Insurance claim help

[joolz1910]

Hi,

My DD was mugged on her way home from school on Tuseday. Her mobile phone was stolen. The police were called and we were given a crime number and they took the details of the phone. I called Nationwide Insurance and they asked for a receipt. I said that we hadn't got it as it was a gift. They then said that they needed me to post the box to them to substantiate the claim. I have the box but thought this was pretty odd.


I phoned back to ask about processing claims. They weren't very helpful and insisted that most claims require substantiation like this.


me: what would happen if we didn't have the box?

him: we would want a credit card / debit card statement

me: what if it was paid for in cash?

him: we would want a cash point receipt


Does this seem weird? I don't know anything about insurance claims as I've never made a claim like this before! It worried me as I rarely keep receipts for long and almost always throw away boxes etc.

 

[wayneg]

I guess they get so many claims from people losing a £20 nokia and trying to claim for an iphone they are just trying to get as much documentaion as possible.
Was it an expensive phone? is it worth claiming for a small item? I was reading a forum a few days ago about home insurance people claiming for about £200 but then the following year they premium increasing drastically. With what they paid in excess and increased premium they wished they hadn't claimed.
Not sue if its normal, not claimed for over 20 years and that was a big claim when we were burgled, they sent a loss adjuster out to see us.

 

[joolz1910]

I guess they get so many claims from people losing a £20 nokia and trying to claim for an iphone they are just trying to get as much documentaion as possible.
Was it an expensive phone? is it worth claiming for a small item? I was reading a forum a few days ago about home insurance people claiming for about £200 but then the following year they premium increasing drastically. With what they paid in excess and increased premium they wished they hadn't claimed.
Not sue if its normal, not claimed for over 20 years and that was a big claim when we were burgled, they sent a loss adjuster out to see us.

I know what you mean. I have already claimed and now I'm concerned my premiums will go up. The phone was about £200. The trouble is, you pay your premiums so that you can claim in these circumstances. It's really frustrating!

 

[Ware Bears]

The only time we've claimed on our household insurance was about 8 years ago when our bath got damaged when the wind blew a plant off the window. We were visited and the damage inspected to see if it was a genuine claim (it was but I guess they have to check as they get so many people trying it on) and as it was going to be nigh on impossible to replace the bath with the same yucky avocado colour they agreed to give us money - phew what a relief! They were very generous and the amount they paid out was more than enough for a complete suite and not just the cheapest budget one either but our premium increased quite a lot the next year and it was about three more years before it went back down again so I reckon they got their money back! And when I got quotes from other companies they were even higher - guess it's because I declared the claim.

Hope it won't affect your premium next year but our experience would make me think twice about claiming unless I really needed to.

 

[joolz1910]

The only time we've claimed on our household insurance was about 8 years ago when our bath got damaged when the wind blew a plant off the window. We were visited and the damage inspected to see if it was a genuine claim (it was but I guess they have to check as they get so many people trying it on) and as it was going to be nigh on impossible to replace the bath with the same yucky avocado colour they agreed to give us money - phew what a relief! They were very generous and the amount they paid out was more than enough for a complete suite and not just the cheapest budget one either but our premium increased quite a lot the next year and it was about three more years before it went back down again so I reckon they got their money back! And when I got quotes from other companies they were even higher - guess it's because I declared the claim.

Hope it won't affect your premium next year but our experience would make me think twice about claiming unless I really needed to.

I don't think I'd claim again I suppose I'll know when I renew the insurance next year.

 

[queendisney]

I worked in household insurance in a previous life!
In all honesty hh insurance is normally geared up to bigger claims hence if you claim for less expensive items it is going to really increase your premiums and its not normally worth it once you have paid the excess anyway. Also, where I worked, we did have clients that claimed once a year for something small because they saw it as a way of getting back their premium. We also would not re-insure them after 3 such claims! So Insurance companies are really making it hard for somebody with a genuine claim, like yourselves, to do this unless there is proof. Obviously for larger claims they do send the adjuster round, but for small claims this is not cost effective.
Also worked in Marine Insurance and in Caravan insurance (that was well exciting NOT

 

[wayneg]

I worked in household insurance in a previous life!
Also worked in Marine Insurance and in Caravan insurance (that was well exciting NOT

I now see why you need to get to Disney as much as possible.

 

[queendisney]

I now see why you need to get to Disney as much as possible.

Yes, my last big hh claim paid for that.. Just kidding..

 

[joolz1910]

I worked in household insurance in a previous life!
In all honesty hh insurance is normally geared up to bigger claims hence if you claim for less expensive items it is going to really increase your premiums and its not normally worth it once you have paid the excess anyway. Also, where I worked, we did have clients that claimed once a year for something small because they saw it as a way of getting back their premium. We also would not re-insure them after 3 such claims! So Insurance companies are really making it hard for somebody with a genuine claim, like yourselves, to do this unless there is proof. Obviously for larger claims they do send the adjuster round, but for small claims this is not cost effective.
Also worked in Marine Insurance and in Caravan insurance (that was well exciting NOT

Because we never claim, I hadn't really considered that our premium would increase. Oh well, you live and learn.