Insurance hassles

[MikeL]

Five weeks since I wrote off my bike and still no payout. The story so far:
Sun 7 March: accident
Mon 8 March: claim filed & accepted.
Wed 10 March: telephone discussion with claims assessor (seems to be an independent agent, not an employee of insurance company); bike to be written off; negotiation re value. Reminded assessor that acccording to a clause in the policy I should get full insured value (less than 12 mths from policy date).
Fri 12 March: assessor agrees. Promises to wrap up paper work and send to insurance company by following Monday. Says insurance company will send cheque to finance company who will calculate refund and post to me. Should get it within a week.
Week 2: deafening silence from all parties.
Week 3: ditto. End of week: telephone conversation with finance company: no record of any payment or even contact from insurance company. Talk to insurance company: they claim they have only just received the report from the assessor. But not to worry. The cheque to the finance company will be in the mail the following Monday. I cancel the automatic payments on the loan.
Week 4: still nothing.
Today: I phone the finance company. No record of any cheque or correspondence from insurance company. Am now in default (one month's payment in arrears). Get a lecture about breach of agreement: insurance company should have informed finance company immediately the claim was lodged, got the finance company to do the calculation, and sent one cheque to them and another one to me. Phone the insurance company. They deny having promised payment 2 weeks ago, and claim the cheque to the finance company was only sent on the Thursday before Easter.

Question: is this just the normal run-around, or do I have grounds for feeling hard done by?

[LB]

Jeez MikeL, what a pain in the ass this is turning out to be for you.

Touch wood, it's been many years since I've had an insurance claim so I can't comment on whether this is normal or not.

My advice would be to keep on ringing the Insurance company every day, and if you have copies of the claim form etc, send a copy to the finance company to prove you've lodged a claim some time ago.

Oscar, can you give any advice here?

Good luck.

[Lou Girardin]

Which insurance co?
Lou

[James Deuce]

I've "only" ever written one vehicle off, and yes, it was an ass to sort out. Took 6 weeks and I had to get written evidence from 3 independent motorcycle shops to prove that a VFR750R was worth more than a VFR750F. All while strapped to a board in a hospital. The assessor knew the difference but the insurance company wasn't interested in his opinion either.

[Motu]

My daughters car was written off so many months ago I've forgotten,but it was about 3 weeks after the accident.The car is still sitting around and she has recieved no payment,we have loaned her the money for another car,but she can't repay us until they pay her.

She rings a to ask why - ''well you need form ****'' ok send it out.Ring again as to why no money - ''you sent the wrong form,you need form **** for the money to be released'' OK,how about you send the correct form this time.On and on and it goes - it's a sureal world is insurance.

[Devil]

Question: is this just the normal run-around, or do I have grounds for feeling hard done by?
Dude. Give the insurance company a ring. Ask to speak to the manager of the claims department and give them a bollocking. Mention whats happening with your finance company. If you dont get any action, start shifting up the chain of command. Take note of who you speak to each time, when you did it, and what they said they were going to do. If they promise a payout, get them to put it in writing.

Hate hearing about insurance companies stuffing people around :(
Ive had to work my butt off to keep my record spotless after an accident I had (17yrs old, restricted, wrote off $5k worth of prelude) in 1998. Thank god, I have made it, and its now over 5 years ago. Due the types of cars I drive and me being under 25 ive had 3 different insurance companies in the last 4 years or so (they keep shifting the goalposts as to what they'll insure). Now getting my first motorcycle (5 days ago ;) ) it was really nice to see an insurance premium under my current $1800 or so for the cage!

Summary: Hang in there, keep bugging them, and keep a record of whats going on!

[Posh Tourer :P]

If you have the facility, I would recommend recording all conversations with insurance companies, so you can tell them where they went wrong. Then you can demand better service, go see a manager, act extremely pissed off etc etc. I have had any number of hassles with AMI trying to organise a transfer of a policy into another policy holder name. They also managed to variously insure me for a Honda CB25T, CB15T2, and a CBT52, of regos 74LNK and 74LNX(the right one....finally). I wont even go into the other details on the policy. This was all done over the phone, with some twat who wasnt interested on the other end.
What are the chances of them paying out on these policies when they find that the details are wrong? I suspect very little. If I had recorded their convos, and then had to make a claim, I could have proved it was their fault.
Be very wary when dealing with insurance companies....even reputable ones like AMI..... (Although they did give me insurance for the beemer in my own name, after trying to tell me that the 650cc engine was "the V8 of the motorcycle world" (exact quote from the *manager* who I spoke to in an attempt to get it insured).

