You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
As per my other thread, unfortunately had an incident and was assaulted for my bike.
Been having issues with my insurance and not sure if or where I’m at, never claimed before other than car insurance which was straight forward, this one seems more complex. Any advice or pointers would be great!
So my insurance has bikes listed but not my work bike as it was under the value required, I had a garmin, gopro, and usual bike bits attached, bottles, saddlebag etc..
I called them up to enquire process, claim handler was poor tbh effectively told me to jog on, bearing in mind the situation this was 2 days after the incident. I had a call back asking to review the call…that ended up with me giving them 0 out of 10 for every question and I followed up with a complaint, my complaint was rejected 24hrs later. A week later I had a call from customer services the guy I spoke was great, sympathised with me and talked through what happened he said he had listened to the call and said the handler was out of order. At this point I needed to call the sales team and ask them to investigate as there’s no reason I shouldn’t get something.
Called sales on the phone for an hour talking through my policy, they admit somethings not right, got bikes listed i should have the bike cover, I haven’t asked to removed it but during the calls 5 years ago they haven’t told me I needed to add it, all documentation though vague has bike cover listed. Was told I would get a call 25 hrs later, 3 days later nothing. So I call for an update…it’s been passed back to claims and being investigated further.
What next? Anyone have any ideas? At this point I just want it all over so I can move on this just keeps dragging it out, the bikes not coming back it hasn’t been sighted locally so it’s gone, I’m getting through the anxiety of the event and on the mend, feel like this is just dragging it all out.
Any advice or pointers greatly appreciated.
If you don't get a satisfactory answer from them you can escalate it to the ombudsman
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/complaints-can-help/insurance/home-insurance
Complain to the FOS. If you had cover and it's been removed without you being told then they haven't met your needs. It takes a while, but they're very consumer friendly.
This wouldn't be with a bike specific insurance provider is it ?
The under writer they used at my last renewal were utterly shocking to deal with similar issues you describe (non bike claim)
I got there in the end but you had to be one step ahead and be ready to call the handler out on their nonsense right there and then.
Every call was a chore.
Wait for them to come back to you, they may honour it.
If not, the Ombudsman is very pro consumer. Years ago when I was a claims manager he upheld a customers argument that a front door was a "domestic drainage installation" when rain water leaked in through the drainage channel in the door.
Even if you just threaten the Ombudsman it should kick them into gear. They get charged £500 just for being refered whether they win or loose. So just the threat of it should get them responding promptly.
In terms of your last point, about how long it will take to finalise, I think you'd probably be best accepting it won't be quick.
When you talk to them on the phone, make plenty of notes so you have all the details if it does need to go to the ombudsman. The phrase, "can I just clarify that you told me..." if you think they are confusing things is handy, especially if they are recording calls. Get the name of your complaint handler if possible, e-mail him to confirm the details of any conversations you have so there's a written record too.
Good luck. 🤞
If the paperwork you has includes bike cover, and your bike is under the amount to list separately, and there are no other relevant exclusions, then surely it is covered?
I went through an internal complaints procedure over accidental damage replacement for a laptop under a 'new for old' policy where they were not offering anything like enough to get a similar replacement. Took a bit of perseverence but eventually got a full pay out. I would have taken it to the Ombudsman as the next step.