Insurance company slow to pay up

Acer   You are best off using the denuncia route if you get no reply to your complaint email.  What is more, when you issue the denuncia you need to demonstrate you have tried the proper route first.  You might look silly with the police if the insurer is expecting something from you. 

I  think you have misunderstood the complaints forms procedure. It has nothing to do with the police, it is the Consumers Office who administer it.

Denuncias are Crime Reports.  The National Police  and Guardia Civil deal with crime, a complaint of this nature is not a crime.  (NB  The Policía Local are not police as we know the term in UK, they deal with bye laws and town hall regulations. If they arrest someone for a crime they must take them to the 'real' police) 

People often come to the (real) police with similar civil complaints and we have to send them to the Consumer’s Office at the town hall.

Hope that clarifies it.

Yes, Johnzx you are right about the Denouncia contact in this situation.

But before wading in with Denouncia the OP should send an email, or letter to the insurance company which includes the word COMPLAINT in the heading.  Insurance companies all have Compliance staff these days and one of their prime functions is to ensure that COMPLAINTS are handled promptly.

I had an incident with Linea Directa at Easter this year.  A local had driven into my Renault and the insurer inspected my car and I had a phone call to say that the claim was accepted but they were unsure whether to write it off.  I asked them "how long before you decide" and was told "under our procedures the engineer has 30 days to file his report".  I told them that this was unacceptable and when the guy said "sorry but that is our system".  I told him that was unacceptable and used the COMPLAINT email tactic mentioned.  Within 24 hours they had apologised and provided me with a hired car from Enterprise at their expense, even though I did not pay for this extension under their policy.

We agreed that the Renault was to be written off a couple of days later and as an apology for upsetting me they allowed me to keep the hired car for the duration of my stay as a freebie.

People regularly slag off insurers, but it's often because they don't communicate with them properly.   Don't accept something which is wrong and equally don't lose your cool with them.  Put the complaint in writing - an email is fine. 

I'm still with Linea Directa with my new car, including full no claims bonus and my excess that they recovered from the guilty third party.  I probably would not have these if I had these if I had not followed the correct process.  

Yes, Johnzx you are right about the Denouncia contact in this situation. 

Sorry if I sound pedantic, but what I said applies all civil complaints situations, the police are never involved.

I do not do so to correct your spelling but by calling the complaints form a ‘denouncia’  may lead others to think it is like ‘denouncing’ someone in the English sense.   In Spain a ‘denuncia’ is a complaint.  It might be a civil complaint when one uses the 'Hojas de Reclamaciones'  or criminal matter when you make a crime report (denuncia) to the police..

The 'Hojas de Reclamaciones'  are formal complaints forms for civil complaints.  Thus completing one is putting into writing what you have probably said verbally.   Nothing more sinister.   That is why they exist.    It is more or less the same as a letter or email of complaint, except the form  carries legal weight.  If you only write or email, and you do not get satisfaction,  then to follow it up you have to compete the  'Hojas de Reclamaciones'  thus causing further delay.

Acer, I agree the administrator is not good and that is a separate problem that cannot be addressed until the next AGM and Hephaestus, I must be a cynic too as I wondered exactly the same thing re the insurer and administrator.

I don not have all my files to hand at the moment but from memory the incident happened at the end of January this year. Is there a time limit for bringing a complaint against the insurer?

Do we now think the best course of action is to send a letter or email of complaint hoping that will prompt a payout or straight into the Hojas de Reclamaciones form?

Antonio, thanks for yours.

Of course there is a time limit to make a claim under the policy, invariably 14 or 21 days from the incident, but no time restriction on making a complaint. 

To be frank I wouldn't think too hard about it.  If the claim has been submitted you are entitled to send a simple email, heading it with the key word "Complaint" and asking for them to tell you why the claim has not been sorted.

I really wouldn't issue the Hojas de Reclamaciones form until you're sure you've got your facts right.  Johnzx's intentions are very good, but he does sometimes eat too much red meat and there's a need to get ducks in a row first.

antonio,

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the administrator has an agency with the insurance company and favours it's continuance over that of the duty of care that he owes to the owners. It's over six years since I was a Registered Insurance Broker in the UK, however I should imagine that the Spanish rules are similar to those in the UK, these being that the insured are the clients of the insurer, not the agent or broker, you would be well advised to get the insurance company in your corner, I doubt if there is any collusion between the administrator and them, other than that of the administrator not being totally honest with them.

The insurance claim was lodged within days of the incident. It is reassuring to know there is no time limit on complaining and getting redress and as we are not there all the time that adds to complications.

Antonio, do send me a PM if you need any help.  But first off you do need the insurer to explain themselves and I would most certainly do that direct, so you can form your own opinion.  

It has been known for agents and administrators to pocket the premium and hope there is no claim, so seeing some annual confirmation from the insurer is essential.

There's a lot of codswallop spread by people who invariably don't take the trouble to do things properly.  Some brokers and agents blame the insurers for their own incompetence.  Some policyholders complain about the "small print" when actually the truth is they've never bothered to read the policy, until after their claim was rejected.

But in Spain the technical standards in the sector are generally low, so if it doesn't make sense ask for confirmation in writing or complain, again in writing.

acer,

You have a very valid point in respect of agents/administrators,  I suggest that a certified copy of the insurance certificate be displayed in the foyer, this will not be issued prior to receipt of the premium.

This post may be deleted, apparently the mods 'have their reasons'. 

It has been known for agents and administrators to pocket the premium and hope there is no claim, so seeing some annual confirmation from the insurer is essential.

Acer, a very valid point.

Nothing to do with Spain but in the UK when a person buys a second hand car very often they are offered, and even gently pushed into buying the extra car warranty from a warranty company, i.e. Paper Warranty, in more case's then I care to mention a customer comes in with a much needed repair, hands over the warranty booklet, thinking it's fully covered, only to find that the selling dealer took the customers money, and never sent it away, in the hope the car didn't fail in the so called warranty period.