There are many reasons a claim for insurance may not be recognised by an insurance company. This will depend on the type of insurance, (car, house, personal etc.) The exemptions to any policy are always listed in the policy documentation so it is always most important to read the small print. You would be amazed at the number of unusual clauses you find in the policy document, these exemptions are usually based around unusual circumstances often described as ‘acts of God’, these will include things like earthquakes, sudden floods are often not covered by household insurance policies.
This trend to not insure homes that are in known flood areas is becoming more prevalent in the light of global warming. Quite often vehicle theft may not be covered in certain cases or certain vehicles that are more likely to be stolen will not be covered for theft. In most cases these points are up for negotiation with the insurance company. It is best to talk to the insurance company, they will usually pass on your specifications to the company directors or underwriters, if an arrangement can be made to include your specifications you will be provided with a policy endorsement certificate which will include the extra clauses or agreement if not covered by the existing policy. There may well be an additional fee added to your insurance to cover the extra cost the clauses may incur in case of a claim being made.
The other reason a claim may not be recognised is if in any way you have infringed on the conditions of the insurance. Any such policy infringements will usually invalidate your insurance and the insurance are under no obligation to make any provision for you in regards to the policy. It is again very important to check your insurance policies clauses to make sure you are not infringing the policy clauses. The obligation is not on the insurance company to make you aware of these clauses the obligation is entirely on the insurance holder to make sure they have read and understand the policy. With most insurance policies you have a period from fourteen to twenty eight days in which to read and review the policy in which time if the policy is not right for you or does not cover all that you wanted you may cancel the insurance free of charge but check with the insurance company to make sure of this.