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The Pub For General Automotive Related Talk |
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12-10-2006, 01:35 AM | #1 | ||
He has, the Knack..
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Sydney
Posts: 1,042
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Ok people, I wanted to give you all a heads up when it comes to dealing with insurance companies. I want to make sure that nobody goes through what I have been through. All of this experience gained is with the nrma, so im not sure how it applies to other insurers. Also, this advice is aimed at ensuring you get a gaurantee. Im not sure if exceeding the excess (see below) will impact your record. I know that some insurers want to know the value of damage done in claims. I imagine its similar though. Bit of background. I was involved in 2 small accidents, one my fault, the other not (bad luck, hey?). Most of this deals with having an at-fault accident. Ok, here we go
1. "Authorisation" What is authorisation? Most people would think authorisation is your insurance company saying that you can take your car to be repaired. NOT TRUE! Authorisation is who pays for the repair. 2. Example I had a minor at fault accident. The damage done was around $600. As I am under 25, the excess was the basic excess ($500) plus the age excess ($400) for a total of $900. I took my car to the nrma assessment centre, and after assessment said that I did not have a preffered repairer. So the nrma sends me to their preffered repairer, telling me to pay them direct and pay the difference (~$300) to the nrma. DO NOT DO THIS! 3. Why? If you pay the repairer direct, YOU are authorising the repair, NOT THE NRMA! Why does this matter? The guarantee, thats why. The nrma states that they offer a "lifetime guarantee on all authorised repairs" Authorised is the key word here. IF you pay the repairer direct, then YOU are authorising the repair, NOT THE NRMA, and hence, NO GUARANTEE! This is despite the fact that the assessor told me to pay the repairer, and that the nrma product disclosure statement states that you can pay "to the company (nrma), supplier or repairer". 4. What does this mean? This means that you do not get a guarantee with the nrma. You do, however (according to my conversations with the nrma) get a restricted guarantee, with the repairer. Not much help if the repairer is useless, but a hope nonetheless. If you have paid for repairs and are not happy with them, you have no choice but to go to the place you initially had the repairs done. the nrma have put some weight on the repairer since they recommended them to me. I dont know if they would help if you nominated your own repairer. 5. Paying your excess Ok then, how do you avoid this catastrophe? This is where things get even more icky. The order in which things are paid, and who to, seems to make a huge difference. Ideally, you want to pay the excess to the nrma. But this is assuming that the third parties damage will bring the claim to over the excess, if they even claim at all. And waiting for this third party claim takes time. Time which you do not have. You see, there is a condition in your insurance policy that states that the car "must be maintained". This means that, as soon as you inform the nrma that you have had an accident, you must get it repaired as soon as possible. If not, and you have another accident, they will reject the new claim until the old claim is settled. So, you must hope that the third party sorts out their damage as soon as possible, right? Things get even more icky. If you have not paid your excess to the nrma, and the third party lodges a claim, then the nrma will not authorise repairs unitl you pay up. In the meantime, the third parties insurance company sends a letter of demad to YOU, asking YOU to pay the damage. I know this because i refused to pay the balance of the excess until my car was fixed, and i got this ***** off letter in the mail giving me a week to pay for damages. I paid the balance of the excess last week, on the day the letter is dated (dont worry, its been sorted). So you can see the trap. Your in ***** if you dont tell the nrma about the accident (penalties) Your in ***** if you do tell them, and wait to get it repaired (no cover on future claims) Your in ***** if you pay the repairer direct (no guarantee) Your in ***** if you wait to pay the excess (demand from third party) 6. Possible ways around this trap One possible way around this is to ensure that ALL the damage is assessed properly. The aim here is to ensure that your damage is greater than your excess. Why? Because that way, you pay the nrma and THEY authorise the repairs, giving you your guarantee. Part of the damage on my car, whilst I did point it out at the assessment, was not quoted for. The repairer saw it when I brought the car in, and fixed it for nothing. Why would he do this? Two reasons. 