Insurance Company Cosy Deals

KIrvy

I am in the process of making a claim through my insurance company, which is tied to my mortgage, (not sure if naming and shaming is allowed but their name begins with A and they are located somewhere near Norwich). The claim is for a new carpet and is covered by the Accidental Damage part of my policy. We are all agreed that the claim is valid and their assessor (who works for the company A.... use for this, Allied Inspections Ltd) came to visit and issued a mandate to us to get a new carpet. All well and good. The original supplier on the mandate, for various reasons, could not supply what we wanted, but another, local, company could. I contacted the mandate issuer, who told me that this other supplier was not on their list and therefore I would have to have a cash settlement. A day or so later, A.... contacted me to arrange payment. The sum had dropped by some 40% from that stated on the mandate. I have now had a lot of discussions with my insurance company who are adamant that this is OK! How can the value of the replacement carpet drop by 40% just because it has turned into a cash settlement, unless the mandate issuer (who wants to use their own suppliers) is ripping my insurance company off to the tune of 40% of the value of the replacement? A.... tell me that is because they get a discount from the mandate issuer. I dont care, I still cannot see how an assessment of value for a carpet based upon 40m2 @ £19.99 value (according to the assessor who visited my home) suddenly reduce by 40% just because its turned into a cash deal. I smell cosy backroom deals going on here that are inevitably bumping the cost of insurance skywards!

dacouch

It's ok everyone slates Aviva on MSE as when they are rubbish they are really rubbish.

Have a read of this from the Ombudsman which should give you the ammunition to get the offer increased to the quote from your alternate supplier.

"Policyholders should be allowed to choose where they purchase a replacement and they are entitled to a cash settlement if they cannot find an acceptable alternative. In such circumstances, we would not regard it as reasonable for the insurer to make a deduction from the cash settlement to represent any discount it would have got if the policyholder had bought a replacement from one of the insurer’s nominated suppliers. Nor would it necessarily be appropriate for the insurer to offer vouchers to the policyholder. If the option of replacement is not available, then the only way in which the insurer can indemnify a claimant is by a cash settlement"

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/10/oct-repair-replace-cash.htm

KIrvy

Top reply. Thanks for this, I'll most certainly be using it!

dacouch

If they are not happy about giving you a "Cash Settlement" eg making the cheque payable to you, then sometimes they are happier making the cheque payable directly to your carpet supplier after deducting your excess.

mattymoo

KIrvy - there used to be an Aviva employee posting on this forum - went by the name of Beccus. Not seen her for a while but might be worth searching the user lists.

The Financial Ombudsman report posted by Dacouch is a publicly available document - just a pity that Aviva (and some other insurers) can't seen to find it.

EDIT - just realised why I haven't seen her for a while - her user name has been changed to Aviva Company Representative.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/search.php?searchid=85475273

Might be worth a private mail.

[Deleted User]

KIrvy (and all)
I'm still around, though I'm not allowed to give out my email address anymore and I don't think I have a PM mailbox.

I will do a bit of digging and see what I can find out about the issue.

Becca

[Deleted User]

KIrvy

I've had a chat with my colleagues in the chief executives office and to be able to look into your case they would need to have specific details - obviously I can't give you my email address (as already mentioned) or a link. The best thing I can suggest is that you follow the contact us process on your policy information - there will be email addresses and phone numbers you can use, there is also a complaints form on the website.

I hope this helps, I'm trying not to be cryptic, or cause complaints on here.
Becca

Clive_Woody

Aviva_company_representative wrote: »

KIrvy

I've had a chat with my colleagues in the chief executives office and to be able to look into your case they would need to have specific details - obviously I can't give you my email address (as already mentioned) or a link. The best thing I can suggest is that you follow the contact us process on your policy information - there will be email addresses and phone numbers you can use, there is also a complaints form on the website.

I hope this helps, I'm trying not to be cryptic, or cause complaints on here.
Becca

Out of curiosity was a reason given why you are not allowed to supply a contact email address?

I would have thought this would be quite reasonable and would allow you to deal with specific complaints in a much more rapid manner.

Quentin

Clive_Woody wrote: »

Out of curiosity was a reason given why you are not allowed to supply a contact email address?

The aviva rep was always keen to use her posts here to get a bit of free advertising when possible, and always promoted the link to her company's website in every post she made! Maybe her privileges got stopped?

eg: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/27263911#Comment_27263911

[Deleted User]

Clive Woody

It is part of the rules of posting on MSE. I agree, it would make life easier when it comes to needing specific information.

Becca