Travel insurance - is there anything I can do?

psycrow57

I recently went on a last minute holiday with my mum when her husband had to drop out at the last minute. Due to pre-existing health conditions, I didn't have much choice and had to shell out over £50 for cover.

On the first day in Rome, my camera case was stolen, including my DSLR, an extra lens, an extra battery, several memory cards and the case itself. The camera was bought in 2009 for about £500, the other items added up to about the same again.

I sent in a claim, with a copy of the police report, a credit card statement showing the purchase of the camera and a list of the case's contents.

They have replied saying they need the original police report (which I'm reluctant to send in case they lose it - it's only a photocopy itself), and that they won't cover anything other than the camera as I don't have receipts. The extra lens, cards and battery were purchased in France with cash over three years ago - I don't have a receipt for them, who keeps receipts for small items for over three years? The case was bought using a debit card but I no longer have access to that account as I've since switched banks. I would understand it for larger items, but for this kind of thing, what proof could I possibly have?

They're also saying that, as it's not a new for old policy, they will only pay what the camera only would cost new now - since the model is no longer produced or sold, I have no idea what they'll pay - minus the £100 excess.

At this rate, I won't be able to afford a replacement at all. I'm absolutely devastated - I use the camera for my business and I can't believe it's happened.

Is there anything I can do or say to make the insurance company understand that it's unreasonable to expect me to have receipts for the accessories that were stolen, or anything else I can do to minimise the enormous losses I'm about to face? I know they have to protect themselves against fraud but, as an honest person who's been a victim of crime, I'm gutted that I'm going to get screwed over because insurance companies are so quick to reject as many claims as possible?

Thanks in advance

Voyager2002

Sad to say, you will probably find that the maximum they could possibly pay for this one loss is subject to the "single article limit" stated in your policy, which is likely to be around the five hundred pound mark. So worrying about receipts for the other items is likely to be of purely academic interest.

Anyway, you could have a good look for other paperwork confirming that you owned the other items: things like instruction manuals, bits of packaging, whatever... Maybe you could get a client or someone who is not a relative who had seen you using your kit to write confirming that you used to have a camera case and so forth.

Anyway, the insurer will have a complaints process which might yield results, failing which you could complain to the ombudsman. However, I do keep receipts for that kind of thing: it would be reasonable to have undocumented accessories worth a few tens of pounds, but when their total value is as much as a DSLR then not having any paperwork seems unusual.

Buzby

Not really. As the policy isn't new for old they require proof of all elements of your claim. As to who keeps receipts for accessories? Many do, because it's the only way to prove the goods were purchased.

The ball is always in their court - you're lucky they don't claim the camera was treated carelessly and invited theft - that's almost impossible to challenge.

psycrow57

I did keep the receipt for the lens for over two years, but when we moved we had a big clear out and I got rid of a lot of things that I couldn't see any reason for needing - there was no longer a warranty, etc. The lens was about £300, so I can see perhaps needing it, but the rest of the stuff (a pretty standard case, spare battery, several memory cards) add up to nearly £200, but honestly they're not things I'd ever think about keeping receipts for. I guess I've learned a lesson.

The single article limit on my policy is £1,000 - I wonder what you'd need to lose for them to pay that (perhaps a kidney).

They may still say it was treated carelessly (it wasn't), at this point they've just come back to me asking for more information and have casually dropped in the fact they won't cover most of it, and they'll only pay me what the camera would cost now, minus £100 excess. Since my camera is no longer produced or sold, I'm not sure how they'll calculate that - but I'm sure I won't even be able to buy a replacement.

I honestly don't know why I bother spending money on insurance, since they'll do everything in their power to get away with not paying. Thank goodness I don't live in America.

Voyager2002

psycrow57 wrote: »

I did keep the receipt for the lens for over two years, but when we moved we had a big clear out and I got rid of a lot of things that I couldn't see any reason for needing - there was no longer a warranty, etc. The lens was about £300, so I can see perhaps needing it, but the rest of the stuff (a pretty standard case, spare battery, several memory cards) add up to nearly £200, but honestly they're not things I'd ever think about keeping receipts for. I guess I've learned a lesson.

The single article limit on my policy is £1,000 - I wonder what you'd need to lose for them to pay that (perhaps a kidney).

They may still say it was treated carelessly (it wasn't), at this point they've just come back to me asking for more information and have casually dropped in the fact they won't cover most of it, and they'll only pay me what the camera would cost now, minus £100 excess. Since my camera is no longer produced or sold, I'm not sure how they'll calculate that - but I'm sure I won't even be able to buy a replacement.

I honestly don't know why I bother spending money on insurance, since they'll do everything in their power to get away with not paying. Thank goodness I don't live in America.

They would pay a thousand pounds if someone lost something new, and could document that they owned it and had paid at least that much for it.

In this instance I think the insurance company is acting reasonably, Be creative and see if you can produce some kind of documentation.

psycrow57

Voyager2002 wrote: »

In this instance I think the insurance company is acting reasonably, Be creative and see if you can produce some kind of documentation.

I was being flippant about the £1,000

It can't be entirely reasonable, since I had those items stolen and was insured but cannot claim for them. There has to be a reasonable period for one to keep receipts for items that, on their own, cost less than £50 - I can't imagine 99% of people keeping those for over three years, unless they were a hoarder. I had proof of the significant item, and to me it seems reasonable to assume that a camera has a lens attached, battery and memory card inserted and is in a case - surely?

I'm not trying to be difficult, I'm just genuinely upset by the whole situation - I'm self-employed and don't have a huge amount of money, I had to take out an obviously crappy policy due to illness, I've had one of the few valuable and important possessions I own stolen and I'm going to get stiffed because at some point in three years I threw away a receipt in French for a cash purchase of some accessories. Brilliant. I've never made an insurance claim before, other than when my cat was attacked and needed emergency surgery, so clearly I'm not savvy. Just sick of fraudulent @rses screwing things up for everyone else, and learning that insurance companies really do deserve their reputation.