- Joined
- Nov 12, 2012
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I'm having an experience with a Travel Insurance company which I'd like some opinions on. Its not a biggie, so I won't give the company's name - yet.
Took out a policy for a 2 week domestic trip, incl cruise. Pretty standard T&Cs. Not my usual TI (CoverMore) as I wanted Covid cover and I'd left it too late for CoverMore to cover me for that. This policy did, so all good.
On the trip, I lost my pocket camera - bought abt 6 years ago. I submitted a claim with all the required documentation - incl original receipts and a letter from a tour company relating how I had called them seeing if I had left the camera on their tour (negative). I called the TI and was told a police report wasn't necessary. I was confident of the claim.
Assessment should be 2 weeks. 2 weeks + 2 days I called to check status. Got someone who had trouble finding claim, but did so eventually. Said a bit vaguely that it was 'under assessment' and they would call back later that afternoon with an update.
Got a call back later that afternoon from a 'no caller ID' number. This was a strange call. Sort of danced around the issue, said something about 'act of goodwill' and then they said 'Do you know what your Excess is?' I thought - Is this a quiz? I replied "Yes - $100. What did you mean about 'act of goodwill?" She explained that their standard depreciation rate is 20% but they kindly applied 15%.
Ah. I knew what was coming. Cost of item minus depreciation = very close to $100, my excess, so nothing for me. I'd forgotten about depreciation on claims, and it is in the policy so I had no argument, and so no problem with the decision, give or take a few bucks, which I wasn't going to worry about.
After hanging up, the call just didn't feel right. Surely they e-mail with the claim decision, and it was odd that nothing had happened for over the assessment period, then decided in the hours after my call.
I e-mailed them, asking for the decision in an e-mail, with a statement that the claim had not been denied (so I could answer future insurance questionnaires which ask this question), but no payment is being made because of [calculation]. Not a complaint, just a request for their decision in writing.
Got an e-mail from them the next day, saying the claim was re-assessed and they "had put forward a recommendation for settlement to you."
Am I being too cynical to put: the first call to me denying the claim as being 'strange' and also not a written response, together with a query from me asking for the decision in writing with a consequent promise of a settlement ... all together & concluding something was 'up' with the process? Or maybe, more innocently, when they went to put it in an e-mail, with the calculation, they realised they had used the wrong deprec rate? Even if so, its still a strange experience and I won't be insuring with them again.
Took out a policy for a 2 week domestic trip, incl cruise. Pretty standard T&Cs. Not my usual TI (CoverMore) as I wanted Covid cover and I'd left it too late for CoverMore to cover me for that. This policy did, so all good.
On the trip, I lost my pocket camera - bought abt 6 years ago. I submitted a claim with all the required documentation - incl original receipts and a letter from a tour company relating how I had called them seeing if I had left the camera on their tour (negative). I called the TI and was told a police report wasn't necessary. I was confident of the claim.
Assessment should be 2 weeks. 2 weeks + 2 days I called to check status. Got someone who had trouble finding claim, but did so eventually. Said a bit vaguely that it was 'under assessment' and they would call back later that afternoon with an update.
Got a call back later that afternoon from a 'no caller ID' number. This was a strange call. Sort of danced around the issue, said something about 'act of goodwill' and then they said 'Do you know what your Excess is?' I thought - Is this a quiz? I replied "Yes - $100. What did you mean about 'act of goodwill?" She explained that their standard depreciation rate is 20% but they kindly applied 15%.
Ah. I knew what was coming. Cost of item minus depreciation = very close to $100, my excess, so nothing for me. I'd forgotten about depreciation on claims, and it is in the policy so I had no argument, and so no problem with the decision, give or take a few bucks, which I wasn't going to worry about.
After hanging up, the call just didn't feel right. Surely they e-mail with the claim decision, and it was odd that nothing had happened for over the assessment period, then decided in the hours after my call.
I e-mailed them, asking for the decision in an e-mail, with a statement that the claim had not been denied (so I could answer future insurance questionnaires which ask this question), but no payment is being made because of [calculation]. Not a complaint, just a request for their decision in writing.
Got an e-mail from them the next day, saying the claim was re-assessed and they "had put forward a recommendation for settlement to you."
Am I being too cynical to put: the first call to me denying the claim as being 'strange' and also not a written response, together with a query from me asking for the decision in writing with a consequent promise of a settlement ... all together & concluding something was 'up' with the process? Or maybe, more innocently, when they went to put it in an e-mail, with the calculation, they realised they had used the wrong deprec rate? Even if so, its still a strange experience and I won't be insuring with them again.
