Are Insurance companies cheating us???

FORCED F6 · 04-04-2009, 07:11 PM

Hi to all, I have had many problems with my insurance company lately since my car was stolen as some of you might know. I am concerned about whether I was ment to be covered for the wheels or not and my insurance company tells me that I wont be covered for them...

I had agreed value for $25,700 and thats what they paid me out this week minus the excess. Before the car was stolen I had notified my insurance that I upgraded to 19" wheels. After the car was stolen they said I will be covered for the wheels ( provided them a reciept for $1200, which is what I bought them for). This week, when they paid us out, they told us that NOW they cant cover us for the wheels only because they have paid us much more than what I had bought the car for at the time and it was just BAD LUCK! <----- in the insurance company's words.

My friends and family say that I am to be covered, (so did my insurance company at the time but now they have changed their mind???) This is a serious matter to me and would like to resolve it, and if I am being cheated here I will take it further, so any info or ideas to how to go about this, please have your say, thanks in advance.

Yellow_Festiva · 04-04-2009, 07:39 PM

Have you got anything regarding the wheels in writing from the insurance company?

If not (and it is all verbal), than in the end it will be your word against theirs. While verbal contracts can be bound by law in this case you will not win, only because it is just not worth fighting.

Have you any details of when and who you spoke to?? This may help.

Donny · 04-04-2009, 07:39 PM

go back to what you had in writing, this is what they must comply to.

with your agreed value, did they agree to raise it to cover the wheels?
and were you charged for upping the agreed value?
also when the wheels were endorsed on your policy, what other ammendmants are shown? i.e the increase in total agreed value, additions on the policy and their dollar amount etc.

SM1DY · 04-04-2009, 07:45 PM

If you choose to fight the insurance, just remember, that in a lot of cases the insures record all phones conversations for "Quality assurance" or "Training purposes" which may be something you would like to asks them about.

If this conversation took place face-to-face, then it may be harder to prove what was and was not said.

Yaw · 04-04-2009, 07:46 PM

You say you paid $1200 for the 19" wheels and have the recipts, What you need to keep in mind is that you have taken the factory wheels and rims off so if you had to purchase the "originals" as a spare part from the manuafcturer (set of 4 obviously) they would more than likely cost more than the $1200 you paid for the aftermarket ones, which in essecne means you actually devalued the car, not increased the value. and if you have an agreed value that they paid you, they have fulfilled thier policy with you, regardless of wheather they were listed or not.

FPV+fteT3 · 04-04-2009, 07:57 PM

In the original post it is stated they paid you much more than what you paid for the car originally and your still not happy? lets see you drove around for a couple of years and in effect sold your car for more than what you paid for it but the person who bought your car in this case the insurance company ripped you off

: guess you cant please everybody maybe they should have sweetened the deal with a night out at hooters. bet you still wouldn't be happy.

FORCED F6 · 04-04-2009, 08:02 PM

I had a written paper sent out saying something like " You have notified us with the following additional modifications added to your vehicle - Upgraded wheels." Now I cant find that paper which they sent out... Would it be stupid to ask for another copy from them? I cant see a good reason why they should send me out another, cos they would want to just cover their ***.
Well, yes they agreed to cover the wheels but my premium didn't go up and didnt have to pay extra for anything.
So basically they said yes but now NO, and dont have the copy of that paper, what are my chances now??? I feel really upset about this whole thing and dont know what to do. I was just told to go through dispute resolution and say " I pay premium for agreed value $25,700 and thats the bottom line or you will be violation of the insurance act and trade practices act s52 for misleading and deceptive conduct".

Yaw · 04-04-2009, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAXR6BOSS

I had a written paper sent out saying something like " You have notified us with the following additional modifications added to your vehicle - Upgraded wheels." Now I cant find that paper which they sent out... Would it be stupid to ask for another copy from them? I cant see a good reason why they should send me out another, cos they would want to just cover their ***.
Well, yes they agreed to cover the wheels but my premium didn't go up and didnt have to pay extra for anything.
So basically they said yes but now NO, and dont have the copy of that paper, what are my chances now??? I feel really upset about this whole thing and dont know what to do. I was just told to go through dispute resolution and say " I pay premium for agreed value $25,700 and thats the bottom line or you will be violation of the insurance act and trade practices act s52 for misleading and deceptive conduct".

