Just though Id share out recent experience with Club 4x4 insurance.
we had an accident with a cow over easter, taking out the front of the cruiser. I tried to call the insurance company only to find they are only open Mon - Fri 8 - 4pm.
Given that it was easter weekend I called them first thing Tuesday morning to advise them of the accident. I was asked to supply photos, dash cam footage, driving history and rego papers for the cruiser which i did. A few days went by and I hadnt heard anything from them, so i called and got told once they has something to tell me they would contact me.
On Wednesday 11th April I received a call from the claims dept of club 4x4 and they confirmed for me that the cruiser would be repaired and that it would be transported from Gin Gin to Mackay, where we are currently. They also provided me the name if the repairer.
On Thursday I call the repairer to see that they have received communication from the insurance company and they confirmed for me they had... Happy days or so I thought.
On Friday I received a text message to call club 4x4 urgently, so I called only to be told by a claims consultant that my claim has been denied and my policy cancelled do to non-disclosure of 9 vehicle insurance claims prior to inception of the policy which was back on 6th April 2017.
I was flabbergasted as I knew this not to be true, I asked them to send me the report.
On closer inspection of the report from IRS, there is 1 at fault claim for Jemma and 4 windscreen replacements (not all for the same vehicle) that are dated prior to the date of inception of the policy. There is 1 at fault claim for Dalton and 2 windscreen claims ( again not for the same vehicle) and a closed claim from Allianz all dated after the date of inception.
I have have been in touch with RACQ who was the insurance company for all claims bar 1 windscreen which was with Club 4x4. and they have advised me that windscreen claims and not a claim on your insurance but rather a benefit that is supplied to you on the purchase of your fully comprehensive policy. Both policy's for the at fault accidents for Jemma and Dalton are in both mine and their names.
Allianz is not even a claim but rather an inquiry, someone backed into me and I made an inquiry as to the excess and whether I should claim it through insurance, it turned out the excess was more that the cost to repair the car so I personally paid for the repairs.
I have gone back to Club 4x4 with this information and asked for my complaint to be escalated.
On Tuesday 17th I received a call from the claims manager of Club 4x4 whom informs me now that I proven them wrong on the statement of the non disclosure of 9 vehicle insurance claims, they have now decided to move the goal posts and tell me that the claim Dalton had which was after the inception of the policy was not disclosed to them at time of policy renewal, that their decision to deny my claim and cancel my policy stands. So my question here was, why is this accident in contention when it was Dalton's claim and not mine. Apparently I am dishonest and now deemed a high risk for insurance.
Today I have written to the Internal Dispute Resolution committee and requested a review of the decision and I supplied them all of the above information. I have asked them the question, this If I am held responsible for my kids accidents does that mean they are held responsible for this accident (Andy was driving).
Now we have to wait upto 45 days for an answer......
In the mean time I asked if we could move the cruiser and I was told by the claims manager " do what you like its your car". I have now made arrangements to have the cruiser transported from Gin Gin to Mackay to the nominated repairer, totally at my cost of course and of course I now have to pay for the accident tow and the storage fees as well.
I will keep u posted on the outcome, but please if you are insured with Club 4x4 be careful as they clearly are not easy to deal with and in the event of an accident you may have a fight on your hands like we do.
Please feel free to share my experience with others that you feel may need to know.
I would also appreciate it if this experience could be mentioned at the next association meeting so that other clubs and there members are made aware of the antic of this insurance company.
Regards Di & Andy Grant
This user has been deleted!
RE: 4x4 Club Insurance -
Posted on 19-04-2018 09:46
Gee, sorry to hear about your misdealings. I have in the past gone with high profile insurance companies and found them all to look after their own interests and not the policy holders. So now, I go for value and not name. I make sure they offer the cover I need and shop for the best price and keep looking around as they change. Yes there will be people out there who say they have had no troubles, it's just like cars, you get a good run and then you get the not so good runs. There is also the insurance council or ombudsman you can escalate this too, I would. They have to respond to the ombudsman. Make sure you keep all your receipts.
Good luck.
Cheers
Sonny
0418 966 996
RE: 4x4 Club Insurance -
Posted on 19-04-2018 13:48
Thanks for sharing your incredible tale of woe Di and Andy. I personally put insurance salesmen in the same basket as profiteering pollies. My only claim was having my roof replaced after the 1974 devastating hailstorm cost was set at $4000 and I bought the whole house the year before for $8,888. Bit of argy bargy there?
The work was done by non tradesmen brought up from interstate!
With 54 years of licensed driving without an accident, so no claims, do the sums, your fees pay off the claims of others, so I go for the third person property nowadays. Hope you get the help you need from the Ombudsman you are being stiffed.
