I know a lot of you use them for home/bike contents but they have recently changed from Norwich Union to Axa for there cover & use ival to process their claims. 3 weeks after a burglary in whiich my bike went missing they are still to busy to look at my claim, dispite dozens of calls they say it is on a list & they will get to it eventually. Getting fatter here without my bike.
I just had great service from M&S (AXA) with a stolen bike claim. They use Wheelies to value the bikes and they are really slow if you have a custom build. I got good results getting M&S to call Wheelies repeatedly on my behalf. Took a little more than a week to get a cash settlement (18% less than the bikes valuation).
AA insurance here. Done and dusted with a big fat voucher to spend on bikes less that 3 weeks after the theft. Can't grumble.
M&S are a bit harder to deal with now they use Wheelies as middle men, but I got there in the end (found someone very good at M&S who sorted Wheelies out!) and ended up with a full cash settlement as Wheelies couldn't source an equivalent replacement.
I dont think they use Wheelies anymore, its all sorted by ival
Why would you get 18% less than a bikes valuation, does the policy not give "new for old" cover?
Anyone had any experience with Prestige Underwriting? They are handling my claim but I'm wondering how long it's all going to take. Bike withdrawal 🙁
Yeah, M&S is supposed to be new for old no?
They'll try to fob you off with the 18% deduction because it saves them money - basically if you have a £1000 bike replaced by their supplier, it'll only cost them 820 (ie 18% off) since that's what they get as part of their deal. Just remind them that if they can't do like for like, they have to give you the money and that they're not allowed to reduce the value.
Have a look at your insurance contract's T&Cs. What are they contractually obligated to do? There must be a time period stated in there somewhere.
Just remind them that if they can't do like for like, they have to give you the money and that they're not allowed to reduce the value.
Not allowed to? I think they can do what they want!
When my OH wrote off her road bike we sent a valuation together with a statement that it was specialised equipment and we would like a cheque. Which they eventually paid after attempting to source her a Raleigh.
Which was good actually because a new Madone frame had been ordered the afternoon of the crash and built up the following weekend.
Not assuming that it's a new for old in which case if you have a quote that you've both agreed on (eg the bike was worth £1k) then they can't legally force you to take less simply because it costs them more..
mudshark - if you let them, yes. There is a contract in place though.
I understood that the insuree was indemnified.
Well an insurer doesn't have to pay up for anything but maybe if the insurance is new for old they have to honour that if they agree to pay up.
as of two weeks ago they still used Wheelies
Well, I guess that M&S can't make me go to Wheelies as I none of my bikes are of brands which are supplied by Wheelies.
Exactly, especially if you can show that your bike wasn't standard spec.
Of course, they will try very hard to make you go there but just keep saying "no" until they relent. IIRC if it ever does get contentious, mention the Finance Ombudsman [url] http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/ [/url] and make sure you've read about it first. FWIW, anecdotally, this doesn't seem to be the way M&S work but it's often useful with other insurance companies.
to all those people with custom builds, I would think it would be a lot easier the more components you've got receipts for.
Photographs and signed quote from LBS where most of it has been purchased from seems adequate to me.
The reason they gave me for the 18% deduction was that their obligation is to put me in the same position I was in before, and if they were going to settle by cash rather than through their preferred supplier it would cost them more. Make a big enough nuisance of yourself and they'll cave in though ;o)
I also spoke to them about proof of ownership in the event of theft (given that I don't have receipts for all of parts/some things are second hand) - they just said to take photos of all bikes, keep receipts if you have them (or other proof of purchase, e.g. credit card statements) and ideally have a list of all the components as well.
They're still good - just a bit harder work now!
Wheelies are first used by M&S to value your bike and source a replacement, but you are not limited to off the peg bikes that are listed on their website.
I sent a detailed list of components with RRP's along with pics of the bike built as verification (good advice bonj about receipts tho I wasn't asked to supply any). The valuation they returned was more than my calculations.
Wheelies can supply brands not listed on their website as they deal with most importers. For instance, I was told they could source a Yeti or Intense frame even though they don't sell those directly as part of a custom build. The down side to having Wheelies do a custom build is they will charge (your insurer) full retail on every bit. If you have a limit on your policy this can be an issue. I opted to get a cash settlement and source bits myself as I'm sure I can get them cheaper than retail with some careful shopping.