Where’s my money, too?

Late January, somebody hit my car from behind.

They had insurance, and in early February, I was asked by the insurance company to take my car for assessing at a repair shop. I did this and delivered the quotation for just over P13,000 to their office. I was asked to submit all my KYC documents online, which I did. I have been following up constantly with them by phone calls and emails since May but still am waiting for the claim to be paid. I have called over 30 times to follow up but always get put on hold or am told they would return my call, which they have only done once but with no information to share with me. It has been 10 months now and I can’t seem to get a result no matter how hard I try. Could you please help?

Someone who was trying to be difficult would argue that you are not the customer of the insurance company. The other driver, the one who paid for the insurance policy, is their customer and their obligation is to help them, not you. But I disagree. Their customer damaged your vehicle and their job is to protect the other driver’s interests by honouring their insurance policy and paying you what you deserve. If they fail to do so, you’ll be entitled to take legal action against the other driver and demand payment from them, not the insurance company. Does the insurance company want their client being dragged to court because of their incompetence? Do they really want their customer to report them to NBFIRA for failing to honour their obligations? Do they really?

I’ve emailed the CEO of the insurance company to see if he can intervene and encourage his colleagues to offer a decent service. If that doesn’t work then you and the other driver should combine forces and report them to NBFIRA.