Sterling Care (Goldsmiths/Allianz) issues

bigaaron

Hi,

I've joined this site for some advice. I work in insurance, albeit motor insurance, so have an idea of how other types of insurance work but would appreciate second opinions.

I have a rather expensive Oris watch that I bought a few years ago from Goldsmiths. I chose them because, where I was working at the time, had a tie-in with them and I received a discount. At the the point of sale, I was offered their Sterling Care insurance package for three or five years. I opted for the five year plan and discussed it with the salesman. He was a nice enough guy but seemed more intent on telling me about the model helicopter he'd just bought and kept bringing it back to analogies about that. Essentially, I was told the cover was for theft, accidental damage and mechanical failure outside of warranty. I wasn't told of any of the limitations on the policy and was advised it was the most comprehensive insurance policy I could take out. I figured this to be a good deal and jumped on it.

Three years down the line, some little S%*T decided to steal the contents of my bag that was laying next to me while I stretched out in the sun on the local beach a few weeks ago. Left the bag, stole the contents, including my watch. I was annoyed but didn't panic because I had it insured and decided to claim. I reported the incident to the police within a couple of hours but they said that I had no witnesses and no description so wouldn't take this any further.

So I followed the claims procedure: take the police reference number into the store, fill in the forms and I would have a replacement watch or the retail value at the time of the original purchase there and then.

No.

I went in, filled in the forms as instructed by the staff in Goldsmiths, and waited in the shop while the telephoned through to Sterling Care. "Oh, I'm sorry, but a new procedure is in place where any item worth over £200 has to be investigated and OK'd by Sterling Care". Bit fishy given it's a £150 policy that only covers up to £200 instant replacement, but I went along with it. I was told by the shop assistant that they would contact me in writing in 7 days (stressed that it was calendar days, not working days) and I could continue with my claim.

This time passed. I allowed for the mistake that she may have meant working days as opposed to calendar days. Still nothing. So I phoned the store. I was told that Sterling Care (underwritten by Allianz) had a backlog and could not contact me within that time. I asked if I could speak to someone from Sterling Care and was told "no, I'm sorry, they don't speak directly to policy holders". This is when my insurance brain began to start working.

So I left it a few days, stewing in the mean time, before calling again. Spoke to a different assistant who told me that someone from Sterling Care would be calling me that afternoon. I questioned why if they did not speak to policy holders and was told they required more information. So I waited. No call. Called back again and was fobbed off that they would call me again.

So I decided to go into the store and generally make a nuisance of myself until I spoke to someone at Sterling Care. Amazingly, they made an exception and spoke to me! They then proceeded to tell me my claim form was filled in incorrectly. I protested that these were the sections I was asked to fill in by the shop staff, who I wrongly assumed knew how to do their job. They said they were sending my claim form back to me to fill in. When I asked why, when I'm telling you on the phone now, they just said they needed it in writing but could take it over the phone as well. Again, delaying tactics but I gave them the information they asked for.

Then comes the claims saga. I was told that a claim assessment would take five working days as they needed to collate information from the police report. I accepted that, knowing how fficult it can be to get information from the police as an insurer, and finished the phone call. 20 minutes later, I received a phone call telling me my claim had been assessed and not deemed valid. When I questioned this they just read the policy wording to me. When I questioned this wording and their interpretation of it, they told me it was all in a policy booklet I should have been given. When I told the caller I was never given a policy booklet, she then backtracked and said that all the information I needed about the wording was on the insurance policy certificate, which Goldsmiths handily took away for the claims process. I then asked for this to be escalated and requested a call back later that afternoon as I was busy. 15 minutes later a representative from Allianz, the underwriter of the policy, called. When I told them I was busy and had asked for a call back later, they got quite snotty and hung up.

The call then materialised later that afternoon and I was told my claim certainly wasn't valid because the watch, when not being worn, was not stolen under physical harm or the threat of physical harm, nor was it kept in a secure storage recepticle. I questioned this ludicrous terminology and said so unless it's on my person and I'm mugged or stolen from a locked safe, I'm not covered for theft. I was told that this was basically correct. I reiterated that it was in a plastic bag within a zipped-up bag that I had a hold of the long strap and was less than two feet from me at all times. They then said this was classed as not on my person or in my control or control of someone I had given permission to control and my claim not valid.

Allianz seem to deem a theft as you being mugged or your safe being cracked. Anything else, and it didn't happen. Pickpocketing, your bag/suitcase/etc being stolen or anything else, is not classed as a theft.

This is now causing me massive amounts of stress as I'm now out of pocket by over £1000 for the watch and the policy and I have nothing to show for it at the end. Can anyone advise me at all. This has been escalated to Allianz's complaints department, but dealing with their agents and resellers, this does not fill me with hope. They have five working days to acknowledge my complaint, but I am aware they have eight weeks to resolve my complaint one way or the other before I can involve the ombudsman. I am also considering small claims court.

Any advice from anyone would be most helpful.

In return? My advice is not to touch Goldsmiths with a barge pole or anything else for that matter.

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Woah, big post. my apologies.

alistair.long

I would like to help, however I dont have any sympathy for insurance companies.

I would sugest you ask someone in insurance,

Your post tells me that people in the insurance industry dont know what their doing, and it is all a fars

Diane122

I've previously held sterling care insurance for a watch I purchased from Goldsmiths. I've bought several policies, of 3 & 4 year durations but never had to claim. I was told that the insurance covered absolutely every possible problem so was surprised to hear of your experience. My current policy has expired and I visited my local store on Saturday just gone. They were quite cagey about selling me another policy, which I find strange, given that they get good commissions on their sale. I had to leave the details of my watch and they said they would call me today, after the holiday weekend, after they've had the chance to speak to Sterling Care. They also asked me if I still had the paperwork from my previous policy, which I again found strange. I'm now querying whether to buy anothyer policy, based on your experience, but equally wonder if they are actually going to sell me a policy as it all seems very fishy now.

dacouch

Diane122 wrote: »

I've previously held sterling care insurance for a watch I purchased from Goldsmiths. I've bought several policies, of 3 & 4 year durations but never had to claim. I was told that the insurance covered absolutely every possible problem so was surprised to hear of your experience. My current policy has expired and I visited my local store on Saturday just gone. They were quite cagey about selling me another policy, which I find strange, given that they get good commissions on their sale. I had to leave the details of my watch and they said they would call me today, after the holiday weekend, after they've had the chance to speak to Sterling Care. They also asked me if I still had the paperwork from my previous policy, which I again found strange. I'm now querying whether to buy anothyer policy, based on your experience, but equally wonder if they are actually going to sell me a policy as it all seems very fishy now.

Insurance Policies do not cover "Absolutely Everything" there are always exclusions. Shop Staff have a habit of miss leading customers about insurance. This is sometimes due to lack of knowledge and more often due to fibbing.

If anyone every tells you it covers everything ask for a "Summary of Cover" / "Key Facts" which will list the major parts of cover and major exclusions (You should look at this for any policy you buy