More painful than my medical recovery

Very unimpressed with Ambledown gap cover.

Reference Number: *** I submitted the completed claim form and supporting documents asap after my surgery and after I received confirmation of the shortfall due to my medical provider.

Ambledown took longer than their promised 10 working days to respond to my application, only to tell me a document was missing. Certainly they could have told me much sooner! I went out of my way to get the required doc as quickly as possible. It was not easy but I sent it the very next day. If I have a full time job and substantial personal responsibilities and can work this quickly, why not Ambledown’s assessors?

Some days later I phoned to enquire about the progress of my claim, only to be told that the 10-day turnaround clock starts again if extra docs are required. If I did not pick up the phone, Ambledown would never have proactively and honestly told me that the 10 days starts again. Unprofessional.

It has now been more than 10 working days since I sent the required doc. Still no feedback. After all these delays, they could still tell me my claim has been rejected. I needed to know urgently whether my claim was approved or rejected. If the latter, I need to make a plan b to cover my provider’s bill, which is easier to do the earlier I know. Where is Ambledown’s sense of empathy?

While Ambledown’s assessors are living life in first gear, my medical bills are going unpaid for so long that I could be handed over to debt collectors. That’s exactly what I need after the stress of my surgery, right? To have my credit record destroyed because “Ambledown has a high volume of claims”? As the client I cannot be held responsible for Ambledown’s capacity problems. I have been patient, and that patience has now been abused.

Is Ambledown not aware that clients’ turnaround time for paying service providers starts much earlier than when we first claim for gap cover? Service providers submit their bills as soon as their work is done. By the time we get to gap cover, we have already spent several days/weeks dealing with medical aid. 10 working days to wrap up a gap cover claim is just too long at that point, especially when your team treats the 10 days as a minimum not a maximum (your comms said “WITHIN 10 days”).

Let’s see if Ambledown finally contacts me in October to tell me the claim is rejected. Or where we will need to add 10 working days again!