Nancy and Marcel, a couple from Dublin, had quite an ordeal spanning almost 10 months with their insurance company, Allianz, after their vehicle was swiped from outside their residence at the beginning of this year. The long, complex tale, told to us by the couple, reveals a less than straightforward process that took a considerate amount of time, even though the Police Force of Ireland (An Garda Síochána) managed to retrieve their car just a few days post-theft.
The pair relocated to the Netherlands in mid-February, their auto having been stolen for a decade prior. Their struggle with Allianz extended a staggering eight months. Back in mid-January, specifically the 13th, their motor was thieved from their suburban Dublin property. In the preceding November, they had purchased an Allianz coverage through an digital broker which included a crucial clause determining the maximum payout.
The clause stated that the maximum settlement for a claim regarding the loss or accident damage of the vehicle would be equal to the car’s market value just before the incident, less a €250 excess. The car was pinched at 2 o’clock in the morning and reported to the police a few hours later.
When the couple reached out Allianz, they were informed that, as it was a weekend, the claims department was shut and were advised to retry on Monday. It seemed an acceptable request and they were reassured their call would be documented. Meanwhile, a local resident shared CCTV footage with them, showing a dubious car spotted repeatedly in the neighbourhood before 2am, decamping shortly afterward with the couple’s car in tow.
However, when they contacted Allianz again on Monday, their weekend call seemed to have vanished without a trace. The couple dutifully filled in a motor incident form as requested, which was authenticated by a police officer. And their enquiry about a provisional replacement car went unfortunately unanswered.
On January 23, a couple received news from the police that their vehicle was discovered, leading them to promptly communicate with Allianz, seeking information on the steps to take given the car’s recovery and requesting a replacement vehicle. Subsequent to one week, the couple were informed by the police that the vehicle was back in the country and were requested to submit a backup key to instigate a forensic inspection. The pair proceeded to notify Allianz, expressing worry over the lack of communication. They were reassured and informed that post the forensic analysis by the police, they could either collect the vehicle themselves or allow Allianz to do so by providing them with a spare key and vehicle registration for formal inspection.
Frustration with absence of communication pushed the couple to inform Allianz of their plan to report their grievances to third parties, a message left unattended. On February 14, they reached out to Allianz once more to inform them of the concluded forensic evaluation and the availability of release papers for signing while the car was being garaged. They made an inquiry regarding the suitable party to retrieve the car, while indicating their upcoming relocation to the Netherlands. This communication along with their subsequent query regarding the retrieval of the car were disregarded.
The communication standstill ended on March 2nd when Allianz informed the couple of its plans to retrieve the car from the storage for further inspection and commit to a follow-up discussion on the next steps. However, their request for a schedule remained unanswered. By March 13th, the couple once again sought an update and, nearly a week later, they were told that the car, discovered sporting false plates, was still awaiting collection and inspection.
Unable to bear with the lengthy process and appalling communication, the frustrated couple aired their grievances to Allianz yet again on April 4th and highlighted the upcoming expiry of the vehicle tax. This email, like many others, went unanswered.
After a two-week break, the duo once again reached out to Allianz through mail to express their dissatisfaction due to the lack of customer service, especially the absence of a replacement vehicle and unresponsive communication. Sometime around May, Allianz finally reestablished contact suggesting that their car had incurred “minor damage”. They proposed moving the vehicle to their ‘endorsed repair shop’ for a repair estimate.
Responding almost immediately, the pair expressed confusion about the decision-making process and asked for a direct contact number for easier communication. They restressed important facts such as their non-residency in Ireland, not having a vehicle and an expired motor tax, emphasising the need to resolve the issue promptly. This heartfelt plea met with apathy, as did a subsequent email ten days later requesting an analysis report.
On the 22nd of May, the pair again tried contacting Allianz, threatening to involve a third party to complain about the lack in communication constituting negligence. Predictably, they were snubbed again. In late May, they discovered that Allianz was seemingly still awaiting their approval for a damage estimate and repair.
Marcel informed the company of his lack of understanding about the magnitude of the damage, its repercussions on their insurance cover, and how Allianz might choose to deal with the claim. He instructed them to proceed with the estimate. About five months after the theft of the vehicle, they received a repair cost estimate from a garage of €1,362.
They were informed that their insurance would cover the cost, with a deduction of €250 excess, thus they gave consent to the repairs. By the end of June, Allianz emailed to confirm a settlement offer of €1,112.56 based on all the evidence gathered thus far regarding their claim. On July 6th they received a call from the garage confirming the completion of repairs.
Unfortunately, it seems the tale is not yet completed.
Upon arrival in Dublin, Marcel and his partner were shocked to see deep scratches on their car’s passenger side, which were nonexistent prior, coupled with the absence of their spare tyre and toolkit. Both issues were known to the garage, however, neither were addressed by Allianz or the garage. In spite of the unaddressed issues, they declined to sign off on the car.
Subsequently, they paid a visit Allianz’s head office, reassured that everything would be handle. Allianz expressed remorse for the miscommunication that had led to the pair’s frustration.
In mid-July, the duo was informed by the garage that Allianz had okayed the paint job. On the 29th of July, they received an email from Allianz with an offer to settle their claim for €3,589.58, based on all evidence presented thus far.
They appealed to Allianz to inform the Transport Department of their car’s theft on January 13, 2024, and request the “Off the Road” status for it in respect to motor tax and other concerns.
Allianz replied, clarifying that the vehicle was not marked as stolen in their system as it was found a week later. They advised the Transport Department about the vehicle’s minimal damage. Regarding the stolen items, they were not covered as the couple had no personal effects cover. If they did, the coverage would amount to €200. As the vehicle went missing for 10 days, they were entitled to 10 days’ worth of vehicle hire from their policy, although Allianz agreed to reimburse 14 days of vehicle hire at the Allianz rate with Enterprise car hire company, totalling €434, out of goodwill.
The pair highlighted that despite their car being recovered by An Garda within 10 days, it took a whole eight months for the car to be fixed. During that time, they felt that Allianz had been neglectful and had referred the car to a garage which claimed to have done the repairs. However, over 80% of the theft-related damages and issues were not fixed upon their inspection.
The couple were left waiting for more than eight months to retrieve their car, despite their initial communication with Allianz. Continued attempts to reach the company through emails, phone calls, and a personal visit to their office in Dublin met with no response. In a letter to Pricewatch, the pair expressed their frustration over the high cost of car insurance in Ireland, questioning its benefit to consumers.
We reached out to Allianz and received a response in which the company acknowledged and apologised for the communication breakdown that had led to the couple’s distress. They stated that they are currently working to resolve the situation to the customer’s satisfaction. In their statement, Allianz appreciated the customer’s patience and assured that measures have been implemented to prevent such issues from arising in the future.