Insurance Claim - How long to settle? HELP!

fizzysparkle

Appproximately, how long should it take to settle a straight forward small insurance claim?

The insurance claim in question is "Horse Insurance" which I took out with E & L Insurance at the beginning of 2009 and have never missed a payment.

It was a relatively small claim of £350.00 less deductible £139.00 - I am expecting to receive £211.00. I made the claim in April 2011 and have received one letter of receipt and one telephone call regarding the claim. However, I am finding it very difficult to contact them via telephone and emails are only acknowledged via automatic responder.

I have rang E & L on several occassions and three times since 8:00am this morning without success. It's the first time that I've ever claimed on any insurance and I am wondering if this is the norm? Five months seems to me to be an awful long time to settle such a meagre claim.

Can somebody please advise me what I should do as I am becoming increasingly concerned and frustrated. I realize there's not all that much money involved but every penny counts these days.

Please help.
Thank you

Quentin

They don't have a good reputation for service (see reviews here: http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews57547.html )

Follow their complaints procedure then escalate the matter if you get nowhere.

lisyloo

I would find their formal complaints procedure (usually on their website or in your paperwork) and write them a formal complaint.
Personally I would send it recorded delivery which I think is an extra 75p. You may be able to track the delivery details on lne so it reduces the chances of them saying they never received it.
They will have to deal with your complaint in a certain timescale (I think it's 8 weeks) or if not you can then take your complaint to the financial ombudsman service for free.
That will cost them about £500, so hopefully they will want to settle your small claim before that.

InsideInsurance

A small claim doesnt necessarily mean a simple claim though any sensible insurer will to some degree balance cost of investigation against the cost of settling.

It certainly feels a long time but there can be extenuating circumstances that cause claims to drag out for months, or years, but even with that I would have excepted them to at least have the courtesy to keep you informed of progress and advise the cause of the delay.

fizzysparkle

Thank you to all you lovely repliers - but I really wish I'd read the E&L Insurance reviews before I done business with them .............. (