ScoobyDoo555

Firstly, a disclaimer - I'm a pretty fair and decent person.

Insurance claim - my PowerBook fell out of my bag whilst leaving for work the other week. Genuine mistake - kids had been playing with it the night before, put it back in the bag and forgot to do it up. You can imagine what happened when I picked the bag up.

Result? A broken laptop screen

So, my Insurance have been involved (home insurance - got a "new for old" policy with accidental damage cover).

Took 5 seperate people on different phone numbers to locate my file.

When I eventually reach the correct branch, I relay the story as told above. The operative goes through the motions, and allocates Dixons Group to handle the claim.

Dixons call within 10 minutes, upon when told that it's an Apple, they respond with "ahh, we don't deal with them. You'll have to speak with the operative"

The Insurance Company are back on the phone about 10 mins later. "Very sorry. Let me see if I can handle the claim myself".

So, I've pre-empted this slightly, by (IMHO) doing their job for them - I've got a quote to repair, and a quote to replace the item.

Me :"OK, the laptop will cost £xxx to repair, and the replacement will be about £xxx."

Insurance :"OK, can you fax the details through to me"

Fax details through

Insurance :"Ahh, the amounts you've mentioned seem to be a little more in the actual quotes"....
Me :"Oh, they must have been ex-vat prices stated to me. Sorry"
Insurance :"We'd have to go with the lower price - to repair the laptop"
Me :"mmmm. Not happy but let's see where this is going. What happens next?"
Insurance: " Well, I just have to check with my supervisor, but I can send you the amount, less your excess of course. I will call you back in 10 mins"

10 mins later

Insurance :"Mr xxxxx? Regrettably, I cannot authorise the cheque because it's over £xxx. It will have to be referred to an assessor".
Me :"hmmm. OK, when will they be in touch?"
Insurance :"Anytime within the next 24 - 48 hours"

3 days later
Assessor calls at lunch time. I'm out with no paperwork to hand. I ask her to call back within the hour and we can talk then.

Assessor sounds quite ar$ey and says that she'll be out most of the afternoon, and may call back later. Probably on the Monday though (it's Friday when she initally calls).
I also then say, "ahh good, because I could really do with some advice on who to discuss the handling of this claim with, as I'm not overly impressed so far"

My query is, well obviously she was calling me on the offchance, in her lunch break, as she was going to be busy all afternoon. Makes me think when was she really going to call? :rolleyes

SO, today, I wait patiently all day, until about 20 mins ago, when common sense kicks in. I call the Insurance company.

To cut a VERY long story shorter, I was very polite, calm and asked for advice on what the processes were to discuss the handling of my claim (at no point did I say I wanted to complain)
The operative said that she would contact the Assessor on her mobile and she would be back in touch.

I'm still waiting now.

The question is, as the topic title says, what would your next course of action be?

I'm annoyed (not that I'm going to let them know that.... yet)
I still have a broken laptop, that tbh, I don't want fixed as the insurance want as (a) it defeats the object of "new for old" insurance, (b) I would only get a 90 day warrantee on the repair - who knows what else will go wrong after as a direct result of this.
As I'm in Education, I'm even willing to use my Educational discount to purchase a new laptop, thus reducing the cost to within the price of the repair anyway.

I've also got our Educational supplier to generate quotes for repair and replacement, just in case they think the first quote is excessive.

I feel let down by the Insurance company, as this is the first time I've claimed in MANY years - I'm not that type of person.
At the moment, I will be changing companies once the renewal is due.

What else can I do? What would you do next?

Sorry for the tirade, but I can't believe the lack of cohesion between the respective departments "left-hand, meet right-hand" springs to mind

Thanks in advance.

Dan

OllyK

Welcome to the wonderful world of insurance. Misses got rear ended August last year - finally got the letter today confirming the other insurance company is paying out and she'll get her excess back

fast bloke

Tell them you if it isn't sorted to your satisfaction (new powerbook) by COB tomorrow you want to make a complaint about the administration of the claim. Don't accept a repair. If they try to force it on you tell them you want to make a complaint about the sale of the policy (new for old etc) - If you do make a complaint they will be up to their ears in paperwork for weeks, so it should give them motivation to sort it.

DCI Gene Hunt

You swine........................

ScoobyDoo555

nice one FB & OllyK
Thanks for, erm....input DCI

Any other takers?

DAn

NotoriousREV

Why won't you let them know your annoyed? Get on the phone. Be blunt without being aggresive and get what you want. YOU are the PAYING customer, after all.

