Insurance assessment: company not returning back faulty item

principlecounts

Hi,

I need to investigate this more but I'm just wondering in the meantime if anyone has experienced this. Please share your story.

My home insurance provider sent my iPhone to a 3rd party company for inspection. They deemed the item as unrepairable, and have given me the market value for the phone - as per my insurance policy.

Can the third party company or the my insurance company have the right to keep my faulty item?

Thanks.

FutureGirl

They keep the damaged phone. The phone becomes their property now. When you claim on your insurance for an item, you don't get to keep the damaged item and get a new one / or cash to replace it.

rs65

principlecounts wrote: »

Can the third party company or the my insurance company have the right to keep my faulty item?

The insurance company can. Not the third party company.

rs65

principlecounts wrote: »

and have given me the market value for the phone - as per my insurance policy.

Most home policies are new for old. Is yours market value not replacement value?

forgotmyname

Same as if you sold the phone, they bought your phone off you if you accepted their offer.

It now belongs to them.

principlecounts

rs65 wrote: »

Most home policies are new for old. Is yours market value not replacement value?

Market Value.

Aretnap

The general principle with insurance is that it should put you back in the situation you were in before the mishap occurred. If you were left with a new phone (or the money to buy a new phone) AND a faulty but useable phone you'd be better off than you were before the mishap, and we'd all be crossing our fingers hoping that our phones got damaged.

It doesn't always work precisely like that (for example if you have a new for old policy your clapped out old phone might be replaced with a shiny new one), but that's the general principle - hence if they replace the damaged item they will usually keep the old one if it has any residual value.

principlecounts

Aretnap wrote: »

The general principle with insurance is that it should put you back in the situation you were in before the mishap occurred. If you were left with a new phone (or the money to buy a new phone) AND a faulty but useable phone you'd be better off than you were before the mishap, and we'd all be crossing our fingers hoping that our phones got damaged.

It doesn't always work precisely like that (for example if you have a new for old policy your clapped out old phone might be replaced with a shiny new one), but that's the general principle - hence if they replace the damaged item they will usually keep the old one if it has any residual value.

That is the principle, but doesn't answer who owns the phone. Unfortunately I haven't got access to my insurers documents as I'm not their customer anymore. But I'm making enquiries. Not making a big deal out of it. I'm just looking for a definite answer.

forgotmyname

You owned it until you accepted their offer/payout then it belongs to them.

Basically you sold it to the insurer. If the repairer still has it then they may have a deal that they keep the items to reduce the charges for inspection.

You cannot sell your phone to someone and then want to keep the phone, even if that "someone" is an insurer.