What am I paying ACC for?

[rainman]

Funny how it is with all that cover, they can still find a little reason why you are "not" covered in "this" instance and your up the creek!

Too true. My mom-in-law died last year (overseas), so we cancelled the trip we'd planned for December to go see her (not much point, after all). My wife flew over to go sort out funerals and the rest of that mess - and paid full whack for the flights, of course - and I went on down to the travel agent to cancel the other flights. Had to pay $750 per ticket cancel fee, of course, three grand - ferk knows how they justify that price, I'll 100% guarantee they resold the seats - but no worries, the travel insurance would cover that. We had bought the tickets on the credit card, so were covered - so I thought.

Turns out the company doing the travel insurance for the bank (Chartis) only covers travel disruption caused by the death of a person in NZ, says the small print. But... there was no point in me flying the family over to see someone no longer there, so we had no option but to cancel the flights. Result: me buggered, no cover.

In a sense it's a fair cop, it's in their policy doc (which I had to request from them in print form because you can't download it from the bank website), and if I had taken the time to do this I would have known this when I bought the tickets. (Who does that, though?) I doubt I would have chosen another product anyway - I was buying the tickets on the card regardless, so had cover. I can just see me saying "actually dear, I might go buy some more travel insurance just in case your mother dies in the next few months". Not so likely.

Anyway, back to the main topic - privatising accident insurance is not a good solution, for the main reason that the insurers are bigger bastards than ACC is.

[Mom]

Anyway, back to the main topic - privatising accident insurance is not a good solution, for the main reason that the insurers are bigger bastards than ACC is.

Taking you back to the bank insurance policy for a moment - I would caution anyone who has insurance of any kind via their bank to read the fine print very carefully. I got burgled a few years ago, small shit stolen in the night while we were sleeping. When I made a claim on my policy I got tangled up in items used in business. My policy was limited to $1000. Problem arose because I used my dining room table to write up invoices, the sofa in the lounge for my staff to drink coffe on at break times etc. Talk about wriggle. Anyway back to topic.

[NZsarge]

Yeah I dropped my bike about 5 weeks ago, Ambo was called but after examination and a conflab with Ambo staff I declined a ride to hospital as it was'nt in the end worth it, went to the Doc a couple of days later as I was feeling pretty tweaked and stretched and my ankle was'nt up to working. No bill for the Ambo so i'm guessing it came under the ACC claim with the week off work...

[LilSel]

I've only ever had to take one ambulance ride, was about 7 years ago, I asked to drive myself to the hospital cuz I didn't want to leave my car at the A&E but they said "NO" (I'd driven myself there in the first place lol, not for an accident however). When I got out of hospital about a week later, got bill for $66.50 in the mail for the ride from Botany Downs to Middlemore hospital.

Sounds pretty off that you'd get a bill when you didn't actually take a ride in the 'bus' aye... Xmas eve about 5 or 6 years ago (well technically xmas day as was past midnight) my brother picked me up from work & on the way home we were T-boned, an ambulance was called by whom I dont know but they checked me out as I was a bit dazed & confused, just wanted to get home (was turning into the street our street is off that it happened) however so didnt take a ride with them as wasn't that bad (pretty bad concussion, slept most of that xmas day lol) & I never got a bill for that

[duckonin]

Never I repeat Never trust ACC and always be very careful how you construct a letter, Acc staff are not to be trusted even if the person who works there is your friend.

[MacD]

That is because you are in a subsidised scheme via your employment. Go and give yourself a huge shock and find out the actual cost for an individual get the same cover you currently have under your subsidised scheme.

Yep, around $400 per month for individual health insurance according to this article. We should also add the cost of income protection insurance to get an equivalency with ACC as well .

The link between work and health insurance make unemployment a double disaster in the US, no income and no health cover. Unsurprisingly, medical debt accounts for some 60% of bankruptcies in the USA.

[Mully]

I love the way a simple administrative error (St John cocked up an invoice and sent it to OP instead of ACC) turned into a "National are fucking with ACC - it's a PLOT!!" thread.

I think we may need to issue tin-foil hats with our pitchforks and flaming torches going forward.

OP - send the invoice back to St John, with a note saying; "I believe this charge is covered under ACC. My ACC claim number is XYZ. Please invoice this to ACC". I bet nothing more will come of it.