Equity Red Star

whyowhy_2

Whilst overseas I was burgled. The thieves forced entry to the the house causing about £2k worth of damage and stealing about £3k worth of electrical goods. The police were called by a neighbour, and they pursued (and lost) the burglars. You would think this would be a pretty straight-forward claim.
4 months later and my claim has STILL not been settled. My claim has now been handed through two external companies. The last - a loss adjuster - recommeded that my claim be settled. However, Equity Red Star are now querying their own loss adjusters findings. They apparently think the settlement was for too much! Meanwhile I have no TV or other electrical goods and I've had to pay myself to fix my busted front door.Equity Red Star have been appaling. Their "emergency" helpline is open 9-5 Monday-Friday. Customer "Services" are rude and unhelpful. They seem to make it their business to obstruct any customer from claiming against their policies.

I've called the financial ombudsman but they tell me that they Equity Red Star have 8 weeks to respond to my written complaint before they can get involved. I am appalled that an insurance company can treat their customers in this way. How can I:
a) get a prompt settlement of my claim?
b) assess quality of insurance products before I take them out in future?

Ben

dacouch

With regard to b) For normal home and car insurance a good rule of thumb is if its a Lloyd's of London Synidicate give it the big swerve...ERS are Lloyd's

whyowhy_2

There should be some kind of league table for insurance companies - average time to settle a claim. I think their service is disgusting!!!

dacouch

Insurance is like anything, you get what you pay for.

I feel sorry for you, who sold you the policy Equity or Swintons

You may find this helpful (Its a survey of brokers so will not include direct companies)
http://www.instimes.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=376295

whyowhy_2

Asda! That's what you get for buying insurance from a supermarket...

Thanks for the link!

dacouch

I didn't know Asda used ERS for their Home Insurance.

http://www.reviewcentre.com/search.html?searchstring=equity+red+star

whyowhy_2

LOL - that's a link to my review.

It seems that the phrase "you get what you pay for" is just not very "moneysaving". Surely there is such a thing as value in all purchases. How are we meant to assess the quality of insurance before we claim?

dacouch

You could use a decent broker and not ask for the cheapest possible quote. They would then find a company that offers a good combination between cover / cost and service.

I'm still surprised Asda use ERS, they are not the worse company by a long long way, but brands like Asda normally use brand Insurers

whyowhy_2

Who would you recommend as a decent broker?

dacouch

Avoid Swintons, they are owned by MMA who in my opinion are very poor, they normally quote MMA or ERS.

Your best bet is to speak to friends, you will find one will be able to recommend a local broker, alternatively use this tool (Biba members are normally better brokers) http://www.biba.org.uk/ConsumerHome.aspx

The bad news is with a theft claim you will find not many companies will be prepared to offer cover until the claim is upwards of three years old, so you may end up stuck with ERS or whoever Asda farm their schem out to next.

I have a small bit of good news...google Equity Red Star and look on page 2, you might recognise one of the websites it brings up

dacouch

If you had used a broker they would have been sorting this claim out using their influence and contacts