motor insurance claim advice

Ivrytwr3

In-laws recently had a smash have a query about a claim they are submitting.

They are trying to claim for:

2 x child seats
1 x satnav
1 x mobile phone

In accordance with the policy, it states that child seats will be replaced after every accident - they are now saying becuase there were no children in the seats at the time, they cannot claim.

They want receipts for the items before they will pay. The problem is the satnav was bought with cash (approx £100) about 2 - 3 years ago from Halfords - no receipt. The phone is an oldish phone, a Samsung D600, worth about £50 new!) and again, no receipt.

The only receipt they have is for the child seats, because i purchased them online for them - but the insurance company are refusing to pay for them anyway!

Any advice on how to push forward with the claim? I suggested i would take photos of the damaged items (cracked screens on phone and satnav) and see if that would suffice.

BlueFox

You should read the policy document to see if there are any exclusions regarding the items you wish to claim for.

The sat nav and mobile phone could be a problem if you can't prove they were in the car at the time of the accident.

But most comprehensive policies have cover for personal effects so you may be able to claim for them this way - but check the policy to see what it says about this sort of thing.

The child seat should be much easier - check the manufacturer of the child seat's recommendations. Some recommend the seat be replaced after any accident no matter how minor, and some say it doesn't always have to be replaced.

Your insurance company should abide by what the child seat manufacturer recommends.

daveyjp

Ask them where in the policy it excludes child seat cover if no child is in it at the time of the accident. My policy has no such exclusion, if theirs doesn't it will be difficult for them to defend not paying out.

If no such exclusion exists tell them you will have no option but to go through the ombudsman.

Ivrytwr3

we are trying to claim for the satnav and phone through the personal effects part, but like i say, they are stating, no receipt, no payout

BlueFox

Ivrytwr3 wrote: »

we are trying to claim for the satnav and phone through the personal effects part, but like i say, they are stating, no receipt, no payout

If they are both damaged beyond repair, or so you can no longer use them, offer to send the phone and sat nav in to your insurance companies claims department. If your policy doesn't state you need to provide receipts for all items claimed them they will have to make an offer.

It sounds like they are just saying no in the hope you will accept it and go away. (insurance companies are trying to save money like everyone else!)

If you make it clear you won't let it drop then unless they have a very good reason they will make an offer.

Who keeps receipts for everything they buy?

Exemplar

Well I am with Tesco Insurance and after my crash in February they could not have made the claim simpler. They paid out for car seat, satnav, portable DVD player and sunglasses without any effort or argument at all.