Claims efficiency

[kazzled]

Couldnt agree more with the disgusting service that AAMI proudly accepts.

It was due to their incompetence that they sent out a drunk "make safe" not once, but twice. The result was a 4mtrx4mtr gaping hole in our lounge room, a father-in-law hit by the debris, my 18mth old's toys smashed to smithereens (if it had been 9am then she would have been killed also!).

The "make safe"'s response: "What do you care? you have insurance, just claim and buy new toys" (at this point in his defence he was so intoxicated that he had to support himself against the outside post whilst he asked his apprentice to go in and inspect it all.

Almost seven weeks of having a gaping hole, blow-in insulation causing breathing issues for our three youngest, AAMI then finally thought to send out an assessor... who was gobsmacked at what had happened.

Then after another three weeks, they contracted the same company that was responsible for the damage to repair it. Two weeks later everything they had repaired had to be torn down because it was unsafe (the new ceiling was completely bowed, power points smashed off walls, roller shutter electric controllers destroyed, gaps in plasterwork that would be reminiscent of a kindergarten kids attempts, paint dribbles on all the walls (that they cared to look at - even though they were sposed to paint all the walls).

So the AAMI Storms Manager who had only been involved because the Ombudsman complaint we had to make (AAMI are great at saying they will escalate things.. only they dont!) thought we were overreacting and sent out their most qualified assessor/inspector... The inspector took one look and was shocked. His report recommended it was torn down immediately and done again.

Now we had a hostile Storms Manager who although being less than useful proved to be totally short of useless. His exact words after we told him it wasnt good enough was "your only one little person and we are a big corporation, there's nothing you could do that would matter". The Manager also refused to refer the matter back to the Ombudsman saying that "it wasn't his problem".

So my husband who is involved in the media and online (which the manager never took the time to investigate) has decided that if AAMI don't care about their policyholders then everyone should know about it.

He will be putting all the high def video and soundbytes that have been recorded over the entire course of our nightmare onto a site he setup to show the manager that fair should be fair... http:(DELETED)

[JAJ]

Now Im going to start by saying I DON'T work for CGU Insurance... So im saying this simply because its true.

CGU have an amazing home policy !!! And as with all IAG brands the claims departments are rated on hold times. If they allow a customer to hold for more than 5 minutes it literally costs the consultants money...obviously in the case of a large storm or natural disaster this isnt the case. But I think that is good old fashioned Customer Service !

Good to have friends in the know

[Kaly]

Yes, that has been our experience too - AAMI is great on car insurance but just doesn't have the house & contents insurance expertise and efficiency. We bundled our insurances to save $$$. Maybe that isn't such a great idea...

[aaronbern]

Great post. Wetoo have hasd similar appalling service exeriences from AAMI for storm damage to home and contents. The similartales I could tell.

Disappointing thing is that we have nothing but positive things to say about the way they handle vehicle claims. Excellent. In fact it ws because of this we changed our H&C coverage to them. It's a woder how one part of their organisation can be so good and the other so poor.

Becaue of their apalling service for the storm damage we are now looking for an alternative provider to both H&C AND car insuarnce. So AAMI can now blame their H&C division for the loss of a vehicle insurance client.

[computerflyer]

Brilliant post Kaly!

[Kaly]

To a joyous chorus of “lucky we’re with AAMI” we once again place buckets and bowls on our dining room floor to catch the rain that steadily drips through our ceilings, via our light fittings and down our walls.

We know AAMI is doing its best. After all, it was only a month ago we reported the first storm damage and it's hard to focus on two things at once: house and contents. To give AAMI their due, within two days of us making a claim we had people shifting tin on our roof and ripping up our carpet in the flooded downstairs office. In addition, the outsourced building assessor put us completely at ease in relation to his company’s ethics when he informed us that “storms are good for business, but fires are what we hang out for.”

Most importantly, we were promptly given a claim number. As the rainwater strips the paintwork from your ceilings and walls, your floorboards warp and your lights explode, it’s comforting to know you have a claim number. With a claim number, you see, you get special service. What with AAMI being “a pacesetter in customer service” you get a real person answering your call PLUS you get at least 45 minutes of entertainment from a looped recording about AAMI's high level of customer service. Now that’s innovation. Believe me, if you’re not doing anything else during business hours Monday to Friday, which are the special operating hours for customers with claim numbers, it’s a very pleasant way to pass the time!

Nothing has been done since that first flurry of activity, and no information has been forthcoming, but we understand our claim is one of many. There’s a big club of us lucky AAMI customers, and we regularly exchange anecdotes about the "peace of mind" we get from AAMI insurance. How peaceful it is, for example, to watch the decay of the woodwork you so lovingly designed as you mop up the water pouring into your house. How peaceful it is to have a supercilious claims officer tell you to let him finish speaking even though he has been doing so for some time and not yet told you anything you want to know. And how very peaceful it is to receive an introduction to your case manager, never to hear from her again. We’re all hysterical with peace of mind. Please would someone give us a collective slap.

In the end, come what may, we admit that it gives us a warm glow to know that AAMI appreciates our “valuable feedback” and will even pay a $30 “penalty” for failure to deliver on its standards of customer service. Sure, it may ultimately cost thousands to repair the damage that is accumulating with each storm while AAMI takes its time to attend to our claim, and maybe another thousand for relationship therapy if we have to continue with the current living arrangements much longer, but in the meantime at least we’ll have $30 to buy more buckets.

Yours luckily, xxxxxxxxxx