[claire]

Hey MikeL

I'd be intersted who you are insured with as I deal with insurance companies at least once a day and find them really easy to deal with as they are all customer service driven now to remain competitive. I have found that if they are using an independant assessor you do have to keep on to them a bit but usually the time frames are not as extreme as yours. I'd suggest phoning the assessor to make sure he has his paperwork in order and working down the food chain from there. "Bollocking" someone might make you feel better but I find I'm not so helpful to someone who phones with the intention to give me a piece of their mind!!!

Good luck sorting this out

Claire

PS Posh Tourer's comment about AMI and motorcycles is most probably correct. When we approached them about ours they were really honest and told us they weren't really interested in insuring motorcycles

[Oscar]

Jeez MikeL, what a pain in the ass this is turning out to be for you.

Touch wood, it's been many years since I've had an insurance claim so I can't comment on whether this is normal or not.

My advice would be to keep on ringing the Insurance company every day, and if you have copies of the claim form etc, send a copy to the finance company to prove you've lodged a claim some time ago.

Oscar, can you give any advice here?

Good luck.


Nuthin' much to add to your advice - ring 'em every day, get the names of everyone you speak to and ring them constantly, asking for the names of their superiors, and then ring them constantly. Ask them to confirm stuff in writing, by e-mail or fax. Threaten them with the Insurance Onbudsman.

Who was the insurer?
The stuff about the insurer informing the finance co. was bollocks. If anything it's up to the punter to tell the finance co. that the vehicle has been written off.

[marty]

PS Posh Tourer's comment about AMI and motorcycles is most probably correct. When we approached them about ours they were really honest and told us they weren't really interested in insuring motorcycles


although yesterday i spoke to my local AMI, when insuring another car, and asked what the premium on a 1992 CBR1000F, valued at $5k would be (mate of mine has one for sale, and it is a very nice 2-up machine - scott oiler, heated grips, hard luggage). try $340 premium, $750 excess. My aprilia costs more than that!

[marty]

they weren't interested in a $20k hayabusa though... :(

[jrandom]

even reputable ones like AMI..... (Although they did give me insurance for the beemer in my own name, after trying to tell me that the 650cc engine was "the V8 of the motorcycle world"

Bwahahahahahaha!

I fear the mighty HSV-like power of your R65!

Funnily enough I had a pretty good time insuring the FXR with AMI. Got all my other policies with them though, that tends to make a difference. I made one claim, too, for repairs of about $1600. That was processed within a week, which I was happy enough with, and everyone involved from their end seemed decent. Of course I then had to ride around on a bent bike for two months while Suzuki found me a new fairing, so AMI didn't have to actually pay out for a while...

[Devil]

"Bollocking" someone might make you feel better but I find I'm not so helpful to someone who phones with the intention to give me a piece of their mind!!!

Oh, i will clarimify. I mean give them a bollocking about whats happening, not give THEM a bollocking. Making it personal never helps. Heh. :wavey:

[vifferman]

Yes, being stuffed about by the insurance company is fairly normal. Just remember - it's nothing personal, you're just another person on the end of the phone, and there's all this bureaucratic claptrap to wade through before everything's sorted.
I wrote off my bike last year, and was keen to buy the 'wreck' back as it had only superficial damage, but the insurance co and auction house stuffed about so much I gave up in the end. Also the pay out was lower than I thought it would be. I think it was "agreed amount" which was the same as current market value, which ended up as about $6500 - what the assessor reckoned it was worth. The insured amount was $6700, and they said if I got two more assessments that said it was worth more, they'd split the difference. So I talked to a few bike shops, and they said, "Take the money and run!" So I did.
I can't remember how long all this took, but it seemed like a goodly long time.

