Can you please ask RAC car insurance why it won’t pay my claim, because I have got to the point where I simply don’t know what to do.
On 4 December last year I had a no-fault accident. I have dashcam footage showing the other driver pulling out in front of me. The police attended, and I have witness statements showing I was not at fault.
After reporting the claim I was told that a company called Markerstudy would be dealing with it. Two weeks later, I received a text telling me my car was to be written off. I was then informed that, in fact, the RAC would process it.
I was then contacted by a third company called IMS Solutions which told me it was now dealing with my claim. After a long wait it informed me that it wasn’t getting anywhere with the third party’s insurer, and said I should go back to the RAC.
Today, RAC told me that it won’t deal with this and gave me the number of another company – you guessed it, Markerstudy!
This has now been going on for almost four months, when I have been without a car, or a settlement. My car was only worth £2,800.
The way this claim has been handled is completely ridiculous. It’s as though they are deliberately making it as difficult as possible.
I am now at the end of my tether.
JC, Wallingford
Twenty years ago, you paid your insurer for cover and if you had to make a claim then it would process it and pay out.
Today, it feels like the whole claims process has been subcontracted out to endless companies that most people have never heard of – firms you have no contract or relationship with, firms that are often near impossible to contact.
We have had several similar letters complaining about insurers in recent months, making the same point as you.
Your letter shows how dysfunctional the whole process has become, and had I not intervened, I suspect it could have taken you another four months to get your payout.
The RAC says: “We have investigated JC’s concerns and would like to apologise for the time it has taken for his claim to be resolved.
“We have spoken to the parties involved and are pleased to say we have now resolved the claim. We have given him a payment of £150 for the time it has taken to process the claim.”
In January, Markerstudy bought BGL Insurance, which provides the RAC’s and others’ policies, for a reported £400m. It also owns Co-op Insurance.
Trustpilot and other reviews of Markerstudy and Co-op Insurance make for quite shocking reading, with poor claims handling the main complaint from customers. Your experience is not unusual, it seems.
Asked about the reviews for its companies, Markerstudy blamed claim delays on “ongoing supply chain issues” and says it has recruited 40 staff to improve matters.
“We are working with all our partners, insurers and providers to try and minimise disruption to customers,” it says.
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