Insurance claim woes ....help plz!!!!

warrior_princess

Hi everyone

I would be grateful if i can ge some advice as to how to progress re: Insurance claim below.

I travelled aboard for a social gathering about a year ago and unfortunately jewellery and travel cash were stolen from the safe. i was living with my parents and the house was burguled and lots of items stolen . i put in a claim for these with my travel insurance and desipte best efforts they have not responded to my letters since dec 2010. some of the jewelery is very expensive and heirloom (gifted to me at my wedding ) and do not have proof of purchase or recent valuation. the travel insurance stated they have faced language barriers confirming the report with the local police. i have provided proof and attested copies of photographs along with proof of purchase for a few items .................but they still claim insufficient evidence....................

i have retained copies of all communication to and from them and it does seem like i am running around in circles ..................

they have offered no settlement yet and i dont know at what poin to seek legal assistance ................

any advice is welcome ................

huckster

Travel Insurance likely to offer very limited cover, so have you checked with your Home Insurers. Did you have cover away from home under your Home Insurance ?

What Insurance did your parents have abroad as you were staying with them when the theft took place? Have your parents looked into this ?

In regard to the Travel Insurance, make an official complaint in writing and ask them for the current position. You could make a subject access request under Data Protection which would cost £10, asking for copies of all records relating to the claim. You could then see what they have done with the claim.

warrior_princess

hi huckster

my parents dont have home contents insurance covering jewelery as they keep most valuables in a bank . so unfortunately a dead end .

My home insurance did not cover away from home at that time. My current insurance does but is of scant benefit with regards to this claim

so my only option to atleast cover my travel money theft and to cover some valuables is the travel insurance ............

could you advise me about how to access claim records under data protection ?

thanks

huckster

You just write to the Insurers registered address a letter headed, 'Data Protection - Subject Access Request'. The letter should be addressed to the Data Protection officer/Compliance Manager. Just ask for all data that is held regarding the claim, including all correspondence, emails, computer records etc, everything related to the claim event.

lisyloo

I think you should be makign a formal complaint to the insurer which you should send by recorded delivery for an extra 74p (approx) to make sure it doesn't get lost in the post.
Make sure you sent it to the correct address for formal complaints. It may be a seperate department.
You have been very patient.
If you reach a deadlock situation or they don't respond then you can take you complaint to the independent ombudsman.

I am a little curious about how items were stolen from the safe. Could you expand on that.
Was it broken into (that should be very very difficult) or was there no forced entry?
I am not suggesting anything improper on your part, but curious about what happened here.

huckster

lisyloo wrote: »

I am a little curious about how items were stolen from the safe. Could you expand on that.
Was it broken into (that should be very very difficult) or was there no forced entry?
I am not suggesting anything improper on your part, but curious about what happened here.

Yes I am little curious also. Within certain ethnic groups it is not unknown for guests at social gatherings to take many thousands of pounds worth of jewellery to them. It is also not that uncommon for thefts to occur at them, as I have seen details of a few claims where this sort of event had happened. I can therefore see why the home owners had made sure their valuables were safely stored at the bank. Not suggesting any impropriety in respect of any guests to the social gathering or its hosts, it is just that I have heard that they are sometimes targeted.

From what I have seen with these claims, is that the Insurers will drag their feet, until they have full information from the relevant countries authorities in English, plus evidence of ownership/values from the Policyholder.

lisyloo

I'm curious about it because your average burglar won't get anywhere near cracking a safe, so this was either a crack team or no forced entry and therefore a theft from someone that had access, perhaps a cleaner or perhaps safe was not locked (I'm not implying anything improper by the OP).
I'm just wondering whether there is an element of suspicion here hence the lack of action.
Not acceptable in my view. If they are going to turn down a claim they should at least keep the customer informed, but I am certainly wondering whether it's more complicated that it at first appears.
There is no way someone should be able to take things from a safe in a standard burglary.

But the way to move things along is to formally complain.
It often goes via a seperate department ("customer services") and there are timescales attached and the ability to involved the independent ombudsman for free.
So it's definitely the cheapest and easiest way to get things moving.

huckster

I suspect that the Insurers are wanting further details from the Police about how the crime was carried out. i.e how was it broken in to.

If the Insurers are having difficulty obtaining information from the relevant Police, perhaps the poster should contact the relevant embassy to see if they can liase with the Police, to ensure they supply any reports required by the Insurers.

dacouch

The average hotel safe abroad is a cheap digital safe that can be open by most people with a little knowledge

lisyloo

The OP was staying with parents not at a hotel.
(But the safe could have been a similar type).

warrior_princess

hi guys

In the given environment , I can understand that you guys suspect my motivation in this matter. But I am hoping that the following details may convince you that i have lost a lot of money even if the insurers were to compensate the max amount.

1. The house was broken into when there was no one in the house . The front door was broken open and entire property ( a double storied detached house ) had been searched and all cupboards and safe forcibly opened.

2. My parents usually store their valubles in a bank safe deposit . so all the valuables that were in the safe belonged to my sister (visiting from the USA) and me. This meant to be a temprory as we would have carried all the valuables back with us to our homes after the event was over. The amount lost totals nearly £30,000 as some of our jewelery was heirloom and had been gifted to us by our grandparents at our wedding.

3. Even if the insurance were to payout, they will not pay me more than £1000 per item or a fraction of the total amount lost. So you can understand that this is very difficult for me due to the sentiments attached to the objects.

4. Police have investigated the matter and questioned all who visited the property or had access to the property but no leads . They have also faxed a report to the insurance agency and i have a copy of this report. Althoough i agree this was a uphill battle due to language barriers. Unfortunately cant suspect my guests at the gathering as this happended before the event itself (within 4 days of my arrival ).

5. I was able to provide ownership for most along with police attested photographs . The heirloom jewellery unfortunately had neither been valuled recently nor had a proof of purchase (obviously). I have only photographs of me wearing it . Bank statement showing travel cash withdrawal along with proof of travel.

6. All the letters sent to the company were via recorded delivery and I retain recipts.

7. I wrote to them in March to reply within 30 days but no response . I called them yesterday and he receptionist said that they ll get someone to take a look at my case . But i think i am still going to complain.