ScoobyDoo555

Was trying to play the rational-type.

May not be so "nice" tomorrow (after the assessor still hasn't called!!)

How else would you lot play it? Any insurance people out there?

Dan

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

dan
blimey still not sorted, you sir, are getting the royal run around and then some !!!
Aside what I have said to you before on this matter, this now comes down to them versus you. Simple as that.
The only difference between normal tit for tat situations, is the blindingly obvious fact that you are a paying premium holder and so I suggest you cut out the niceties and start playing hard ball.

I had my powerbook stolen years ago, price meant a loss adjuster was called in (for loss adjuster read PITA who wants to screw down everything to the last penny) and although it took a while and we bartered and fenced for a while (it was fun just like a game of poker, him sucking his teeth and ohh and ahhing and me just sitting there not saying a word )
Held out for the full amount, got it sorted. result= next renewal date, company increased my premiums by...wait for it.....110%
Absolute ****ers...been paying a premium for years and when i do claim they butt ****ed me....changed insurance companies immediately.
I got off likely, mate of mine got burgaled years ago, he was a bit of fashion man, loved his nice shoes, had loads of oliver sweeny and patrick *** shoes (140 quid a pair), assessor came around and queried why he spent so much on shoes and suggested that his insurnace company might only pay out on shoes from "Shoe-express" !!! You can imagine what my mate said

so the moral of the story is:
you have done the nice bit, calm and pleasant, but its obvious you are dealing with a bunch of ****wits, so note every conversation down in a letter, send it off with your reference number to the head of customer services, call the assessor, make them aware of that fact, tell them outright that you want the full claim dealt with, a replacement within a week or else you will be making a formal complaint.

go for it.....

brumdaisy

Only a year huh.... my insurers wrote to me last week to tell me the police had lost the report of the accident. They sent me the exact same letter a year ago .

The crash was in 2003

fast bloke

Yep - See post 3.... I'm the poor sucker that ends up doing paperwork when someone doesn't return your call - no point in being nice or nasty or agressive or not - there are a strict set of guidelines for agents, brokers, admins etc to follow once you say the words 'formal complaint' - I've had one dozy complaint in 4 years - someone didn't know what model video camera they had, so they reckoned it was my fault L&G couldn't replace it. It took about 3 weeks of non stop form filling to get through (and was then vindicated by the insurance company.... so there ) - I would think in your case you have a cast iron claim, so no-one will want you making a complaint. Once they see you wont be fobbed off too easily it should whistle across desks to the guy that says - "someone get him a new Powerbook before we all end up in the ****"

ScoobyDoo555

Thanks FB. It's just annoying that you pay the premiuim to bypass this type of stuff

Will give the assessor until mid-morning (teaching up until then anyway) - then will have a word.

Will keep you all posted later on.

Dan

pslewis

I know what it feels like when you want a new item but the insurance company wants to fix it ...... especially something like an old laptop - when a nice new one would be great, especially if someone else is paying for it!!

Pete

ScoobyDoo555

I can see what you're saying Pete, even though you're on the wind up
However, "new for old" policy means just that. I have paid a higher premium for that very priviledge.
Plus, as I'm sure you are aware, just because the actual damage gets repaired, the warrantee is only 90 days, and I've got no comeback on any related faults that occur afterwards.

Besides, as I'm entitled to an Educational discount, I can get the replacement model for near-as-dammit the same as it would cost to repair the item (got Apple-authorised repair quotes to back this up).....

Also, Pete, the very fact that I haven't claimed in MANY years, kind of blows the statement that "someone else is paying for it"......... my premiums MORE than cover the cost of a replacement

But I do see how, to the more mature and somewhat cynical eye, this could be percieved as an opportunity to take advantage.

Dan

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

Insurance in England is a joke, a few years ago my MY00 got side swiped by a known ******, it took me half an hour to find him, the police 1.5 hours to go and have a word with him, a few days for my German scooby dealer to fix the car and 18 months for the insurance to cough up.

Apparition

Don't know which company he was using, but a friend of ours actually er..... threw his lappy down his garden in a fit of temper....yes he does have one. And spun some yarn to his insurers and got it replaced with a brand new model...no questions asked, no hoops to jump through, in record time.
Sounds like you have a rather pernickety company there.

But then again, if there are unscrupulous folks out there like our friend, I don't really blame the insurance companies for reacting like this.
Yve

ScoobyDoo555

All sorted Thanks for the advice

DAn

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

cool, what did you get in the end...

Invoice in the post for services rendered as agreed