Tessa HM

Oct 31, 2016

Unsatisfactory outcome to claim, still awaiting a response to my complaint after a month

While I was on a research trip in India in July, my laptop got damaged by a leak in the apartment I was staying in. I was advised over the phone (twice) by a claims consultant at Travel Insurance Direct that it should be okay for me to purchase a new laptop if I was unable to have my damaged one repaired, thus this is what I did because my damaged laptop was beyond repair. I purchased the exact same model, and submitted the claim to TID. I subsequently received a response to my claim that they would only reimburse me for the value of my damaged laptop, so I only received about 15% of the cost of the new laptop (minus excess of course). In the policy it says that TID can choose whether to reimburse the value of the damaged item or whether to pay for a replacement. Obviously after a few years of use, my laptop had depreciated in value, however it worked perfectly well and I had no intention of purchasing a new one before it was damaged. 15% of the value of a new computer obviously can't buy anything decent, and I was in India where my options to buy a secondhand computer were very slim and as I was on a research trip, I NEEDED to have a working laptop to use. I was very unsatisfied with this outcome as their representatives had never suggested that this may be a possibility, thus I submitted a complaint. After requesting further documentation from me which I supplied promptly, the TIC claims department said that they would contact me with an outcome within 2 days. That was on the 4th of October. It is now the 31st of October and I still have not received an outcome, even after following up TWICE with the claims team. This is simply not good enough. I took out a policy with TID for 12 months, which was not cheap, and to only be reimbursed a measly 15% of the cost of replacing my damaged computer, not to mention the fact that they have STILL not resolved my complaint after 1 month, is very disappointing to say in the least. I will not be using TID again for insurance at this rate, and I would advise others to look elsewhere also. They do not look after their customers, they will do anything to save their costs even if you have purchased an expensive policy, and if you happen to be unsatisfied with the outcome of your claim, they will draw out the process and stop replying to you! Unprofessional is one of many words that comes to mind.