insurance claim advice sought

Herbie von Smalls · May 7, 2008

when we moved to oz, we had our stuff shipped over by an aussie company who used a british partner at the uk end of the operation. one of the boxes went astray somewhere and needless to say, neither party has been willing to accept responsibility.

anyway, we had the lot insured and filed a claim. as it happens, the missing box was the one containing my missus's precious feckin' shoes - the one luxury in which she's indulged over the years (in terms of material possessions). we had something like 60 boxes shipped over and calculated a total value which we thought was realistic. off all the goods sent, this box would've been the most expensive and she claimed for around 15% of the total value.

the insurance agent has contacted us intimating that they found it convenient for us that the missing box should be the one that was most valuable. they've decided we undervalued the entire shipment and accordingly are willing to reimburse less than half of what my wife has claimed for. the alternative is for her to submit receipts for the shoes (many of which she bought 10 years ago) so that they can reconsider.

we sent an email saying we weren't satisfied with their 'offer' and would consider our next course of action. we added that our ideal outcome was the return of the missing box, as many of the items were irreplaceable, rather than having the money.

i reckon they're being very arbritrary in their judgment that we undervalued. they've offered no grounds to substantiate their belief. unfortunately, my missus hasn't kept the receipts - then again, if this was a burglary claim, are policy holders expected to account for everything accumulated down the years with receipts?

what i'm trying to ascertain, is whether their offer is a binding 'take it or leave it' one, or whether it's part of some negotiated settlement process that we're expected to engage in. can anyone suggest how we should go about our next response?

cymrococh · May 7, 2008

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