My insurer says won't pay for some of Roo damage

Stand your ground and demand that the work is done properly. I have a friend that worked at a major insurance company and lesson 1 on her first day was give people the run around as much as you can so that they give up. It's a cost saving method. Most people when attacked like you have been give up as they can't be bothered. Stick to your guns and they'll eventually come around. Ask to speak with the insurance inspectors manager and take it from there.

A big insurer tried this on with me and I proved more stubborn. It took 16 weeks for me to finally get a cheque but I got the $ in the end. ;) I did have to ride my motorcycle every day for those 16 weeks though, right through the dead of winter. Maybe I didn't totally win then :D

Thanks jplambs
A foot away from the damage,eh?

It's an ARB steel bar, Jason. It's had quite a few roo strikes over the years, and has protected the Puma well.

Well done, gusthedog. glad you had a win.
Brid

I guess they dont want to pay it out as most roos dont have insurance, not even 3rd party the buggers. This means your insurance company actually has to pay it rather than chase it from another source....

I am Insured with AAMI and hit a roo last summer. They couldn't have been better about it. Find the assessment centre for your insurer, they actually do the inspections. If they only get the quote to base the approval on and don't get to see it they usually deny a lot of "Additionals" until the car is dismantled and they get an extra claim frm the repairer for the hidden damage.

Mine was drivable and so went to the assessors, they checked it and approved the quote and the work at a non-standard repairer. The total was just over $7000-, then the first time I went to use the winch it was stuffed and found that the "electrician" who did the contract work on it despite having a list of instructions was a complete tool and burnt out the winch. Another $2500- payout. The mechanical whatever who refilled the auto didn't. Result, auto failure about 200k's later, result $4800- paid out.

Basically is it wasn't damage before the accident, they have to fix it. If it's damaged as a result of workmanship, claim on your insurance and they chase the shop/supplier for their insurance.

PM Me your insurance co name, I'll probably have an assessor contact for them. Oddly enough, one of the assessors I met used to work on the D2 line back when mine was built, he check it out and his sign off marks are throughout. From there it was a case of "well we can't let this'un go now can we".

I had something very similar years ago with AAMI , I just got a couple of specialist,s inderpendant written reports = I won . Good luck Oh im still with AAMI and still happy with their service

I agree. My repairer found the chassis was twisted from an earlier botched repair job, refused to release it unless it was fixed and they argued it with the insurance company on the grounds that they couldn't release an unsafe vehicle back to me. End result, car fixed better than it was before, no additional costs to me.

Stick to your guns until they rectify the issues! I'd be interested (via PM) to know who your insurer is just in case I'm with them... :)

I've asked the insurer to provide me the contact details for the assessor, but since this hasn't happened yet, I've emailed attention: the Claims manager. I advised him of the assessor's comments to me, and told him I found them totally offensive, as I was there when the damage occurred.

I suggested they were either...

1. directly dodging their obligations under the policy, or
2. the assessor has no experience with full chassis (non-crumple zone) vehicles, but is relying on his experience with modern impact absorbing technology

I informed them that I have a written engineer's comments quantifying the impact forces hitting a 65kg roo at 100kph, and confirming the likelihood of damage remote from the point of impact, in this type of vehicle.

I've given them 2 days to resolve, or I'll assume point 1, and contact the ACCC. Hopefully, I'll get the right result, and get the Puma back into service.

Sounds like your a bit un lucky or I'm very lucky normaly cleaning up a roo every few weeks at 100+ only damage so far a bent drag link . Good luck geting it sorted

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brid

I advised him of the assessor's comments to me, and told him I found them totally offensive, as I was there when the damage occurred.

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No matter how offensive you found it, don't mention it. As best you can remove emotion and stick to the facts such as "the air conditioning was working before the impact, but not after".

Also talk to the insurance ombudsman. You may find that quoting a reference number from the ombudsman delivers results that you might not otherwise get.