Good Luck. Andy D
RE: 4x4 Club Insurance -
Posted on 26-04-2018 08:30
Good to see you got the problems sorted out and are now covered again.
We are with club 4x4 as well and got this news letter from them today.
Ron.
How To Best Resolve Your Issues With Us
Over the last couple of weeks we have had a variety of customers, friends, industry mates and a fair share of doubters, message and question us about a couple of different claims.
Far from shying away from the topic, I have always made an effort to respond to these questions, phone calls, text messages, forum posts and Facebook messages personally.
I take these issues seriously and prefer to respond myself or guide a response. Why? Because first, an honest and transparent view is required – and I think that a level of responsibility is required in that process. Second, because the reality is we cannot discuss the specific particulars of any claim publicly. Doing so may contravene various clauses and legislative requirements that we are bound by.
Compounding our inability to talk about the particulars of a claim, we often don’t physically have the opportunity to respond, because many of these grievances are posted in closed groups on social media and alike. As a result, the other side of the story is never aired. Given Aussie’s “love” of insurance companies (yes – it’s a joke) such posts spread like wildfire with no real response.
Now I’m not criticising that – everyone has the right to air a grievance and it seems nowadays the way to do it is through the various social media platforms available. Any business worth its crust needs to accept that and deal with it – bad news spreads quicker than good after all.
“How can I get my issues resolved with Club 4X4?”
Well like any insurance provider we are mandated to have an Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) process – which a customer or claimant can enact at any time. This starts a formal and documented process with specific timelines enforced upon us to review and respond to your complaint.
“What happens if you’re not satisfied?”
If the outcomes of the above IDR process are not to your satisfaction. then you have the opportunity to take your case to the Financial Services Ombudsman (FOS). FOS is the overarching body that oversees and enforces the various legislative responsibilities of a financial services provider and is there to provide an independent and expert view on any issues that cannot be resolved using internal processes.
I invite anyone who isn’t getting enough to ask for their case to be reviewed by myself directly – there is a good chance it already is once it gets escalated, but again, if in doubt drop my name!
“Why do I keep reading about this stuff and how can I prevent it?”
Us 4wd-ers are pretty fussy (personally I call myself OCD but I didn’t want to put that on anyone else) – so we really do take the time to get involved and immersed in what’s happening in our world. Spending 5 minutes searching will bring up many more examples of claims and sales issues amongst other financial services providers – but that’s not the point here.
The key is to understand what you are actually buying. With a financial services product you are buying a contracted promise. The process of entering this contract is answering of a set of underwriting questions. The answers to these questions drive what price we offer, or if we even offer to provide you cover at all (yes – we can decline to offer cover based on our underwriting criteria!). This is the process of entering into the insurance contract – and the requirement for any person seeking to enter into a contract of general insurance to answer questions factually and completely is called the Duty of Disclosure.
Fast forward to claim time – if it is found that the information provided at the time of quote was wrong or incomplete and that if we had had the right information at the time of quote we would have declined to offer cover – your contract becomes null and void.
Not unlike any other insurers and not unreasonable – why should anyone else have to bear the load of heavier premiums for those who don’t disclose? If you’re not sure of the answers to the questions asked, then get sure. Stop and think, call your previous insurers, look up your records – it’s your responsibility as a consumer. For a fee you can use http://insurancereferenceservices.com.au/about who will outline all claims lodged by insurers under your name. Further, driving histories can be sought for a fee from your local registry.
Luckily though, the majority of people don’t find themselves in this situation. In fact, in our last Net Promotor Score press release we reported that 67% of claimants scored their claim experience with us as a 9 or higher out of 10. This was a percentage point higher than our inaugural study in mid-2017. Interestingly, the nearest “competitor” to this score was a large brand known for insuring people over a certain age – their last published score was 6; that’s right, our score for claims experience was over ten times higher.
So to those of our customers who have issues, please, give us a call and go through the process – our aim is to make your happy. To those who see the next post splashed all over social media – take note that we cannot respond with our side of the story. Finally, for those who really want to understand and prevent issues – make sure your information is ALWAYS up to date at the start of your policy and at renewal.
Happy Touring!
RE: 4x4 Club Insurance -
Posted on 26-04-2018 08:31
Over the last couple of weeks we have had a variety of customers, friends, industry mates and a fair share of doubters, message and question us about a couple of different claims.
Far from shying away from the topic, I have always made an effort to respond to these questions, phone calls, text messages, forum posts and Facebook messages personally.
I take these issues seriously and prefer to respond myself or guide a response. Why? Because first, an honest and transparent view is required – and I think that a level of responsibility is required in that process. Second, because the reality is we cannot discuss the specific particulars of any claim publicly. Doing so may contravene various clauses and legislative requirements that we are bound by.