1. There is (apparently) a lot of paperwork involved with this, which can be a headache for the repairer and the nrma. 2. The repairer is not paid straight away for the extra repairs. Instead, the extra payment required is spread out over the next FIVE jobs! If you were a panel beater, would you do an extra amount of work, then have to fill in a whole bunch of paperwork, then wait an extra five jobs to get paid for it? It would just be easier to fix it and look like a good guy, wouldnt it? Thats where the nrma f*cks you over again. By ensuring that damage is not assessed, the damage done to your car will not exceed the excess, hence the nrma will not have to give you a guarantee. Make sure that the panel beater reports extra damage not initially assessed. 7. My recommendations Please keep in mind that this is based on my experiences, and may not solve all problems. It will hopefully keep you out of the mess ive been in. 1. DONT HAVE AN AT FAULT ACCIDENT! if that fails, 2. Make sure that the damage will exceed the excess, otherwise no guarantee 3. Ensure that all damage is properly assessed. Part of the problem is the manner in which you identify damage on your car. You are put into a separate room, and asked to highlight damaged areas on a picture. If you are not 100% accurate with where you highlight damage, then it can get you in trouble. I had damage on the side mould and the edge of the door. I highlighted the general area, and pointed out the specific damage to the assessor. Later, I was told that the damage on the door was not highlighted so it was not assessed. Ask to see the car whilst you are filling in this form 4. Pay to your insurer, not to the repairer. The key is speed. Go to your insurer. Then get your car assessed. Then get in contact with the third party to see how much damage is done to their car. If it will bring it to the total excess, get them to take it to their insurance agency. When the demand comes in giving you maybe a week to pay, then go pay your insurer. That way you will be set up to pay in time, get your car fixed and get your guarantee. 5. Take photographs of everything, and concentrate on the area of repair. Interior, exterior, everything. Take records of every conversation, no matter how trivial it may seem. Note dates, times, and peoples names. Everybodys names. People dont like to get in trouble, and will help you more 6. Call around. Make lots of general inquiries. The incompetency I have seen shows that if you can get the one bright spark, the rest will fall into line. Record all of this too. 7. DONT LIE! The nrma records conversations, and reviews them if you make a complaint. If you say something untruthful, either on purpose or not, they can turn it against you. It didnt happen to me, but it could easily happen if you arent careful. 8. Dont give up! There were many times I was going to throw in the towel. Whilst i didnt get what I wanted (my choice of repairer for 3rd time around), I have got the nrma's backing to make sure my car is fixed at the repairer to my satisfaction. It was looking pretty glum for awhile, but at least I got that satisfaction 8. Notes on excesses One quick note, dont let yourself be caught out when it comes to claims and excesses. A claim is only recognised if it exceeds the BASIC excess. At one point, it looked like since my car was under the TOTAL excess, i did not have a legitimate claim. If you are under 25, remember that you are entitled to a claim if it is over the BASIC excess, not the TOTAL excess (basic + age) 9. Notes on non-drivable cars Another quick notice is to do with having an accident where you cant drive the car due to the damage incurred. This may also apply to an accident where you are not at fault. The normal procedure when you call the nrma and inform them that you have had an accident, and the car is not driveable, is that the nrma will organise to have the car taken to their assessment centre. They will be nice as pie, offering a cab ride or maybe a courtesy car. Once it is there however, its a different story. You are in their control. Heres why; The nrma likes to sent its business to its preffered repairers, because they charge less. They dont like you taking your car to your own repairer as it will cost them more. How do they keep their costs down? By keeping your car at the assessment centre. You see, if you take your car straight to the assessment centre (at the nrma's expense (?)), it will stay there. They will not pay to have it taken elsewhere. They may not even allow it out of the centre for "safety reasons". The catch is, your preferred repairer isnt allowed to come into the assessment centre to provide a quote. If you want it taken elsewhere, you will have to pay to have it taken there, and taken back to the assessment centre. The nrma will make it as difficult as possible, so that you just go to where they want. Again just let me reiterate that my experience was with the nrma. Other insurance companies may be different. Read your product disclosure statement carefully, and ask around. I just hope some good can come to the AFF community from my misadventure |
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