Insurance Moan...
Discussion
Well the old saying that you never know how good insurance is until you need it. 
I’m insured via a broker that at the moment is probably mentioned in a thread somewhere near the top of this forum.
and I don’t really think it’s their fault but as it’s them I have to ring asking where’s my f**king money it’s them I’m getting wound up by.
Anyone else had to wait ages for a payout or are they just singling me out for the special treatment. Had the old classic ‘the cheques in the post’, that bought them a few days and before that I let them have a few extra days ‘postal strike’ excuses.
The broker has been quite good and 75% of the time they have rung when they said they would but it would appear the insurance company at the end of the chain is being a pain.
Currently waiting for a call back now but not holding my breath, it is Friday afternoon.
Not sure what the ‘normal’ waiting time is, currently on about just over a month wait, but how hard can it be to send me a f**king cheque.
I’m insured via a broker that at the moment is probably mentioned in a thread somewhere near the top of this forum.
and I don’t really think it’s their fault but as it’s them I have to ring asking where’s my f**king money it’s them I’m getting wound up by.Anyone else had to wait ages for a payout or are they just singling me out for the special treatment. Had the old classic ‘the cheques in the post’, that bought them a few days and before that I let them have a few extra days ‘postal strike’ excuses.
The broker has been quite good and 75% of the time they have rung when they said they would but it would appear the insurance company at the end of the chain is being a pain.
Currently waiting for a call back now but not holding my breath, it is Friday afternoon.
Not sure what the ‘normal’ waiting time is, currently on about just over a month wait, but how hard can it be to send me a f**king cheque.
This has caught my attention as I am about to insure my BMW and Chim with such 'A' company so might hold fire for the moment.
The policies are with Equity Red Star and Markerstudy(?) respectively and have a combined £300+ reduction on my current insurers so look competitive but I may reserve judgement for a day or so now.
Why is it such a b****y pain dealing with insurers and warranty companies. We are all paying them enough surely as they set the rates - not us.
The policies are with Equity Red Star and Markerstudy(?) respectively and have a combined £300+ reduction on my current insurers so look competitive but I may reserve judgement for a day or so now.
Why is it such a b****y pain dealing with insurers and warranty companies. We are all paying them enough surely as they set the rates - not us.
Well another week and still no cheque, I still believe the company that sounds a bit like it may or may not have a plan are trying to get my money they talk a good talk but in the end it's about results, and frankly I think 6 weeks is too long, glad it's only a small amount but I'm still out of pocket. 
are trying to get my money they talk a good talk but in the end it's about results, and frankly I think 6 weeks is too long, glad it's only a small amount but I'm still out of pocket. 
Raceboy - if the insurance co have agreed payment under the policy cover then threaten them with a report to the insurance ombudsman - the FSA take a dim view of such practices as payment withholding and this could have a negative effect on the insurers performance audit.
Whilst the ombudsman will require the formal complaints procedure to be followed the above should encourage more prompt action.
Regards
Whilst the ombudsman will require the formal complaints procedure to be followed the above should encourage more prompt action.
Regards
I almost wrote off a Porsche in Hong Kong. The repair cost was over GBP 20,000. When the insurance company paid out, the cheque had a 25% deduction for 'betterment'. In their opinion the car was now better than before as it had newer parts!
I called the Insurance Ombudsman and got full payment within a week (I refused to cash the original cheque, which I returned to them) and a letter of apology from the insurance companies CEO in London, which included the usual 'this letter does not indicate that it's our fault etc'.
I guess the Office of the Ombudsman must be able to impose fines or at least raise some bad publicity for the insurers.
I called the Insurance Ombudsman and got full payment within a week (I refused to cash the original cheque, which I returned to them) and a letter of apology from the insurance companies CEO in London, which included the usual 'this letter does not indicate that it's our fault etc'.
I guess the Office of the Ombudsman must be able to impose fines or at least raise some bad publicity for the insurers.
Don't get me started on insurance companies 
Why do they keep a record of penalty points for five years when they are removed from your licence after four?
Max no claims periods vary between companies. I found that after changing insurance on one occasion that my max NCD with the company I had left was not the max NCD with the company I took out the policy with ...... I had seven years NCD they insisted theirs was eight? Why?
Why do they keep a record of penalty points for five years when they are removed from your licence after four?
Max no claims periods vary between companies. I found that after changing insurance on one occasion that my max NCD with the company I had left was not the max NCD with the company I took out the policy with ...... I had seven years NCD they insisted theirs was eight? Why?