Compounding our inability to talk about the particulars of a claim, we often don’t physically have the opportunity to respond, because many of these grievances are posted in closed groups on social media and alike. As a result, the other side of the story is never aired. Given Aussie’s “love” of insurance companies (yes – it’s a joke) such posts spread like wildfire with no real response.
Now I’m not criticising that – everyone has the right to air a grievance and it seems nowadays the way to do it is through the various social media platforms available. Any business worth its crust needs to accept that and deal with it – bad news spreads quicker than good after all.
“How can I get my issues resolved with Club 4X4?”
Well like any insurance provider we are mandated to have an Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) process – which a customer or claimant can enact at any time. This starts a formal and documented process with specific timelines enforced upon us to review and respond to your complaint.
“What happens if you’re not satisfied?”
If the outcomes of the above IDR process are not to your satisfaction. then you have the opportunity to take your case to the Financial Services Ombudsman (FOS). FOS is the overarching body that oversees and enforces the various legislative responsibilities of a financial services provider and is there to provide an independent and expert view on any issues that cannot be resolved using internal processes.
I invite anyone who isn’t getting enough to ask for their case to be reviewed by myself directly – there is a good chance it already is once it gets escalated, but again, if in doubt drop my name!
“Why do I keep reading about this stuff and how can I prevent it?”
Us 4wd-ers are pretty fussy (personally I call myself OCD but I didn’t want to put that on anyone else) – so we really do take the time to get involved and immersed in what’s happening in our world. Spending 5 minutes searching will bring up many more examples of claims and sales issues amongst other financial services providers – but that’s not the point here.
The key is to understand what you are actually buying. With a financial services product you are buying a contracted promise. The process of entering this contract is answering of a set of underwriting questions. The answers to these questions drive what price we offer, or if we even offer to provide you cover at all (yes – we can decline to offer cover based on our underwriting criteria!). This is the process of entering into the insurance contract – and the requirement for any person seeking to enter into a contract of general insurance to answer questions factually and completely is called the Duty of Disclosure.
Fast forward to claim time – if it is found that the information provided at the time of quote was wrong or incomplete and that if we had had the right information at the time of quote we would have declined to offer cover – your contract becomes null and void.
Not unlike any other insurers and not unreasonable – why should anyone else have to bear the load of heavier premiums for those who don’t disclose? If you’re not sure of the answers to the questions asked, then get sure. Stop and think, call your previous insurers, look up your records – it’s your responsibility as a consumer. For a fee you can use http://insurancereferenceservices.com.au/about who will outline all claims lodged by insurers under your name. Further, driving histories can be sought for a fee from your local registry.
Luckily though, the majority of people don’t find themselves in this situation. In fact, in our last Net Promotor Score press release we reported that 67% of claimants scored their claim experience with us as a 9 or higher out of 10. This was a percentage point higher than our inaugural study in mid-2017. Interestingly, the nearest “competitor” to this score was a large brand known for insuring people over a certain age – their last published score was 6; that’s right, our score for claims experience was over ten times higher.
So to those of our customers who have issues, please, give us a call and go through the process – our aim is to make your happy. To those who see the next post splashed all over social media – take note that we cannot respond with our side of the story. Finally, for those who really want to understand and prevent issues – make sure your information is ALWAYS up to date at the start of your policy and at renewal.
Happy Touring!
Kalen Ziflian
General Manager – Club 4X4
RE: Caravan Insurance -
Posted on 27-04-2018 09:51
Just to clarify I had disclosed all motor vehicle accidents prior to inception, Dalton's accident happened after inception and did not need to be reported until the renewal is due, at the time of our accident and them declining the policy the renewal was not yet due.
So they tried to use any excuse to get out of paying.
Since being advised that the IDR team have overturned the decision and they have reinstated our policy and said they will fix the truck, they took 7 days to notify the repairer that they accept the claim, it has taken them 10 days to put the decision in writing to me as I needed to provide evidence to other insurance companies we have policies with.
At the time of informing me of the overturned decision I asked about reimbursement of my out of pocket expenses which totaled to just under $2k, I was told that all my expense would be paid, email the receipts and payment will be immediate. I have emailed several times and received no response so I private messaged kalen the GM last week and low and behold I received a phone call saying payment would be made on Thursday.
They deposited just over $1K to my account with no remittance or email in sight to explain what the payment is for... I have emailed again this week asking what receipts the $1000 was paying and when would I received the balance..,..guess what NO Response as yet.
It has now been 5 1/2 weeks since the accident and we are no closer to getting our truck fixed or our out of pocket expenses reimbursed.
They are happy to keep taking our money for the premium but the service from this company is appalling.
Looks like another private message to Kalen is on the cards. Its shocking that we as the customer has to go to these lengths to get a response. Just another business affected with bad customer service.
I will be changing insurance companies once the truck is fixed.
User deleted! 