It sounds like advising them of the modification is simply them agreeing to continue the cover after you changed what the risk was. It cost you no more, and it does not sound like they agreed at the time to increase the agreed value, just simply to keep the car insured. (sometimes when you change the terms of the risk it may put it oustide that particular companies guidelines. If this happens they have every right to tell you that you have 14 days to find alternitive insurance and cancel your policy after that time and refund the unexpired portion of the policy to you) And in them saying the wheels would be covered.....they did cover them, they paid you the agreed value, not the agreed value less the value of the wheels. As my previous post explained, you took away the originals. Just because you spent money to replace them does not mean you increased the value of the car.
I am not trying to be hard on you, just explaining what the situation is, which is what you asked.

hawke · 04-04-2009, 08:17 PM

Couple of questions.

Did the insurer issue an endorsement adding the wheels, and or was the agreed sum insured increased and an extra premium charged?

If some of these things happened, then the liability of the insurer is clear. They must pay. Otherwise, the situation becomes a little more difficult, but not impossible.

As you are unhappy with the result, ask to have the decision reviewed by the insurers internal dispute resolution mechanism. If that does not help, it then off to the Odbodsman - or what ever he is called these days.

FORCED F6 · 04-04-2009, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fpv84d

In the original post it is stated they paid you much more than what you paid for the car originally and your still not happy? lets see you drove around for a couple of years and in effect sold your car for more than what you paid for it but the person who bought your car in this case the insurance company ripped you off

: guess you cant please everybody maybe they should have sweetened the deal with a night out at hooters. bet you still wouldn't be happy.

Firstly, I was lucky enough to buy that car for the right price. Dont know what it is but people seriously dont like silver coloured cars and see them around alot and believe it aint an attractive car, so this is the reason why people sell them for a lot less, but personally I think its a great colour.
If u can point out a great car with no damage at all and in almost near new condition, please let me know as im struggling to find something similiar for the price of around $18k, Thanks

FORCED F6 · 04-04-2009, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yaw

It sounds like advising them of the modification is simply them agreeing to continue the cover after you changed what the risk was. It cost you no more, and it does not sound like they agreed at the time to increase the agreed value, just simply to keep the car insured. (sometimes when you change the terms of the risk it may put it oustide that particular companies guidelines. If this happens they have every right to tell you that you have 14 days to find alternitive insurance and cancel your policy after that time and refund the unexpired portion of the policy to you) And in them saying the wheels would be covered.....they did cover them, they paid you the agreed value, not the agreed value less the value of the wheels. As my previous post explained, you took away the originals. Just because you spent money to replace them does not mean you increased the value of the car.
I am not trying to be hard on you, just explaining what the situation is, which is what you asked.

I think your very much right about the whole thing, I feel bit down now but I guess thats how it is... Thanks a lot everyone, much appreciate the replies...

Hawke; My agreed value did not go up and did not pay additional fees with my premium so this is why im starting to think now that the above quote is correct by Yaw...

Rodp · 04-04-2009, 09:51 PM

They may well be cheating us but in your case above, seems like you got a fair deal. I'd agree with Yaw. Adding aftermarket wheels doesn't necessarily increase the value of the car. The original wheels were probably worth roughly the same value in the eyes of an insurance company so the car's replacement value is much the same. If you want to recoup that loss then you'd have to do it by selling the original wheels (if you haven't already done so...)

Buzz Box · 05-04-2009, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BAXR6BOSS

Firstly, I was lucky enough to buy that car for the right price. Dont know what it is but people seriously dont like silver coloured cars and see them around alot and believe it aint an attractive car, so this is the reason why people sell them for a lot less, but personally I think its a great colour.
If u can point out a great car with no damage at all and in almost near new condition, please let me know as im struggling to find something similiar for the price of around $18k, Thanks

Didn't you say you got paid out $25k??

So you've got paid $25k for a car your only willing to replace for $18k and your whinging about $1200??

:

But besides all that let me put it simply.......

You had it insured fo $25k before you put the mags, then you put the new mags but still only had it insured for $25k. If you wanted it to cover the wheels you SHOULD have increased the value to $25k+$1200 because thats why its called agreed value you AGREED to $25k so not a leg to stand on.

The bit of paper you got was just them saying they will continue to cover with this additionally modification.

ILLaViTaR · 05-04-2009, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fpv84d

In the original post it is stated they paid you much more than what you paid for the car originally and your still not happy? lets see you drove around for a couple of years and in effect sold your car for more than what you paid for it but the person who bought your car in this case the insurance company ripped you off

: guess you cant please everybody maybe they should have sweetened the deal with a night out at hooters. bet you still wouldn't be happy.

It doesn't matter about your opinion, that type of opinion gets you nowhere in this world, he has an agreed value of the car.

He pays them a premium for that agreed value and from what I'm hearing his wheels should be covered too. Doesn't matter if he's up a few grand. He payed his premium based on those conditions.

