Did you really follow up every week? Are there email or phone records? Thought you had said this went down to every other week in a previous post. Probably shouldn't have been driving around with a broken bumper.Originally posted by JMaj7
Dear Sir,
My name is Jamil Ahmed and I was rear ended by your insured on January, 2013. I sustained injuries as a result of this collision and my rear bumper was damaged severely. I have been trying to return to the state that I was in before the accident but I have been subjected to a considerable amount of push back from your claims team. I have been very diplomatic, compromising and most of all, patient with your claims team and I have not received the same treatment in return.
My first disagreement was to do with the repair of my vehicle. The appraiser had located a "rear bumper assembly" that is essentially a bumper that comes off a different salvaged vehicle. I was advised by the professionals at the body shop that these are not the best way to go due to the fact that you never know what your getting. These facts made me nervous so I made a case to have Intact cover the cost of a new bumper. I was promptly refused and the reasoning I was given is that insurance companies "don't do that" and that I was not entitled to a new bumper despite my very valid concerns. I rebuttled by telling the adjuster that they were wrong because my insurance had bought me a brand new bumper under my policy for an accident where I was at fault in October, 2012. I had presented them with the exact same concerns. At this point, I was put in touch with Manager Janette Gibeau.
I spoke with Ms. Gibeau at length and reasserted my case and even offered to prove that Aviva had covered the cost of a brand new bumper. She explained, in empathetic language, that she agreed with my concerns and it was up to the appraisals department to add the cost of a new bumper to the estimate (which is probably not true). I sent her an estimate from the dealership and waited. She indicated that she would try everything in her authority to have it approved. This was in early Spring. I followed up on a weekly basis to no avail and drove my car the entire summer with damage on it.
You waited 4 months from what date? From January the date of accident (May currently) or is this in September when school starts? Summer school maybe? The lack of dates makes this timeline of events difficult to follow. So, Intact had made a cash settlement offer for $X and you signed and accepted it then? But Intact said no go on the new bumper. Why did you sign and agree to this offer? I can't see you NSFing as being a fault of Intact. You made a purchase of some of the parts without having cash in hand. Why the hurry when you've waited 4 months+ already and was driving with a damaged bumper?
After deciding to figure out a way to repair the car myself, I started requesting phone calls to discuss options again. This is when Christina took over the file and emailed me saying that Intact would not pay for a new bumper. I told her that I intended on cashing out and I will repair the car myself. She requested a release and I signed it and attempted to coordinate a purchase of some of the parts and my school fees. This is after I waited for four months for a response or follow up from Janette. Christine indicated that I could pick up the funds on Friday and I waited on stand by for her to reply with instructions and received nothing. At this point, I had bought some of the parts and paid $3000 in University fees. I ended up NSFing on some payments and I feel that this was a result of the adjusters lack of follow up.
Made it through the weekend?? ok... must've been a rough weekend.
I made it through the weekend and contacted her in the morning to arrange payment and she replied indicating that a "manual" could not be done. I had CC'd Ms. Gibeau as an FYI, as a courtesy to keep her in the loop and for her to make sure Friday doesn't happen again. Once I checked my emails again, I noticed that the person I had put my faith into had referred to me as an "idiot" and expressed a desire to "get rid of me". Up to this point, I was in agreement with your employee's assertions and claims that they sincerely tried to have a new bumper approved and the only reason why I settled was because of Ms. Gibeau's empathetic resolve, apologies and hopeful language. I honestly felt that she did everything she could do grant me the bumper and was unsuccessful. Now I realize that she did absolutely nothing, percieved me to be an idiot and wanted to get rid of me. I feel like I had been manipulated and the agreement was subject to undue influence.
Currently, it sounds like you signed and accepted a settlement for $X, but then later went back and tried to get extra money to cover cost of brand new bumper or whatever else. Did you ever receive the money that you signed and agreed to in the settlement?
Of course that's how insurance should work if they can settle for the lowest amount as quickly as possible.
I was appalled after reading the email that was obviously meant for the adjuster. In fact, as I find myself writing to you, I feel belittled, insulted and I have taken utter offence to the email. It is tangible proof of a culture that perceives claimants as unintelligent individuals, who should be settled with, unfairly or not, as soon as possible. This is not the way insurance is supposed to work. Her perception of my lack of intelligence makes me believe I was manipulated by an expert that works in an industry that I am relatively unfamiliar with. This kind of language confirms the impression insurance companies make on the public when they use scripted language to deny claims with questionable and in my case, contradictory reasoning. The fact that I was disrespected adds insult to injury, literally and figuratively.
Noble side of insurance? To pay the maximum amount possible?
I took a screenshot of the email and forwarded the email to myself. I posted it on facebook for about an hour. I got 5 comments almost immediately. A few of them being from employees at insurance companies. I got in touch with some employees at Intact and found your contact information. I was advised by a friend to post the email on a few forums like Beyond.ca, Reddit and some other forums I frequent. I am a 4th year accounting student, long time experienced manager at TELUS and a professional music producer who has a significant amount of reach in the business and broadcasting community. I realized that I had anchors, journalists and editors on my list and decided to take the facebook post down so it would not gather more attention. This is a difficult time for insurance companies as we experienced the most expensive natural disaster in Canadian history. It is more difficult now that some companies have made it on the news due to question practices by their claims teams.There is a fundamental lack of consistency, accountability and recourse in your field. I still decided to take the post off right away. This was done as a sign of good faith.
I received Ms. Gibeau's "apology" today and it was exactly what I expected. A short insincere note acknowledging the mistake but not addressing the bigger picture. I do not think that an apology has convinced me that the culture at Intact is not different than how your leadership has portrayed it to be. The email simply validated an impression that was left on me over this entire experience. The most concerning part is that the culture of an organization, or a department is one of the most difficult things to change especially when this kind of behaviour, as long as it is not in the public eye, would garner better results for the company. It is a simple fact. If you "get rid" of "idiot" clients, you close more claims, pay less money. This is generally understood and it contradicts the noble side to insurance and risk management.
Wait, what? So are you with Intact or are you with Aviva? Don't think you've mentioned that you're insured with Intact until this point. Was there a switch between October 2012 and January 2013? NSF fee isn't their fault.
I wanted to give you the opportunity to make this situation better for both of us and I think that I am not being unreasonable in doing so. I do not believe that Ms. Gibeau did anything to further my cause and I would like to be issued a payment for the new bumper I had originally requested. I would like this cheque to be issued as soon as possible because it is the only way I will reinstall my faith in your company. I have other accounts with Intact and have not entertained the notion of switching away yet. In fact, I have dealt with you since before you changed from ING to intact. I would also like to be reimbursed for the NSF fee on my acccount that I incurred due to the delay in issuing the payment. I can attach the estimate I received from the dealership to this email. It was also sent to Ms. Gibeau.
So, was GST included in the settle offer you signed? If not, why wasn't it discussed before agreeing to it? Maybe I'm not reading and understanding correctly, but I don't think we're getting the whole story here.
I can assure you that I have been operating in good faith from the beginning and have always given your employees the respect they deserve. You can read through the entire email threads. I am still not satisfied by the reasoning behind the reduction of the amount by its GST when I have had to pay GST for all the parts I have bought so far.
Ms.Bell indicated that disciplinary action has been taken and I would like to mention that punitive measures do not correct behaviours that stem from a culture of a department or company. If anything, disciplinary action will demotivate and demoralise the employee and progress will be hindered. I think the client should be the focus and the culture needs to be adjusted. Integrity, equality and ethical reasoning should be promoted in this department. A claims department should be taking advantage of clients, as unintelligent as they may be.
All in all, I appreciate that you have taken the time to read through my letter. I really needed to express these lingering concerns to you because this entire experience has been a nightmare. I really was very patient with your employees even though this collision set me back considerably due to property damage and injury. I hope you will do the right thing to save the reputation of your leadership team and the companies culture, or atleast the perception of it. I can assure you, I am not an idiot and I do not want to ever like I am being gotten rid of when I pay premiums to your company every month and every year. I anxiously await your reply. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Did you agree to settle for $X, but then later decide it wasn't enough and had been contacting Intact to issue a cheque for extra money outside of the settlement? When does this "idiot" email come into play? After you received your settlement and then went back for more money? Or days and weeks of asking them for extra money? Or did you not ever receive any money from Intact after that "weekend" that you made through? Did you end up buying a brand new bumper then? And is your bumper now fixed? I'm a bit confused.Please tell me this was all entirely truthful.
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Good on you for doing that, how did you get his personal cell phone number? Wish I thought of that last time I got in a fight with an adjuster.
not a single option missing including infrared night driving
Originally Posted by DonJuan