[Cajun]

MikeL its just insurance companys. they give you the run around. i tell you a little story

Brand new l300 van stole right outside work shop while we were working, we get 1 week stand down before anything happens, one week goes, about 10 days after vehicle stolen we have an claims investergator come down talk to us ask questions, pretty much tell us, all good. nothing for a week, ring insurance company, we not recieved anything from claims investergator, ring claims investergator told us he sent it 2 days ago by courier. Give insurance company couple more days ring back same thing. Only problem with insurance comany is keep getting different people, and wouldn't let talk to people who we talked to before or they were not there. so now this is going on for about 5 weeks so total 6 weeks with no vechile, we end up calling lawyers, to get on to insurance company, what you know in 4 hours the find the paper work. So thats 6 weeks with no work vehicle which is a total hassel and pain in the ass. should claim for 6 weeks no vehile, but fixed them taken all our insurance somewhere else. damn state.

[750Y]

:ar15: state

[KATWYN]

:ar15: state

Yea, I second that :kick:

[Wonko]

Looks like your being given the run around. Call up daily and ask to speak to the claims manager. Get his/her direct number if posible, and then only deal with them. Ask them to look into your claim and explain to you why it is not yet completed. If you call in the morning, and they say that they will give you a call back, ask for a time, or state a time, ie in 1 hour's time. Make them promise to call you. If no call call back after 2 hours call again, speak to the manager again, explain the whole thing again. Say they promised to call you back, and have not done so(give them the guilts as such). If they do not have any or unsatisfactory answers, ask for more details. If the assessor/valuer/other 3rd party has not done their job, don't be afraid to ask for that person's number, ask the claims manager to follow up by ringing that person, and you also ring that person to find out what the hold up is.
Call daily if need be.

Most importanly be polite,

Never had any problems with State. When my car was writen off, I had the money in the bank in less than 2 weeks, it took them another 2 weeks to pick up the car, but that wasn't my problem, it was their's and I left it parked on the road for them.

I'm currently dealing with Aon re someone else knocking my bike over. has been 9 working days on Friday, and they should be calling me to tell me that it's writen off. I talked with the valuers and the assesors almost on a daily baises asking if there was anything that they needed from me. Great way to keep in the loop as to what they are doing, without seeming to bug them.

Things to do when dealing with insurance agents etc
Always keep a record of when and who you talked with
Try to always talk to the same person
Do your own ground work, ie contacting the assesors/valuers to see how your claim is progressing.
Be nice, say "thanks for your time"
Be a pain in their side, but be one that they can't say is obnoxious (sp?).

Good luck

[MikeL]

Thanks for all the comments and helpful advice. I spent most of today test-riding bikes so didn't call either the insurance company or the finance company. However, about half an hour ago I got a call from the person in the finance company whose job it is to chase up overdue payments.
Despite the fact that 2 days ago I spoke at length to someone else in the finance company and was assured that a note would be placed in their computer about the insurance payout, the Delinquent Accounts person or whatever his title is clearly was not aware of this. To give him his due he was very understanding, said he would wait until the middle of next week in the expectation that the cheque from the insurance company would turn up, and that there would be no black mark on my credit history. Nevertheless it gives me an uneasy feeling and I don't know who to believe any more.
Tomorrow morning I will check with the finance company. If they still have no record of the payment, I will call the insurance company, speak to the most senior person, give him until 3 p.m. to liaise with the finance company and trace and confirm the payment. I will make it clear that unless the matter is resolved immediately, I will cancel the policy on my other bike and insure it and the new bike elsewhere. I will also tell them that I will write a formal letter of complaint and perhaps mutter the magic words "Fair Go".

Lessons learned:
1. Don't believe anyone who says "Don't worry, we'll take care of that for you." Do everything yourself.
2. When people seem to be doing their job efficiently, don't be fooled: someone will cock it up before long. Incompetence is the norm, not the exception.

BTW I deliberately avoided naming the insurance company in order to give them the benefit of the doubt. My previous dealings with them had been surprisingly pleasant and hassle-free. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

[Yamahamaman]

Thanks for all the comments and helpful advice.

Some more - always insist on getting the name of the person you are speaking to. Gives them the shits - means that there will be recourse.

If possible - visit their offices and don't leave until satisfied even if it means sitting in the public office in your dirtiest and smelliest gear. If you have a jacket with patches - all the better. Oh and take a book. Unless you are causing trouble, they cannot have you physically removed.

