Can you ask insurance to compensate you for issues?

[holidaygonewrong]

Hi long story and I don't want to disclose too many details
We recently went abroad and we had an accident which wasn't our fault. I sustained whiplash and the medical team for my travel insurer sent us home on alternative return dates on the plane. They didn't arrange transport to the airport as they apparently couldn't get any with their local agent. We were told to rent a car and drive to airport. The journey was awful in a pickup truck and all of our possessions were very badly water damaged. Some of these items were purchased a long time ago and some not. I don't have receipts for many items. I was also left having to sort out all meals and everyone needed clothes as ours were literally in three inches of water in a pickup truck (only vehicle available in the region, very remote country with jungles and basic roads 4x4 totally necessary) we had to buy medicine pay doctors rent the car pay for all of our food and drink etc

I tried to claim with insurer and heard nothing
They launched two internal complaints on my behalf as they can see this all went wrong
They were unable to arrange a doctor which left me sourcing and paying my own
They said we would be reimbursed in writing for all expenses and claims didn't call me for two weeks

Is this a reasonable delay given I had to make a new claim when I got home for the medical costs and they didn't just tag it onto the existing one? I've called them at least 15 times and been passed from pillar to post, I haven't heard from my claim handler and when I said I would go to the FCO they said they funilly enough found all of my claim

How do I sort this out? I am so stressed and upset, we are talking 3-5k in Costs incurred without the damaged possessions...

Insurance ombudsman.

I don’t really understand the timeline, you mention two weeks but also that you have called fifteen times, lodged two claims and two complaints so I presume it has been going on for a lot longer? Could you explain again the timeline?

Have they given you a final response to your complaints?

Two weeks seems short tbh but I'm confused by the timelines too. It's either been ages or you've spent two weeks constantly complaining when they didn't give it you immediately?

Insurance can take ages with investigations. We didn't need receipts for the items damaged, just need to provide links to like for like replacements so they could see the price.

You need to confirm if you have a complaint logged with your insurance company or if they're complaining to one of their agents/suppliers because the agent failed to meet their contract.

2 weeks doesn't seem that long for a claim to be reviewed however, the communication should be much better.

If you haven't logged a complaint of your own, do that. Be very clear that you're complaining about the way the claim was handled while you were away (the lack of doctor or airport transport etc) and the communication since you've returned.

The claim should mean you are reimbursed for the expenses related to the actual incident and the complaint will provide you with compensation for their poor service if any is due.

Be aware though, insurers have 8 weeks from the date your complaint was made to review and respond so you may have to wait.

Once they've sent you their formal response (and they can do this at any point within the 8 weeks), have a read through and if you disagree with their outcome, you can take that to the FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service) - they'll review and let you know if they think the insurance company did anything wrong and if any further compensation etc is due.

Thank you so much everyone
Sorry it's been ongoing for a month but in the last two weeks I've asked some serious questions about where they were at
Baring in mind that when you use the portal you don't get a claim ref number no email confirmation and so you can't discuss it with anyone
They repeatedly told me they couldn't locate claim then when I mentioned the fco they have miraculously found it

I'm very angry this is with Revolut premium and the travel insurance provided by Chubb. It's a mess and their agent or their assistance that you ring brings you thru to another company that deal with problems when you're away and if you have an accident like we did, the lack of care meant I was left in a lot of pain too and it was miserable

How do I get compensation for my pain suffering anxiety and time, and how much should I be asking for? Do you think £100 is fair for my trouble.?

See what the outcome is for the complaints you've raised. Don't make suggestions for compensation until you know if they're taking you seriously.

You have to give them eight weeks to respond to your complaints. They'll need that long to investigate properly.

The financial ombudsman service will investigate either if you've received a final response you're not happy with OR 8 weeks have passed since your complaint was logged.

However, just because a complaint has been logged doesn't mean that customer service and claims stop everything. The complaint should be investigated alongside. Have you received a complaint acknowledgement?

It's only 12 working days since Christmas.

I'm also slightly confused. Were you involved in a car accident abroad or was it something else?

A month is no time at all really especially with insurance and maybe even longer if it involves being abroad. I was in a serious car accident a few years ago, sustaining a lot of injuries, and it took just over 15 months from the date of the accident to receiving the payout

If you're asking for compensation for your pain and anxiety, you would probably have to be medically assessed? I had to be, by someone independent. They had to write a report detailing all my injuries and the claim was then based around that