The insurance company that simply does not care

<p>I have two stories to tell</p> <p> </p> <p>The first started when our geyser began to act up. The regulator broke and the geyser started to overflow. I contacted ABSA insurance and they came to our aid soon enough. A new regulator was installed, albeit a cheap one (so the plumber told us himself) and all was right with the world.</p> <p>A few months later there was a popping sound as our electricity cut out. I quickly ran through the house, unplugging everything so as to pinpoint if there was an electrical fault anywhere once we turn on the power again, but as I walked down the hallway I heard a fiery rumble coming from above. I looked up and to my horror discovered an orange glow from the ceiling. The cheap regulator had malfunctioned and started a fire, which charred the beams in the ceiling and scorched most of our wiring, before the geyser itself burst putting out the flames with the water. I called ABSA to register the claim and on the next day two of the assessors came.</p> <p> </p> <p>We sat for two days without water and two weeks without electricity waiting for the plumbers and electricians to come and repair our house.</p> <p> </p> <p>Eventually the electricians had a look but refused to fix the wiring until the structural repairs had been done in the ceiling, while at the same time the builders refused to begin working until the wiring was fixed. The electricians had told us we can, for the time being, use the electricity as is, burn damage and all. The whole process took two months before our house was eventually fixed up.</p> <p> </p> <p>The second story is recent, and in fact still ongoing (but not according to ABSA). A fire started inside my oven, where the wiring is located, Fortunately nothing was damaged, aside from the wiring inside of the stove, and the inner walls of the oven which were charred to a crisp. I contacted Absa and the assessor came soon enough, but all he did was switch on the oven for a few seconds verifying the element got warm, dismissed the burn damage on the inner walls as grime, and concluded there was nothing wrong with the stove and it only needed cleaning. He did not even look at the wiring inside to see if it was damaged. I voiced my displeasure at this with ABSA, asking them to guarantee in writing that the oven was fine, and that ABSA would be liable for any damages incurred from its use, but at this ABSA changed their mind and said they would send another assessor to get a second opinion. The next assessor also did not inspect the wiring, but when he turned on one of the plates it began to billow smoke, and he told us not to use the stove.</p> <p> </p> <p>Thereafter we waited for word from ABSA . For three weeks we heard nothing. I called several times and was either put on hold until my airtime ran out, or promised the woman assigned to our file would call me back but nothing happened. I also Emailed ABSA and was blatantly ignored. Eventually I went into a branch where I was put into contact with the insurance company yet again, but this time I could not run out of airtime. I was promised, nay, 100% undoubtedly guaranteed once again that the lady assigned to our file would call me back in 10 minutes. Twenty minutes later I called back again and the lady I spoke to told me that she cannot guarantee I will be called back. I pleaded with her that she help me in stead, and after another small infinity on hold the lady told me, amid profuse apologies, that they had, in all this time, not yet heard back from the second assessor but she would escalate the matter to management and guaranteed I would receive word back the following day (this happened yesterday)</p> <p> </p> <p>Today I received the following Email from the woman assigned to my file:</p> <p> </p> <p>"I have received the second inspection report from our electrical assessor offices and they also confirmed that the oven is operational and no fire damages could be found. We will therefore proceed to close our file."</p> <p> </p> <p>I once again asked for a guarantee in writing that the oven will not cause any damage and that ABSA will be liable for any harm incurred. We will see what happens next but I am at my wits' end.</p>