Financial watchdog insures fairness.
'Treating Customers Fairly' or 'TCF' is the new buzzword at the Financial Ombudsman Service. In plain English what this means is that banks, building societies, insurance companies and other financial institutions are going to find it harder to get away with hiding nasty surprises in the small print.
The Ombudsman says that insurers have to tell you if there are "any significant requirements before the insurance comes into force."
Even better, they say: "It is not sufficient simply to send out the documentation and rely on policyholders reading it to notice the standards they are required to meet. Nor is it sufficient to rely on a question on the proposal regarding security arrangements.
"If the insurance depends on policyholders having certain security devices in place, then that must be drawn to consumers' attention before they commit themselves to the insurance."
Even if you were told about fitting locks, and failed to do it, then you may still be due a payment if your home was broken into.
The Ombudsman says: "In our view, a policyholder who has failed to comply with the security requirements in force will not lose protection under the policy unless failure to comply is relevant to the loss.
"If, for example, the policyholder agreed to have his or her window locks secured whenever the house was empty, but then forgot and was burgled, it would not be reasonable for the insurer to reject the claim unless the burglars were able to get into or out of the house by means of an unlocked window."
You might want to remind your insurer of that passage if you have a claim knocked back.
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