Shooter receives apology from Halifax

Sam Nunn of the Disabled Shooters Group was refused home insurance with his existing provider Halifax last week, in part because he owned a shotgun.

He contacted the media with the information and Clay Shooting followed the story. Sam said: “We were incorrectly sold our current policy and were paying over £45 per month. I didn’t realise how expensive this was until I went on a comparison website. I called Halifax and they found a policy that was about £168 for the year.”

When going through details of the policy, Sam said he owned a shotgun but would not need it covered as it was kept at a different address in his parents house. After being placed on hold he was eventually told that he was not eligible for insurance.

Sam lodged a complaint and a review was undertaken. A letter addressed to him dated 13 August 2013 said: “Our review shows no mistake was made. I would like to explain you are not eligible for our Home Options product as we are unable to provide insurance for firearms. You stated you do not want this covered, however, we are still unable to provide this policy and exclude the item.”

Clay Shooting magazine contacted the press department for Halifax and Lloyds Banking Group to lodge a complaint, which prompted action. Today, the department released a statement that said: “Halifax Home Options would provide cover for guns as long as the guns are kept at the home and are within the policy limits. In this particular case, Mr Nunn should have been offered insurance cover and advised that the gun would be excluded from the policy due to it being insured elsewhere. We are contacting Mr Nunn to apologise for the inconvenience caused and will offer insurance cover with the above product should he wish to proceed.”