Insurers trying to replace my TV with inferior model

Clav

Clav

Clav

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I'll try and keep this brief. My TV suffered from accidental damage which is covered by my contents insurance. It has been inspected by them and deemed beyond repair however the replacement they have offered is pretty rubbish.

They say they will give a like-for-like replacement as in same specs, but I'm not happy since I'll be effectively paying £600 (original price + excess) and will end up with a TV that I could go and buy for £320ish.

For anyone interested I had a Samsung LE40B554 and they want to replace with a Toshiba 40BL702B.

I just would like some advice on where I stand, as I've never dealt with a claim before.
 
Monetary value does not come into replacement in most policies. It really is done on a like for like specification.

I used to work for a company who was appointed as a specialist in replacing things for policy holders. The only thing they would do on a brand based replacement would be Sony Laptops.

So yeah, you can kick off at your insurance company and after time you may get what you want, but it can just cause a lot of delay. Really is about a 10% chance they will cave in and go with what you want.
 
Your original is available for half the price you paid for it. They are offering one (Which is better? LED backlit?) the same spec roughly and the same cost. That's how it works I believe?
 
One bit of advice though would be to inform them of a fault, if you can find one, that is common in the new model, and that you want an alternative or to source one yourself for the same monetary value. This may not be accepted but worth a try if you really are the fussed with it all.

My Toshiba TV's power button broke, and I found out that a lot of other people had the same problems.
 
I suppose you were hoping for a TV of the same monetary value of what you originally paid for your TV?

May have been better to just have bought a new TV.
 
Nexus said:
I suppose you were hoping for a TV of the same monetary value of what you originally paid for your TV?

May have been better to just have bought a new TV.
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Surely nobody expects their insurer to replace at the original purchase value - that's what Gap cover is for?

But on the basis that OP is getting a replacement that can be sourced for only £50 cheaper than his previous TV now retails for, I can understand his irritation. I'd be just as annoyed if my insurer tried to replace my 30" Dell monitor with a Hazro equivalent, for example.
 
Theophany said:
Surely nobody expects their insurer to replace at the original purchase value - that's what Gap cover is for?
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Well, I'd say most people do if they have specifically insured something!
It of course depends entirely on the item insured, the type of insurance and the market value.

If it was an antique or such, I'd expect that they couldn't replace it, nor could I be offered something cheaper, they would have to give a cash settlement for what it was insured for.

Similarly with specific insurance, say for a push bike, or camera equipment, I'd expect to get the full value back.

Technology doesn't work so well because it gets outdated so quickly. They may be able to source stock of your current model now on sale far cheaper. Plus things get skewed because of features and their selling point, for example, I bought a Full HD TV when they were uncommon, costing over £1000, but these days they all have it for practically nothing.

Apple products are probably a bit of an anomaly though. I claimed for my broken iPad2 on my insurance and since they don't make them anymore, they gave me the monetary value for the latest one. Similar thing happened with my sister when her MacBook Air broke.
 
I'm not expecting something for the same monetary value, or trying to get a brand new smart TV or whatnot. I do just want something that is comparable to my current TV. It wasn't top of the range when I bought it but was good value for money with no real weaknesses. After reading some reviews of the Toshiba they want me to take, the screen is pretty poor with bad motion blur. As I use it for console gaming then it's really not going to be fit for my purpose.

On the plus side I've found out that the replacement doesn't have Freeview HD which the old one did, which means it's not like for like anyway :)
 
Nexus said:
Well, I'd say most people do if they have specifically insured something!
It of course depends entirely on the item insured, the type of insurance and the market value.
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But that isn't this scenario. Sure, if you specifically insure something, you expect that type of replacement policy. But this is OP's contents insurance - i.e. you're insuring the contents of your home, not the price you paid for said contents.
 
If they won't accept the 'Like for like' then write to them asking them to confirm in writing they will accept your next premium due in Zimbabwean Dollars as valued 'Like for like' against Pounds Sterling, so if your Premium is £200, they will accept Z$200 as they are both money.. Right?
 
Theophany said:
But that isn't this scenario. Sure, if you specifically insure something, you expect that type of replacement policy. But this is OP's contents insurance - i.e. you're insuring the contents of your home, not the price you paid for said contents.
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Yes, in this situation.
 
They will just compare like for like specs - refresh rate, contrast ratio etc etc with no regard for brand.

Also, as has been said, tech devalues quickly, it doesn't matter if your 50" super dooper TV from 5 yrs ago cost £2000, if something with the same spec is now £500 you will be offered that.

Saying that though, you do have room to negotiate. You can say it has to be say, a Samsung because you do use all the samsung widgets & apps in the TV and the rest of your equipment is set up to work with it. Also, you can get the value they are offering and not the TV itself, so you can put more to it and get yourself a better set
 
Spangles said:
Monetary value does not come into replacement in most policies. It really is done on a like for like specification.

I used to work for a company who was appointed as a specialist in replacing things for policy holders. The only thing they would do on a brand based replacement would be Sony Laptops.

So yeah, you can kick off at your insurance company and after time you may get what you want, but it can just cause a lot of delay. Really is about a 10% chance they will cave in and go with what you want.
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I too used to work for a claimsupport company, it was mainly for IT equipment but it was leading into the audio and video appliences before it went bust.

It was never on value and always on spec, but as said above we would replace Sony with Sony.

As long as all specs are at least the same then I doubt they will change, you may be able to argue the aesthetics of a Samsung over the Toshiba though.
 
Just thought I'd post back with an update. I spoke to the claims company about my concerns over the Toshiba not being like for like and they agreed to replace it with a Samsung UE40ES5500 instead. I thought it would be an uphill struggle but they were actually very reasonable about it and I am happy with the outcome.
 
I used to own an insurance approved repair center. 75% of our work was insurance claims.

Just tell them that you've been to see the TV and don't like it. Tell them the one you have seen that you like. They wont be unreasonable. Kick off at them and the shutters will come down.

You wont believe what some people get away with.


EDIT: Typing too slow,had a phone call during my post. Glad you've got it sorted
 
Clav said:
Just thought I'd post back with an update. I spoke to the claims company about my concerns over the Toshiba not being like for like and they agreed to replace it with a Samsung UE40ES5500 instead. I thought it would be an uphill struggle but they were actually very reasonable about it and I am happy with the outcome.
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What reasons did you provide them with?

Glad you got a good outcome.
 
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