Car stolen

Navcorr said:

I suspect your written threat of referring to the Ombudsman had much to do with it too. 9/10 times the O will side with the claimant when a fair claim is presented. This scenario is a very good example of just how poorly managed the insurance industry can be.

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The bulk of problems which arise in insurance claims (assuming their is no fraudulent intent involved) is down to technical ignorance of staff and correct procedures.
This is mainly down to lack of investment in training which in itself is down to money to put towards that training and also employing qualified or better quality people.
This lack of money simply comes from the public insisting that cheapest is best and everything is done on a shoestring. Contrary to public belief Insurers are not making huge profits on motor insurance and to make any profit the companies that are predominantly motor based are walking a tightrope.
I find it interesting people on here that perhaps run their own company seem only to be interested in the price for their car insurance.
I wonder when they are pitching for business is their selling feature " we are the cheapest in the country". Does quality,service and backup not get a mention?
What sort of service would they give their customers if they halved employees wages and took on people straight off the street.
Why anyone should be surprised they have issues with the "cheapest" Insurer when they have a claim is a surprise to me.
To a certain extent it is simply you get what you pay for.
There was another theft on here a while back but from memory the member was insured through a respectable broker and the claim was pretty painless compared to others. That isn't a coincidence.
I had considered approaching an Insurer to set up a bespoke scheme for Maserati owners primarily for members on here. Idea would be it would be with an Insurer who would have the ability to handle claims quickly and fairly and give the service we would all wish for. I was looking at getting extensions on the standard policy for enhanced cover for things like loss of keys and courtesy cars etc. However I came to the conclusion that given the comments on here about price being the major or only factor the numbers that would take up the scheme would be too small to make it of interest to them.

Needamaser said:

This lack of money simply comes from the public insisting that cheapest is best and everything is done on a shoestring.

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In this and so many other things I am afraid. Broadband, phones, any sort of support etc etc etc

C

CatmanV2 said:

In this and so many other things I am afraid. Broadband, phones, any sort of support etc etc etc

C

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Absolutely...power of the internet and advertising. Is this actually progress?
Are we all coming down to the lowest common denominator?
Is this why "reality TV" is so popular? Too many questions and I should be working. lol

Needamaser makes a very good point here. Where, as with all industries, training, experience, quality of staff, call it what you will, should define the company.

I would certainly agree with you that lack of product knowledge plays it part. I think the real problem comes from many insures moving away from in house claims departments. In an attempt to save money of course. A secondary effect, but a major problem, is the outside body, in whatever form, justifying their fees to the insurer. Usually the only way to achieve this is a higher rate of claim rejection and lower settlements.

My Father recently had to make a rather large household claim. As is the norm the insurer farmed out the claim to their preferred loss adjusters. Where it was "handled" by one of their most senior and experienced staff. Apart from the lackadaisical and I'm afraid somewhat arrogant approach the general sense given was of penny pinching at every opportunity. That and trying to backtrack from promises given regardless of whether they were made in writing or not. In the end we dealt with the insurer's management directly who were, to their credit, very reasonable.

Sadly insurance is almost a special case where the customer only discovers how good the product is when a claim is made. Which can often be too late where, as you say, price of policy has been a determining factor.

Needamaser said:

Absolutely...power of the internet and advertising. Is this actually progress?
Are we all coming down to the lowest common denominator?
Is this why "reality TV" is so popular? Too many questions and I should be working. lol

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No, yes, no, in that order. There you go, all sorted
C

Navcorr said:

As is the norm the insurer farmed out the claim to their preferred loss adjusters. Where it was "handled" by one of their most senior and experienced staff. Apart from the lackadaisical and I'm afraid somewhat arrogant approach the general sense given was of penny pinching at every opportunity.

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One of the issues there is that in many cases it isn't actually a "loss adjuster" that it goes to although you are led to believe that is the case.
All too often it is their "approved contractor" and their insurance knowledge would fill the back of a stamp.
My experience of bona fide loss adjusters is they are generally very fair and professional.
There are always exceptions though.

This was our understanding too. Also, with regard to Cunningham Lindsey, that they would be one of the better firms to deal with. The day-to-day wasn't bad actually but their main man in London was a somewhat slippery customer. Everything seemed fine but taking over 2.5 years for what was a fairly straight forward claim was pushing it a bit.
He had his share of flood claims at that time but we can attribute approx. 15 months of undue delay to their Office.

Thankfully, my Father was in a financial position where he didn't need to settle early. I'd question how often those less fortunate are leveraged into doing so. Eventually, discussing matters directly with the insurer, I got the impression they were a little embarrassed by it all. This, and the fact the old man is as straight as an arrow, helped secure a settlement beyond what could have been reasonably expected.

Needamaser said:

Absolutely...power of the internet and advertising. Is this actually progress?
Are we all coming down to the lowest common denominator?
Is this why "reality TV" is so popular? Too many questions and I should be working. lol

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All of Needamaser's comments are true. The situation would be entirely untenable if it were not for the existence of the various Ombudsmans' offices. I had a bad time with Carphone Warehouse as they claim to be a 'retailer' and fall outside of Ofcom's remit. Trading Standards are helpful, but toothless. The Small Claims court is usually the only fallback in areas that don't have an Ombudsman. (Carphone Warehouse caved before we got to court.)
Having said all this, I have the skills and experience to very good at complaining. I would therefore rather take the cheap prices now - but only when I know there is an Ombudsman standing at the end of the line. Otherwise, the time and effort would be too onerous even when you know what you're doing. That leaves the majority of people losing out when claiming whilst those with the skills have a comparative advantage. This is not a situation that I am comfortable with benefitting from - but it's the one I'm stuck with.
Steve.