How do I complain about my car insurance claim?

Ombudsman

We have in an earlier blog post written about “Who is the Ombudsman and can he help with my car insurance?” It is important to be aware of the process that a customer / client has to follow when he is not happy with the way that his claim has been handled / processed. It would simply cause chaos if everyone ran to the Ombud for Short Term Insurance at the first moment they are a little bit aggrieved at the initial correspondence from their insurer.

The Ombudsman advises all short term insurance clients to follow a few basic steps:

• You must complain to the Insurance Company first, before the Ombudsman can look at your complaint.

When complaining to your Insurance Company, it would be helpful if you do so with efficiency and to keep the following in mind:

Complaining to the Insurance Company:

• It is usually best to complain in writing. But if you phone, ask for the name of the person you speak to. Keep a note of this information, with details such as, the date and time of your call and what was said. This may be required at a later stage.
• Remain calm and polite, however emotional, angry or upset you may be. You are more likely to explain your complaint clearly and effectively if you can stay calm.
• Initially attempt contacting the person you originally dealt with. If they cannot help, indicate that the matter will be taken further. Seek details of the name or job title of the person who will be handling your complaint and for details of the Insurer’s complaints procedure.
• Attempt taking up the matter with a Senior Official at the Insurer.
• When you write a letter of complaint, set out the facts as clearly as possible.
• Write down the facts in a logical order and stick to what is relevant. Include important details like your claim number or your policy number.
• Keep a copy of any letters between you and the Insurer.

What to do next:
If you are not happy with the Insurer’s decision you may:

• Issue a summons out of the Small Claims Court (there is a small cost involved ) on the Insurance Company. The maximum amount that can be claimed in the Small Claims Court is R 7,000.00.
• Consult with an Attorney to pursue the matter by means of further legal action.
• The Ombudsman for Short Term Insurance may be able to help. You will need to fill in our complaint form and send it to the Ombudsman.

Related posts:

1. Can your car insurance claim be rejected because you are a bad driver?
2. Car Insurance Claim could be rejected in failure to activate security requirements
3. Would you lie on your car insurance claim?
4. Contacting a lawyer is often the only way to solve a dispute about a car insurance claim!!
5. Don’t slip into a car insurance claim in rainy weather!
6. Car insurance claim can be rejected if vehicle tyres are not roadworthy!
7. What is the causal link required before a car insurer can reject your claim?
8. To what extremes would you go to claim from car insurance?
9. How do you annoy a farmer with an unnecessary insurance claim?!
10. Through a dirty windscreen, expect to see a car insurance claim!

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 6th, 2009 at 6:48 pm and is filed under Car Insurance Advice, Ombudsman. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.