Insurance Companies - Is there a point?

KaHn

KaHn

KaHn

Soldato
Joined
13 Oct 2004
Posts
13,177
Location
South Shields
Can I ask if anyone sees the point in insurance companies to offer a service and then when you try to make a claim try to wriggle out of paying for anything?

I know they are out to make money but I mean surely somethings are just pointless.

Sorry for the pointless rant I'm just getting ****** off at two insurance companies who don't want to pay for things.

KaHn
 
I hate it.

I used to work for a medical insurance company, we would have meetings where to 'top dogs' of the company would come in, speak to us like we were a piece of **** and then proceed to tell us how much money we had saved by rejecting claims.

I understand that insurance companies have to make sure that claims are valid, as insurance fraud is detremental to us all, but I HATED the attitude of the company I worked for.
 
simulatorman said:
What claims are you making?
Click to expand...

450-500 quid for my Dogs vet bills with E&L insurance and another one with Life Style Group for my lost phone (insurance provied through barclays).

The E&L one has apparently been approved 2 months ago and I am still waiting for the cheque.

The LSG one was rejected because I think I lost my phone on a saturday night in a taxi but I held out hope because it kept ringing that it would be found and reported it lost on the monday when it finally died (to the police and phone company) which apparently is over the 48hr window which is currently going through appeals.

And the appeal departments don't speak to customers direct so I am getting really really peeved with them.

KaHn
 
I no longer pay insurance for my mobile phone. Simply because the cost of getting a new one (excess) and the monthly charge by far out weigh what my handsets worth.

But aye, insurance companies are devious. I knew somebody that worked for one of the largest firms in the USA, and he told me outright that for each day the company delayed their payments, they'd earn $400,000 in interest.
 
Last edited:
My excess with LSG is 25 quid which against the cost of the Iphone is nothing, the excess for E&L has already been paid for.

KaHn
 
KaHn said:
Can I ask if anyone sees the point in insurance companies to offer a service and then when you try to make a claim try to wriggle out of paying for anything?
Click to expand...

Yes, the point is to make money. They have a duty to shareholders to maximise profit, therefore they try to avoid paying out. It's the way insurance works.
 
[TW]Fox;14649703 said:
Yes, the point is to make money. They have a duty to shareholders to maximise profit, therefore they try to avoid paying out. It's the way insurance works.
Click to expand...

that's like saying "McDonalds job is to make profit, it is incidental whether you get your Fries or not, so long as you pay"

insurance companies are there to offer a SERVICE and make money by selling them. To sell a service you must offer something worth buying...if the company is intentionally rejecting legit claims to boost profits, it is not providing the service, or fries...in a friendly, timely, and fair way...

otherwise they may be propping up shareholder value in the short term, but detrimental to it in the long term... then who is a winner when a new competitor comes onto the scene willing to give customers what they ask for?

i.e 1990s McD share owners, answers on a postcard
 
Complain in writing to them about the timescales. It will waste their time as they are obliged to respond to all complaints they get. It will also ensure your case gets looked at quicker.

I have to deal with insurance and pension companies all the time in my job. A complaint letter usually works.
 
A lot of insurance companies are fradulent, as soon as you get a rejection letter inform trading standards immediately, it will expedite the process.
 
I have made an appeal about not being able to get to a phone untill monday which is true so see how it goes.

If not I will go through the trading standards.

KaHn
 
start asking names or employee numbers on the phone. tell them its because you want them to put in your letter to the insurance ombudsman

if its anything like my 3 expieriences of this you will get a cheque the next week...
 
"andy" said:
start asking names or employee numbers on the phone. tell them its because you want them to put in your letter to the insurance ombudsman

if its anything like my 3 expieriences of this you will get a cheque the next week...
Click to expand...

I do this all the time with nearly every company I phone (like Mobile phones and internet)
 
It took nearly two months to get £300 for my stolen bike. They will literally drag their feet for as long as possible.
 
Sash said:
I do this all the time with nearly every company I phone (like Mobile phones and internet)
Click to expand...

does it work ? always seems to for me. always in cases where they drag and drag things out. like they claimed to of lost all my receipts for my bike 3 times yet after that little conversation they sent a cheque for the value of the receipts... :confused::mad::p
 
KaHn said:
450-500 quid for my Dogs vet bills with E&L insurance and another one with Life Style Group for my lost phone (insurance provied through barclays).

The E&L one has apparently been approved 2 months ago and I am still waiting for the cheque.

The LSG one was rejected because I think I lost my phone on a saturday night in a taxi but I held out hope because it kept ringing that it would be found and reported it lost on the monday when it finally died (to the police and phone company) which apparently is over the 48hr window which is currently going through appeals.

And the appeal departments don't speak to customers direct so I am getting really really peeved with them.

KaHn
Click to expand...

I dont really think you can have a go about the 2nd one, if someone had been ringing out on the phone for all that time then the insurance company would have been who you expected to foot the bill, you could have easily rung up and got a temporary bar put on it, claiming it was 'misplaced' and could have sent a text to it before hand so whoever found it could read the text and see whos it was.
Insurance isnt just for the handset, its for the contract too usually - and its usually a 24hour window.
 
There are two forms of useful insurance:

Motor insurance, without it you can't legally drive your car.
Buildings insurance, without it you can't get a mortgage.

Everything else is basically a scam.
 
I had the free insurance through barclays too. When my phone had a cracked screen (no idea how it happened as it was a clamshell phone) LSG threw out the claim because it was a smartphone and they didn't cover them. After lots of letters and phonecalls I'd even proven to them that they had covered it properly as it was on their dropdown list when creating the policy. Useless company and I feel sorry for anyone that has to deal with them. A few months later I just bought the same phone again for a similar price had I taken out o2 insurance for the year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom