Insurance Company claim offer

donstavros

Please help,

My Fiancee's engagment ring was insured with Ulster Bank home insurance as a seperate item on the policy.

Antique ring bought at auction March 2007. Contacted our insurance company to have the ring insured. They told us to get the ring valued and make sure we have photographs. We got the ring valued, by a jeweller, that Ulster Bank approved of. Also took photos. Got a valuation certificate from the jeweller.

Went ahead with insuring the ring. Valuation was more then I had paid for it. Told the insurance company this and they said "don't worry you are fully insured for the valuation by the jeweller..." Our premium was based on the valuation on the valuation certificate.

March 2008. My fiancee lost her ring. We submitted the insurance claim and the insurance company said there would be a claim investigator, who is an employee of a seperate risk management company, coming to talk to us.

Claim investigator came to our house and told us everything was fine. Investigator took: Valuation Certificate, Garda Report and Photographs of the ring. Also, wanted a receipt. I didn't have a receipt at the time but I got a copy from the auction house the following month. Still everything fine.

We didn't hear anything for a few weeks. After 3 months, the risk mangement company made us a offer for 1/2 of insured value. YES HALF, 50% of what was on the valuation certificate!!!!

We got a complete shock and contacted the risk management company to ask why this was. We did not get a straight answer and have been told "Take it or Leave it!!"

We are absolutely devastated because we are supposed to be getting married at the end of the year and we can't afford to replace the engagement ring without the insurance money. We have checked our insurance policy and we are insured for 100% of the rings value.

Surely this is bully tactics to reduce our claim??
We don't know what to do. If we accept the offer it is less then what we paid for it. Should we get legal advice?

Tom Young

I'd say get legal advice.

Maximilian

Definitely. You would be surprised how eas it is to bully an insurance company back when you have a solicitor on board.

Hennybug

Definitely get a solicitor, you're entitled to the value of the ring not a figure they pull out of the air

donstavros

Thanks for the replies,

I contacted the insurance regulator, this afternoon, and they told me that I should refuse to deal with the risk management company as my contract for insurance is with Ulster Bank.

Apparently, the risk management company is not regulated by the insurance regulator here.

So after that, I contacted my insurance company and told them that i do not want to deal with the risk management company. I was told that my complaint would be dealt with and they will contact me tomorrow by phone.

I will see what they say tomorrow. If not satisfactory, I will be seeking legal advice.

Maximilian

Best of luck. hope it all turns out ok for you.

NUTLEY BOY

I hate insurance companies. Sorry, I just wanted to get that out of my system. :mad:

The actual measure of your loss should be the value of the ring as at the date of it's loss if the policy has been written on an indemnity basis.

If the policy is written on an agreed value basis the agreed value is then the measure of the loss.

If the policy is written on a new for old basis the value of your loss is the cost of replacing the lost ring with an identical one.

You need to be clear as to what basis the policy has been written on to know the correct measure of your loss. If you are not clear it might be better tactically not to ask that question of the insurers as they will then know that you don't know and possibly seek to take advantage of that.

You do not need to rush to a solicitor for two reasons. Firstly, that will cost money that you may not get back. Secondly, many insurance policies contain a condition that blocks any legal proceedings and requires any dispute to be submitted to arbitration (An "ouster" clause for you tech guys) but you should instruct a solicitor if you cannot resolve it yourself or arbitration is needed.

Don't worry about the risk managers any more as they sound like a pack of idiots.

What now ?

Tell the insurance company that you are utterly dissatisfied with their disgraceful performance over this matter and that you intend to lodge a formal complaint against them with the regulator as well as drawing Ulster Bank's attention to the level of apalling incompetence that has been displayed to you as a customer. For the record don't forget to complain formally to the insurance company themselves too.

Insurance companies dither. Set them limits and kick them hard if they fail to meet them. Give them 10 days to resolve the matter or you will begin the complaints processes and that if you have no satisfaction within another 10 days you will instruct solicitors to "protect my interests". Don't bother writing that if you don't intend to do it !

You should also demand from the insurance company that they explain to you precisely how they calculated their offer. That reply should make interesting reading.

Make and record you complaints in writing. Insurance companies are notoriously amnesiac.


Good luck with it......