You need this on paper and if you have it don't stop till they pay up.
Don't let them off so easy, I doubt they'd do the same thing for you.

steamin63 · 06-04-2009, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fpv84d

In the original post it is stated they paid you much more than what you paid for the car originally and your still not happy? lets see you drove around for a couple of years and in effect sold your car for more than what you paid for it but the person who bought your car in this case the insurance company ripped you off

: guess you cant please everybody maybe they should have sweetened the deal with a night out at hooters. bet you still wouldn't be happy.

nobody is interested in your "opinion".
the fact is whether he is legally entitled to compensation from his insurance company for his wheels.

Gaz · 06-04-2009, 12:58 AM

No he won't get extra for them.

While he advised them he put $1200 wheels on them, the value of the car as a whole didn't increase. He got paid out the amount agreed on!

If ONLY the wheels were stolen, they would be covered for $1200 as that's the price he advised. As the whole car was taken, he was covered for the 25k which is inclusive of the wheels.

Unco · 06-04-2009, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILLaViTaR

It doesn't matter about your opinion, that type of opinion gets you nowhere in this world, he has an agreed value of the car.

He pays them a premium for that agreed value and from what I'm hearing his wheels should be covered too. Doesn't matter if he's up a few grand. He payed his premium based on those conditions.

You need this on paper and if you have it don't stop till they pay up.
Don't let them off so easy, I doubt they'd do the same thing for you.

last time i checked, there were no rules against posting opinions. it's called a discussion board for a reason.

most people don't understand much about insurance. if he had an agreed value of $25k why would they pay more than $25k?

you can tell your insurance company that you have added all these mods and accessories, but unless you actually increase the agreed value yourself, why the hell would they want to increase it?

it doesn't take a long time to read a PDS. (product disclosure statement for those who don't know what it means). you'd be surprised what you can learn in a few minutes from something you have agreed to be legally bound by.

The Yeti · 06-04-2009, 07:17 AM

from where I stand they didnt increass the policy value by $1200 they jsut agreed to cover the wheels, say if your vehicle was stolen and recovered with the wheels missing. your probably forutnat they agreed t ocover them as with some insureres after market wheels are enough for them to say its now a modified car and this increases the risk so policy cancelled

ltd_on20s · 06-04-2009, 05:54 PM

hey dude,

if you have told them about the wheels they probs asked you what you paid for them and they would have been added on as a "modification" to your policy, but they would not up the agreed value of your vehicle unless you asked them to.

so in effect what it means is that if ONLY the wheels were stolen then they would cover the wheels. but since your WHOLE car was stolen the wheels come under the WHOLE of the vehicle.

so when they say they will cover your wheels thats what they mean

you won't get anythng more then the agreed value out of them dude. i'd take the agreed value and be happy.

FORCED F6 · 07-04-2009, 11:55 AM

Yeh thanks for the many replies ppl, after carefull consideration I can see where u guyz are coming from and looks like I wont be covered for the wheels. But let me please just add this:
A few weeks ago I get a call from my insurer saying "congratulations we are in favour of you and have agreed to cover you for the amount agreed"
I reply " Ok thats great, so that is $25,700 plus the wheels I added right?"
Insurer replies " Have u told us and we have agreed to it, (YES), than u will be covered for them also"...

BUT after 2 weeks, they just turn around and say the assesor has decided that I shouldn't be covered for the wheels only because I have got much more than what the car I bought for and it was purely BAD LUCK!

So what im trying to say is that, is it really that hard for the insurer's to say sorry when we say we agree to cover them that was also included in the agreed value of $25,700 and so on... I can see there is just misunderstanding here and have to let it go for other reasons as well now...

Springfield_Johny · 07-04-2009, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yaw

You say you paid $1200 for the 19" wheels and have the recipts, What you need to keep in mind is that you have taken the factory wheels and rims off so if you had to purchase the "originals" as a spare part from the manuafcturer (set of 4 obviously) they would more than likely cost more than the $1200 you paid for the aftermarket ones, which in essecne means you actually devalued the car, not increased the value. and if you have an agreed value that they paid you, they have fulfilled thier policy with you, regardless of wheather they were listed or not.

What Yaw said

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILLaViTaR

He pays them a premium for that agreed value and from what I'm hearing his wheels should be covered too. Doesn't matter if he's up a few grand. He payed his premium based on those conditions.

You need this on paper and if you have it don't stop till they pay up.
Don't let them off so easy, I doubt they'd do the same thing for you.

Agreed value is usually what the insurance company agree to insure the vehicle for, not usually the other way around, although most are willing to negotiate, ultimately its thier decision on agreed value.