[What?]

BTW I deliberately avoided naming the insurance company in order to give them the benefit of the doubt. My previous dealings with them had been surprisingly pleasant and hassle-free. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
Fair enuff, Mike. But if they don't have a good excuse, then bag 'em.

[Redstar]

:ride: I could write a book about dealings with insurance companies :puke: In fact I think I will? I'll name it "100 and 1 way,s to weedle out of paying"

Firstly we must accept that loss adjusters are rewarded for what they don't do.
The challenge for them is to find the loop hole in your claim to squeeze through!

I would suggest the piss around recieved by the MikeL was only a case of commissions and bonus payment incentive? like its not just the Month end but the fiscal year end for a number of companies and if that loss adjuster had paid out in March they would miss target bonus for paying out year end profits already declared to the Auditor?

Or maybe thier just slack?

Did you know that if any event infringement occured during the period of insurance that would be reasonable to report was not reported they can fully dismiss your claim. Did you fail to disclose any fact that might be reasonable to disclose? have you have more that three fixed Camera infringements in less that two years for example?(If so deny it they cant verify your statements)

AMI blow hot and cold with bike cover four years ago they only covered bikes if you have other policy's and them only 3rd party.

A few years back they got resonably interested in cover and were reasonably priced too. Now I suspect they have a big bike porfolio they dont want?

In the UK in 1980 it took me six months to get my Ford Capri back from the repairers after a theft recovery so nothing changes much.

What about a bikers collective insurance cooperative? If all credit my bank account your Premiums I'll pay up pronto :stoogie:

[MikeL]

O.K., current state of play:
Spoke to insurance company and finance company this morning. Insurance co. person very conciliatory, said he would personally contact finance company and sort things out. Promised to ring back once he had done so. He did. Still no sign of cheque, but finance company are happy to wait another few days for it to turn up. Everybody (reasonably) happy.

And I have bought another bike!

:2thumbsup

[Holy Roller]

And I have bought another bike!

:2thumbsup
Have I missed where you posted what you got :o
Is it the CB1 or something else?

[SPman]

And I have bought another bike!
:2thumbsup Oooh....Wazzit?...wazzizit?...wazzizit? http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_1_111.gif

[6Chris6]

And I have bought another bike!

:2thumbsup
C'mon don't leave us hangin Mike

[Suzi Q]

As an Insurance company employee - I work in claims in the call centre as a supervisor and last year I worked solely in the department in claims that looks after vehicles that are a write off - I can tell you the normal procedure from my end. I am sure that all companies are different!!!
As an rule the finance company is not notified of any claims at the beginning of the claim - we have to pay money to get the info on whether there is any finance of the vehicle or not. We only request this info once we are notified by the assessor that the vehicle is UTR - uneconomic to repair. Once notified we then do the checks to see who is the registered owner and if there is any finance on the vehicle. If the policy states that the settlement should be market value then a Pre Accident Valuation is requested from an independent valuer, once that is received we then discuss this value - proposed settlement- with the owner of the vehicle. If the value is in dispute we thne ask the owner of the vehicle to arrange for a valuation to be done by a licenced valuer or LMVD who must see the vehicle. We then average the 2 values - we can not say if either of the values is wrong. The delays that can happen can lie with an independent assessor if one is used, the independent valuer or the office staff in the insurance co. Our company believes in trying to deal with these types of claims as quickly as possible as the owner of the vehicle is now with out a car/bike. Once a settlement has been agreed upon and the owner of the vehicle is paid, the policy is cancelled and the vehicle sold. If there is finance on the vehicle we pay the finance co, but first we have to fax them a discharge to sign - legal requirement - they have to fax this back before we can make payment - this can create another delay in making the payment.
I won't say what company I work for - not necessary - but I hope this lets people know what is required in dealing with a UTR claim.
It is always a good idea to keep ringing the Insurance co, but please remember alway treat others how you would like to be treated. I will go out of my way to help someone if they are respectfull, reasonable and nice to me - no need to grease that is annoying. I will not go out of my way to help anyone who is rude, disrespectfull or nasty. You get nowhere if you yell, swear etc. Believe me most of my fellow insurance workers feel the same way. We are not going to do any more than we have to if we get yelled at or sworn at.