Paul M said:
Don't get me started on insurance companies
I'm beginning to feel that way, between (the broker) and (the Insurance company) I've been messed about completely. Following a smashed windscreen the car needed extra bodywork and trim work doing due to the screen cracking and water ingress, so I started a standard windscreen claim, this bit went relatively straightforward.
But when the screen was out the car was shipped off to the body shop for the rest of the work which wasn’t really known about until the screen came out, this bit I paid for upfront, the body shop suggested claiming this bit back as well so a call was made to the broker, I was expecting a knock back, but to my surprise they said ‘no problem’ just send us the invoice.
So invoice in the post I waited for the payout, and waited, and waited, after a few calls the cheque was in the post, then it was in the post again, then there had been a mix up and the insurance company wasn’t paying, 6 weeks after saying yes. Now they’d pay but as part of a proper claim, so make a proper claim say I, the excess is small and I want the money they had promised me, or at least 2/3rds of it, and now it was on principle, if they’d have said no at the start like I was expecting that’d have been fine.
Now I get a letter from the insurance company saying their ‘expert engineers’ say it’s impossible to do the damage I’ve been invoiced for. They tell me to fill in the enclosed Accident Report form, but have failed to enclose one, I guess that would be the story of my cheque if they were ever to send one, and it looks like the letter was screwed in to the envelope and the envelope wasn’t really sealed that well, not great from the person with unreadable signature and no name.
Overall I was surprised to be told they were paying out in the first place so I’m on the verge of chalking it up to experience, but it’ll obviously have a bearing come renewal time and the broker although on the whole have not been completely useless, they haven’t exactly shone and I’d very be surprised if they see my business next year.
I guess you never know how good something like this is untill you make a claim and now I know.
It hasn’t helped their case that I’ve recently been dealing with another ‘insurance company’ about a completely different issue and they have wound me right up and I’m limiting myself to one rant at a time.
raceboy said:
Paul M said:
Don't get me started on insurance companies
I'm beginning to feel that way, between (the broker) and (the Insurance company) I've been messed about completely. Following a smashed windscreen the car needed extra bodywork and trim work doing due to the screen cracking and water ingress, so I started a standard windscreen claim, this bit went relatively straightforward.
But when the screen was out the car was shipped off to the body shop for the rest of the work which wasn’t really known about until the screen came out, this bit I paid for upfront, the body shop suggested claiming this bit back as well so a call was made to the broker, I was expecting a knock back, but to my surprise they said ‘no problem’ just send us the invoice.
So invoice in the post I waited for the payout, and waited, and waited, after a few calls the cheque was in the post, then it was in the post again, then there had been a mix up and the insurance company wasn’t paying, 6 weeks after saying yes. Now they’d pay but as part of a proper claim, so make a proper claim say I, the excess is small and I want the money they had promised me, or at least 2/3rds of it, and now it was on principle, if they’d have said no at the start like I was expecting that’d have been fine.
Now I get a letter from the insurance company saying their ‘expert engineers’ say it’s impossible to do the damage I’ve been invoiced for. They tell me to fill in the enclosed Accident Report form, but have failed to enclose one, I guess that would be the story of my cheque if they were ever to send one, and it looks like the letter was screwed in to the envelope and the envelope wasn’t really sealed that well, not great from the person with unreadable signature and no name.
Overall I was surprised to be told they were paying out in the first place so I’m on the verge of chalking it up to experience, but it’ll obviously have a bearing come renewal time and the broker although on the whole have not been completely useless, they haven’t exactly shone and I’d very be surprised if they see my business next year.
I guess you never know how good something like this is untill you make a claim and now I know.
It hasn’t helped their case that I’ve recently been dealing with another ‘insurance company’ about a completely different issue and they have wound me right up and I’m limiting myself to one rant at a time.
B
sJust for the record you'll find that the majority of large businesses whether they be insurance, supermarkets, engineering companies etc etc will try to take 90 days to settle any account, i.e 3 months, 12 weeks, therefore at six weeks you're halfway through.
You can't blame the broker they won't pay you till the insurance company pays them....
If you ever have work done by someone on your behalf ask them how long it took for them to get paid.... ?
I'm not condoning it it just pointing out the sad truth of business today.
You can't blame the broker they won't pay you till the insurance company pays them....
If you ever have work done by someone on your behalf ask them how long it took for them to get paid.... ?
I'm not condoning it it just pointing out the sad truth of business today.
Edited by V8 GRF on Friday 16th November 11:32
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