Insurance interrogated me

S.Claus

S.Claus

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I was in a accident about two weeks ago at a red light with the other party being at fault .Did the whole circus act of phoning my insurance company figuring they would help me repair the damage to my car at least (considering the other party didn't have insurance or a valid license for that matter) . After having the car towed in and filling all the necessary paper work (quotes,statements , police report and photos) .

Yesterday I got a phone call from them saying they want to set up a meeting and to discuss what happened (keep in mind I gave my statement to them and the police twice) . He kept hammering on about some insurance policy and that the conversation is being recorded saying that if I lied I would be black listed and that no insurance company would cover me.What I don't get is when did I turn into a criminal here ?

He turned the conversation into a interrogation stating that he knows that I am the primary not the secondary driver and that he could prove it ,he wanted friends and family members numbers who could vouch my driving abilities ( point being what does that have to do with the accident ?) .After which he conveniently pulled out a document stating we would drop the claim (so he in turn would drop the whole primary/secondary driver case)

So I am curious if this happened to anybody else before ? Seems like you need a full time lawyer when talking to these guys

Edit : OUTsurance
 
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S.Claus said:
I was in a accident about two weeks ago at a red light with the other party being at fault .Did the whole circus act of phoning my insurance company figuring they would help me repair the damage to my car at least (considering the other party didn't have insurance or a valid license for that matter) . After having the car towed in and filling all the necessary paper work (quotes,statements , police report and photos) .

Yesterday I got a phone call from them saying they want to set up a meeting and to discuss what happened (keep in mind I gave my statement to them and the police twice) . He kept hammering on about some insurance policy and that the conversation is being recorded saying that if I lied I would be black listed and that no insurance company would cover me.What I don't get is when did I turn into a criminal here ?

He turned the conversation into a interrogation stating that he knows that I am the primary not the secondary driver and that he could prove it ,he wanted friends and family members numbers who could vouch my driving abilities ( point being what does that have to do with the accident ?) .After which he conveniently pulled out a document stating we would drop the claim (so he in turn would drop the whole primary/secondary driver case)

So I am curious if this happened to anybody else before ? Seems like you need a full time lawyer when talking to these guys
Click to expand...

Name and shame the company
 
So are you the primary or secondary driver? This affects the premium you pay. If the primary driver on the policy is say a 65 year old pensioner, the premium would be a lot lower than say a 21 year old new driver. Many people lie that their father is the primary driver to get a cheaper premium without realizing the issues it can cause when having to claim.

Edit: Most insurers have a clause in the policy documents saying that providing false information will cause the claim to be rejected. Some even go so far to say this is a criminal offence because you're benefiting at the expense of other policyholders through falsifying information.
 
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Call the person back and ask for a recording the conversation. Also record the conversation.
As you are both party to the conversation, you are not under any obligation to tell him the call is recorded under South African law currently.

I think you are dealing with an insurance adjuster. He is NOT on your side, do not verbally agree with anything he says and do not sign anything.

Take the recording to the Insurance ombudsman for strongarm tactics which is borderline extortion/black mail.
Of course, take the documentation with.

Name and shame the institution. The quicker we dissuade South African insurance companies from adopting similar tactics from the USA the better.
 
I have had a similar experience. Not pleasant. The moment I realised what was happening I stopped being compliant and referred him to my police report and my phone call (where I logged the claim) and stopped answering any questions. The guy got quite agitated with me which gave me a lot of joy :D

This was with Budget Insurance by the way. I have never insured with them since.

If it happens to me now I would immediately report them to the STI ombudsman.
 
The 1st time he accused me of a lie that isn't so i would have ended the interview, and not in a friendly feel-good way..
 
If I recall, a few days back someone else had a home robbery and the insurance did the same thing.
I'm wondering if it's the same company possibly...

Name and Shame!
 
... and get an insurance broker !
 
Had a similar thing with Outsurance. Assessor came and questioned me for 45 minutes for a stolen vehicle. It was mostly straightforward questions - and I entertained it - but then he tells me I need to register for e-tolls so he can see my e-toll record to prove I wasn't lying about where I was on the day the vehicle was stolen. Told him to get stuffed.

Thankfully vehicle was recovered 3 days later so I didn't have to deal with the assessor any further - and the rest of the experience with Outsurance was beyond amazing. In retrospect I wouldn't give the guy half the time. They can look at the police report and if they have questions outside that, they can send them via e-mail.

Btw. Did you know it's standard process to search your social media profiles to see if there's anything that can be used to invalidate your claim.
 
What grounds does he have to make these claims? He has to know you personally(or at least someone he works with, does), otherwise he's just taking a chance and throwing mud at the wall and hoping something sticks.

Either way, doesn't sound very professional.

As others have said, name and shame please. This is a textbook way of how companies lose business.
 
It is clear that you chose the wrong company to do business with. Some insurance companies in South Africa use the American model of insurance where they actively try to repudiate all claims. This is clearly one of those and I would advise you to drop that company as soon as you can and go to a more reputable insurance company such as Santam or Mutual and Federal.

Insurance companies sell trust and if you cannot rely on them to find every way possible to pay your claim, you should dump them as soon as you can.
 
Freddl said:
It is clear that you chose the wrong company to do business with. Some insurance companies in South Africa use the American model of insurance where they actively try to repudiate all claims. This is clearly one of those and I would advise you to drop that company as soon as you can and go to a more reputable insurance company such as Santam or Mutual and Federal.

Insurance companies sell trust and if you cannot rely on them to find every way possible to pay your claim, you should dump them as soon as you can.
Click to expand...

Which ones are on your recommended list, and which others would you stay away from?
 
Ho3n3r said:
Which ones are on your recommended list, and which others would you stay away from?
Click to expand...

The only two I would recommend are Santam and Mutual and Federal.

Stay away from any 'ínsurance company' who claim that they sell directly to you because they want to save you brokers' fees. The only reason they do not do business with brokers is because a large broker has too much clout for the insurance company to attempt to repudiate claims without proper grounds.

A proper insurance company control costs through excess payments and not through named driver enforcement. In other words, if the driver of the car at the time of the accident is over 25 his or her excess (co-payment in the event of a claim ) will be R2500. If under 25 an extra R2000 will be levied and if under 21 an extra R3000. This is the proper way to do it and companies who do it this way never get into conflict with their clients.
 
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