Have had a bit of an accident on holiday whilst on a bit of a walk, no one hurt and insurance covered the activity so not too bad. BUT . . . I tripped, slid and rolled a little ending up with my pack being washed down a fast flowing river.
Having read the documentation I need to provide proof of ownership for all my lost belongings, not a problem for the new camera, but the pack and other stuff were donkey years old. Plus we changed banks a few years back.
Talk to your insurer - explain the position (its not like you'll be the first with this problem) and dig through your photo album to see if there are any photos of the pack (and other gear). Evidence doesnt have to be reciepts - just that you had them (so a series of photos over some time is a good start).
Check you policy - is the claim being dealt with on a new for old basis or indemnity? If indemnity, by the time the value is scaled back to allow for age/wear and tear you may not get that much anyway.
if it's donkeys years old then it isn't worth anything.
they require proof because idiots like to claim for stuff they never had and because outdoor stuff isn't cheap - insurance companies gave up one of the basic principles of insurance year ago, namely indemnity, in the name of arse biting competitive edge - they will require proof that it cost you that much. from there they will make you an offer which will not cover the lost items replacement. unless of course you stipulated the full value of everything you were taking and paid the appropriate - aka considerably higher and proper - premium for it. one of penalties of being cheap.
if you have all risks cover on your home contents insurance (that will be the really expensive bit) then your items should be covered for outside of the home.
that aside isn't a lot of help buy i hope will explain the reality of the situation you now find yourself in. small print holds a wealth of information and is always worth reading - generally it's the only bit that is actually worth reading.
submit a realistic claim and a proper explanation you may find the company will be sympathetic. you will not get your stuff replaced so don't even think about it.
as a further aside, the company i used to work for used an argos catalogue to value claims.
Like Parky, I used to work with an insurance company (as a field agent).
Using catalogues to assess cost (and putting which catalogue and a reference in with the claim) was a huge help for everyone IMHO - sets the claim off at the right level and allows the claims department to check it easily etc. Stops the "How much?" discussion at stage 1.
Reason I asked about indemnity or new for old (cos I have just been away) when buying travel insurance for the family, some policies were indemnity and some new for old - I do check these things being a bit anal about insurance!
My experience is that, as long as you can (a) prove you owned the item - see comment about photos and (b) if a new for old policy have a reasonable estimate of replacement cost for a similar item - see comment about catalogue you will be treated sympathetically.
If its an indemnity policy and the stuff is years old...you'll get next to nothing if anything at all due to wear and tear/write down of value due to age etc etc
Some shops where you have a client card or something like that might have a history of your purchases in their system. You might ask them for a copy of your purchases
Many thanks for all the useful help. I did plough through the policy print but did not see any mention of Indemnity or new for old so shall trawl through it again.
hi! well i think you should discuss with the insurer and explain the whole situation or just have a look if there are any papers like bank receipt and stuff like that which could proof ownership for your loss.
No harm to you, but your posts all seem to be extolling the advantages of insurance...and the link above takes you straight into a loss assessors website - which deals with property loss and nothing (as far as I can see) about travel insurance claims.
I know this company quite well ...dont get me wrong...they do a good job in their chosen market...but I am not sure how happy Peter Hargreaves would be by being promoted by spam like posts on an outdoors forum?
