the road leading to the property was adopted. However, the insured was subsequently made aware that the road was unadopted. The insured made a claim against the policy.
Challenge Fortunately for the purchaser, they had obtained a Regulated Local Search. All Regulated Searches are required to adhere to the Search Code which requires suppliers to provide additional consumer protection to cover errors and omissions in the source data held at the Local Authority. The Local Search in this case benefited from an insurance policy from First Title, which provided cover for loss arising from any adverse entry that should have been revealed by a Local Authority Search carried out directly with the Local Authority (had one been obtained on the policy date) but had not been made available to the personal search company at the time of their visit.
Solution In order to determine loss under the policy, First Title instructed a surveyor to carry out a retrospective valuation as at the policy date. The surveyor was asked to provide a valuation with and without the adverse entry, i.e. the property
being on an adopted road and the property being on an unadopted road. The difference in value according to the surveyor’s report was £10,000. This amount was offered to the insured indemnifying them for their loss, and was accepted in full and final settlement of the claim against the title insurance policy.
Client Testimonial “I considered it worth writing to say that my experience with First Title has been very positive from the very start to the successful conclusion of my case.
From the initial contact with First Title I was given the name of a dedicated claims handler within 24 hours. The claims handler contacted me six days later, well within the 14 days quoted, and proceeded with the case without delay. All correspondence was clear and concise and any queries I had were answered quickly and satisfactorily in writing and, where appropriate, by phone call too. When there was a delay to the process due to a third party I was kept informed of progress in a timely manner. At all times all of the staff I dealt with at First Title, especially the dedicated claims handler were very polite, efficient, and professional. My claim was concluded to my satisfaction and I am very pleased to have had my case settled by First Title. Mr Jim Danks (the insured)
Call: +44 (0)207 160 8218 Email: online@firsttitle.co.uk Visit: www.firsttitleresidential.co.uk First Title Insurance plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. First Title Insurance plc is registered in England under company number 01112603. Registered office: First Title Insurance plc, ECA Court, 24-26 South Park, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1DU.
Leading Title Insurance 1250-0219