Insurance Companies are your worst enemy

[cordelia]

This is a topic that affects us all......

Through my recent experience of trying to lodge a claim I have discovered the seedy world of insurance companies......

Have you noticed how many ads are on TV for insurance and how easy they make it look.......well it is to get cover but try making a claim.......Do not be fooled by the pretty girl on TV making it appear that the insurance is your friend...They are your arch enemy..Their primary purpose is to suck you in to pay for cover but they make it extremely difficult to make a claim....

On small items and claims they are not so bad but when you insure something of real value ...watch out....

I won't bore you with the details of my experience but here's a few tips.....

Firstly...GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING...Keep a special diary for telephone contact detailing the time of day, person you spoke with etc....write down as much as you can...if your telephone records tape the convo....if you can try to get them to communicate with you by email...avoid the phone at all costs.....they record every conversation...you don't and you are immediately put at a disadvantage.....You might lose your temper or say something they will use against you at a later day....or the sales person may have said one thing but then they deny it later...

Next know what you are buying.....read your policy! I can't stress this enough. Find out the procedure needed to lodge a claim..It's all in the product disclosure document....

Think of as many different scenarios as possible that could happen and write them down....

For example: if a trademan comes into your house and steals something are you covered? Some insurance companies won't payout because you invited the person in!

Ask your insurance company if you are covered for these things...

Take a look at the reviews at this site you will be horrified at some of the dodgy tricks they get up to....

http://www.productreview.com.au/showitem.php?item_id=54839#REVIEWS


Familiarise yourself with the law and The General Insurance Code of practice.

this site has lot's of useful information:

http://www.insurancelaw.org.au/

The financial ombudsman handles disputes but be warned once you lodge a complaint with them and they start to intervene the insurance company has 45 days in the first instance to respond and they will stop dealing with you.

The insurance company knows this and they will try and string you out so you go to the FOS...the process can take months and months...

Also forget the insurance complaints department they won't help....


The best way to deal with the insurance company is read your policy and the product disclosure advice. However, this is no guarantee. There are disclaimers throughout that allow the insurance company to slip out of everything...Their sole purpose is to wear you down so you will give up.....

All you have to do is cooperate....give them what they want ...They will string you along but if you don't agree to their demands they can refuse your claim.....It sounds incredible but it's true...However, at some point they have to make a decision.....it's quicker this way that to go through the Financial Ombudsman...Don't try to prove you are right ...the law is on their side.....


Also there is a central database run by Vero Investments that keeps an insurance record of us all....Insurance companies consult this...You can request a copy and I strongly urge you to do this to make sure it's correct and doesn't contain false information or innuendos....


Here is the info to obtain this:

Veda Advantage Public Enquiries

P.O. Box 966

NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2059

[Optional: By Facsimile: 02 9951 7880]

Good Luck!

 

[Happy]

Looks like reasonable review of what to expect.

Their Product Disclosure Statement is solid lecture for a while and almost impossible to remember every minute detail even harder to compare all details in several documents as every company differs.

In essence almost no matter what we do it and how fussy we are in getting the best company we are bound to get it not right if not totally wrong.

Hard not have it thou and sleep well.

 

[phchbr]

I just spoke to my insurance company (QBE) about their price increase, and asked whether there were any discounts they could apply that might offset the increase. They said that two of my policies did not have an over-50s discount applied, and that they would apply it straight away. $20 a month, which is quite good. I asked whether, since I've been over 50 for nearly four years, they would be refunding me the discount for the last four years. They said they're not obliged to apply the discount, the customer has to request it and so, no they wouldn't be applying it retrospectively. Why would I request it when I've never heard of it? Ah-ha they said, it's on page 23 of the product disclosure statement. So my suggestion to everyone (apart from reading the damn PDS of course) is to phone your insurance company and ask whether there are any discounts that you qualify for, whether age-related or for any other reason, that have not been applied to your policy, and if so, would they please apply them.

 

[Smurf1976]

I recently found out that I was paying considerably more (in % terms) than is necessary on my car insurance because the insurer listed the car as being under finance.

There was no real hassle having it corrected and they even gave me a refund of the overcharged amount for this year's premium. But they did not, of course, give me a refund for any of the previous 8 years I've been paying too much...