[wkid_one]

I agree - never had any problem through insurance getting both my bikes fixed. The VTR was $300 short of UTR

[MikeL]

Once a settlement has been agreed upon and the owner of the vehicle is paid, the policy is cancelled and the vehicle sold. If there is finance on the vehicle we pay the finance co, but first we have to fax them a discharge to sign - legal requirement - they have to fax this back before we can make payment - this can create another delay in making the payment.


Very interesting. In my case there was apparently no contact at all between the insurance company and the finance company until the cheque was (allegedly) posted. There seems to be a difference of opinion between the two as to what the correct procedure is. (I'm just the meat in the sandwich.)
But the insurance company had no qualms about cancelling the policy and selling the bike - this happened within 10 days of the claim being filed and well before the cheque to the finance company was (allegedly) posted.

[LB]

SO WHAT IS THE NEW BIKE??????!!!!!!!! We're all dying to know!!!!

[MikeL]

SO WHAT IS THE NEW BIKE??????!!!!!!!! We're all dying to know!!!!

Patience, patience. Going to pick it up this morning. Will take some pix and post them. But don't get too excited: it's not a GSXR, R1, Brutale, or anything like that.

[Firefight]

Patience, patience. Going to pick it up this morning. Will take some pix and post them. But don't get too excited: it's not a GSXR, R1, Brutale, or anything like that.


Come on mate, you don't have to tell them, JUST PM me.

F/F :Pokey:

[MikeL]

O.K., here it is...

[Firefight]

O.K., here it is...


Nice Bike Mike, can't wait to see it properly, bugger Ia'm workin to day and tomorow.. ..F/F

[Yamahamaman]

O.K., here it is...
Welcome to the Silver Bike club MikeL :D

[Motoracer]

Hi there Mike, Thats a nice lookin bike you got there :) You commin to the track nex friday?

Edit: I am such a menace, I keep talking about the 23rd track day on every single thread I can find :o. Shows you how excited I am about it!

[MikeL]

Hi there Mike, Thats a nice lookin bike you got there :) You commin to the track nex friday?


Will be at the track for part of the day (heading off Coromandel way about 2:30) but haven't decided whether to go onto the track and if so on which bike (probably the 400 rather than the XJR), or just to watch and take some videos of the rest of you.

[Holy Roller]

Great looking bike
The silver streak reminds me of my first bike :niceone:

[aff-man]

What can i say except nice very very nice. As to insurance they are screwing me as well bloody state. They got an assessor to check the bike and said that prior to the accident the bike was only in average condition and worth $2500. AVERAGE condition i mean bloody hell it was a bit old but there was nothing wrong with it. So i am stuffing the insurance guys getting it fixed myself. Have fun mike i am looking at joining you guys for a ride asap

[LB]

Nice choice! Thanks for putting us out of our misery!

See you on the 23rd.

[fritter]

Congrats on the new bike :niceone:

I've been fucked around by insurance companies for six months now and still waiting for them to fix my bike.

You know the ironic part? It was a police vehicle that caused the damage (my bike was parked at the time).

Betya if I'd smacked a cop bike or car they'd have the money outta me lickety split.

Turns out the cops self insure, and they use a third party 'risk management' company to help them with their claims.

True, within a month they got work done on it, but the repair job was worse than the original damage. I'm gonna have to take them to court over this would you believe :mad:

Problem is working out exactly who I am taking to court - the cops, or their claims company.

Moral of the story? Either make sure your own insurance company fully cover you for any damage caused any time, or make sure that if someone does cause damage to your bike that it isn't a cop :buggerd:

[MikeL]

Well I'm sorry to hear that others have had insurance hassles as well, but I'm relieved that mine have now been sorted. I still don't know whether it was the finance company that lost the cheque or the insurance company that didn't send it (I wonder how much extra interest they would earn anually if each payout was delayed a couple of weeks???). Anyway, after the major worry about my loan account being in default the news that the finance company will take at least 10 days to calculate my refund is a minor annoyance that I can live with. After all, I wouldn't want their abacus operator to get repetitive strain injury...

[Yarg]

Nice bike. very Smooth. May need a small wind screen though. :msn-wink: