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Thread: Camera claim

  1. #1
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    Camera claim

    Thought I would put my business insurance to the test, had it for 7 years and never put in a claim yet, the reason, after all the kak with my driveway, I have decided to see if they actually pay, lucky it is my R2000 camera and not my R100 000 thermal imaging camera. Normally a small thing like a R2000 camera, I would just buy a new one, but I want to test my business insurance to see what excuses they are gona come up with, and if I am not happy with the outcome, the next step will be to create my own insurance account, where all the money I am paying to insurance companies will go into a saving account instead. I have done some calculations and to date I have paid over R100 000 towards short term insurance and not put in a claim.

    I have used this camera on site to take all my pics for about 7 years, I got back to the office, switched it on and boom the screen looks like it is cracked, I know the camera wasn’t dropped, there are no physical marks on the camera indicated it could have been knocked. I was just gona go get a new one, but after the driveway story, I decided to put in a claim instead. I contacted the insurance company and they have sent me a claim form. I then went to game to find out if I could have the camera repaired, they told me that Master Care repairs Sony cameras, but it would not be worth my while having it repaired, they gave me a quote for a replacement camera and headed down to Master Care.

    That where it starts getting interesting, I ask the person behind the counter if they can repair the camera, I am told yes no problem, ok so how much to replace the screen, doesn’t know, so I ask R1000, R2000, or maybe R3000, they can’t give me an answer, I must first pay R120, then they will tell me, so I phone the insurance company and ask, do I replace the camera or repair it, they can’t answer me, they tell me I must leave the camera at master care to get a quote to repair, I tell them it is gona cost R120 for the quote, who is gona pay the R120, I must. Ok that’s it, enough bullsh!t, I take the camera to the insurance broker and drop it off, with the claim form for them to sort out, if they want it repaired they must take it and get a quote otherwise replace it, let’s see what happens.

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    Diamond Member Blurock's Avatar
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    Any bets they will come back and tell you it is a maintenance issue and your policy does not cover maintenance on the camera
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    I am hoping that is the case, i look forward to a holiday with all the money, or i can use the money to upgrade exsisitng equipment. If the equipment gets stolen, well then i just have to buy new equipment, just means less tax, i can claim for the new equipment.

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    Many moons ago my farther went the "savings" route for the home. He just insured a couple of items that would be stolen and pricey (just a pc and printer if I remember) - then took the balance and invested it. This was in the 80's. A few years ago he stopped adding money to the account as it was worth quite a bit more than the contents of his house. Basically the first few years are the risky years!

    Really good idea for a young couple just starting out with very few assets.

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    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    Ians, what are you insured for according to your policy document? A seven year old digital camera and the screen packs up might reasonably be considered fair wear and tear.

    I just bought a couple of new Nikon 10 megapixel cameras with half decent optics and optical zoom for under R600.00 each (vat inclusive). The price of basic digital cameras has dropped significantly in the last year or so, I wouldn't claim insurance for one of these because they'll pull my pants down when it comes to next years premiums.
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    Andy i am actually just testing my bussiness insurnace broker, this would be a good test. I am not tooo worried about the premium for next year, at the rate things are going with this claim, i doubt i will be insuring anything next year. Already into the second week and they havent even decided what to do about the claim, repair or replace, just imagine if it was the thermal imager screen, i would be loosing R5 and 10 000 a day, it is absolutely shocking. The person who does the claims, sent me an email on friday indicating that she will be on leave from friday.

    Just Like life insurance, you never know if you gona get paid out until you put in a claim, then one day you need it, is your insurnace company gona pay.

    Something i forgot to mention, about the hospital and disability claim, now picture this, you work with your hands everydaya tradesman, thats how you make a living, when i put in my claim while in hospital, thinking i am covered for everything, had to get pre authourisation for the second operation to remove the broken pieces of bone from my elbow, i get a call form the insurance comany....oooops we made a mistake, the "small" print in your policy "clearly" states that you arms and legs are not covered by the policy. Dont laugh, it not funny, well it is now when i think back, but at the time it wasnt, i had a R32000 hosiptal bill to pay.

    My point, make sure you read and understand your policy, the broker was prepared to sit for hours bothered you daily trying to get you to sign the policy, get him to work for his money, make him go thru every single page and initial it before you sign the last page. Think about it, insurance is a huge part of your monthly expenses, make sure you understand what you are insured for and by the way get a second opinion, you could be investing that money and getting a much better return.
    Last edited by ians; 06-Nov-12 at 07:23 AM.

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    Email problem Rafael's Avatar
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    Do you not have a short-term broker?

    The reason why I ask is that I deal with risk and investment insurance.

    At times I will see a client who is not happy with their short-term insurance, so I get them a quote as our company has a contract with a few short-term companies and we have a whole team that deals with claims and and other that deals with the client.

    When my clients have a problem I go mad and I fight on their behalf and I don't leave it alone until something gets done and its always worked for me.
    I had a client with A&G where they charged her an admin fee without informing her and I, I was furious and in 3 days they credited her account.
    Another client I had with A&G did not want to cover her for the hailstorm damage as she never had the inspection done, I fought for 3-4 days and had my director on it the case to, and in the end A&G covered it.

    I'm sure my short-term department hates it, but I get emotional when it comes to a claim not being paid out and I fight for my clients.
    All I'm saying is at times it helps having someone represent you as they may know a person at the claims department or they can assist you when it comes to a claim.

    On a side note, if your occupation is heavily involved in manual work with your hands you will normally get a counter offer letter saying that you are not covered for occupational disability.
    For example I just did a quote for a tattoo artist and unfortunately he is not covered for his hands, but the broker or company needs to give the client a letter that he signs before the policy is accepted stating he is not covered for disability.
    Last edited by Dave A; 06-Nov-12 at 04:35 PM. Reason: correction per post below

  8. #8
    Email problem Rafael's Avatar
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    Sorry I'm new to the forums and don't know how to edit my post.
    On one of the sentences above i screwed up, it meant to say

    "On a side note, if your occupation is heavily involved in manual work with your hands you will normally get a counter offer letter saying that you are not covered for occupational disability."

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rafael View Post
    Sorry I'm new to the forums and don't know how to edit my post.
    Sorry about that - it's part of the permission progression setup. I've done the necessary for you.

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    Something interesting came out today when i enquired about the claim.

    The camera is insured for over R2000 indicated on my policy, however if they replace it will only payout R600, because that is all the camera of that model would be valued at to replace. When i enquired why the sum insured was not reduced, i was told because it cost money, for the insurance company to find out the price reduction, therefore the cost would be added to my monthly fee, so it is cheaper to just keep paying the premium for the higher value.

    So do you continue to insure things old than 5 years, is it even worth insuring. There are just tooo many loop holes in insurance policies, looks tlike my R1000 saving account is gona be started soone rthan i thought. Think about it, if my laptop is stolen, i could replace it for R2500, even though it is insured for R7000, that means i would still have money in the bank and a brand new laptop and some every year and another R7500 to cove rother items like a new ipad etc etc ever year.

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