Car Insurance - how would you understand this policy?

[MrsWhites]

I was in an accident a few months ago that wasn’t my fault. Made a claim with Hastings for the damage to my car and for my child’s car seat.

The Hastings policy includes the following regarding car seats:

‘The insurer will pay for the cost of a replacement of a similar model and standard even if there is no apparent damage, up to the value of £300 per incident. You must provide a proof of purchase’.

On the day I made the claim, the lady asked if I still had the receipt, I said I didn’t have it to hand but was sure I had it somewhere and she gave me an email address to send it to when I found it, which I did.

Anyway, when I bought the seat originally I got it in a sale and it was half price. Said seat of a similar model is now double what I paid.

Hastings have only paid out what I originally paid rather than ‘paying to replace the seat’ which is what I expected from their policy wording. So, am I being unreasonable?

I dont think you are being unreasonable and would query this as they state they will match the standard, not the price

Hindsight I know but you would have probably been better not supplying the receipt!

It should be the current cost, did you submit a claim for the equivalent seat now?

Yes it should be an item of like for like replacement , not discounted value you paid. Was the receipt supposed to be for the replacement?

Thank you both, they had half convinced me that I was in the wrong.

@motogirl I didn’t get that far, they literally asked me for the original receipt which I assumed was the first step to check that I did actually own the car seat I was claiming for. I have been expecting them to contact me to tell me to purchase the new seat and send that receipt too. I have been using my husbands seat whilst I’ve waited for them to contact me so haven’t actually purchased the replacement yet.

@HangOnToYourself the person I spoke to today said we would only pay the current price if you couldn’t supply the receipt but the person I spoke to when making the claim actually told me ‘if you can’t find the receipt you can’t make a claim’. But yes, it would seem that I would have been better off not having the receipt!

I would argue that the policy says the "cost of a replacement" rather than the cost of the car seat that was damaged.

Thanks. I’m starting to wonder now if when the lady asked about the receipt she should have been asking me for a new receipt but we had a conversation about the receipt being years old and I wasn’t sure if I still had it.

It's most likely a mistake on their part. Like you say the original receipt is to show you owned it and they should reimburse against a new receipt or evidence of current price from a website etc.

They should pay the full cost of the replacement, not the original cost! That’s clear from the wording.

They will have a complaints policy where you can escalate it. I’m sure if it was the other way round (you paid £300 originally but for a replacement half price in the sale for £150) then they wouldn’t be paying the extra and letting their customer have a windfall!

Ring them and point out their error. If the call handler doesn't agree, state that you wish to make a complaint (you need to actually say those words) and they will have to follow their internal process and look into it. They should pay you the full cost of replacing it at today's prices.

I read it as providing proof of purchase of a new car seat.

Thanks everyone. Spoke to someone else on their team who confirmed they will only pay the original value, however, he couldn’t confirm whether that was the original ‘value’ of the product or the ‘price paid’. He confirmed that if my receipt showed the actual value and the price I paid (therefore demonstrating the saving if that makes sense), which it clearly does, that it should be reviewed.

So I’ve sent it all over again and asked it to be reviewed on this basis. If they don’t agree, I will ask for their complaints procedure and follow that.

Thank you for confirming to me that I was right to think they should cover the replacement, you have all given me the confidence to push back on them!

"cost of a replacement" means to me the current price of a new one "of a similar model and standard".

So if they will only pay the original cost/value then there seems to be a difference between what they say, and what they do. Which is a good basis for a complaint.

I'd add that the phrase "of a similar model and standard" to me conveys that they expect to pay for a different model, not just buy the old one from you. That would have quite different wording.

Think about the car itself - if they asked for the invoice for that and paid it, you'd be very happy. But of course that would be more than the current cost to replace the (now older) car. So they give you the lower replacement value. But as it isn't safe to buy second hand child seats then the replacement cost has to be the cost of a new one.

When I claimed I bought a new one and sent them the receipt. There was no issue with that. They'll ask for the original receipt for the reasons you've given, it's obviously cheaper for them. Buy a new one and send them that receipt instead, if they've already paid the original value they should pay the difference

@filka thank you, you worded it better than I did but that’s what I was trying to say to them, they aren’t actually replacing the seat, they are just reimbursing me for the old one which like you say would need to be worded as such.

@smileandsing I am going to order a new one this weekend so will send it onto them, I have been using the seat from my husbands car since the accident whilst I waited for the cash but it seems that I’ll be potentially waiting a while and hopefully having the new receipt will help speed the process up!