Bettersure insures roof but rejects Storm damage claim

Thatch roof on a newly purchased house that passed inspection by the bank to be sold springs a leak after torrential storms resulting in black mold and a heavy damp odour developing which renders the house unsafe.

I lodged a claim in Jan 2024. I was asked to get an independent assessor to support my claim and submit his findings to Bettersure which I did.

Bettersure then sent an internal assessor to view the property and a rejection letter stating the property and roof has this odour because it's a holiday home and not in use. What a joke! We couldn't live in the house because we were told it's unsafe.

I disputed their findings and a second intetnal assessor was sent out. This time the rejection letter stated the roof application of semcrete is not covered by Bettetsure.

I disputed again stating in my telephone application whic is recorded will prove that when asked what roof the property has, i stated its semcrete. Bettersure insured the property and took my premiums.

I was told I could dispute with the Arbitration Dept and I have 7 days to submit my letters of rejection, my assesors reports and photos, as well as a letter outlining my complaint. I did this but the email listed on the rejection letter says server error.

I then emailed the Claims Dept, Sylvia Chalke to inform her of the email address error. She said she would forward to the Arbitration Dept.

When I asked for an update 2 weeks later I was told it takes 30 business days for the Arbitration dept to respond.

It's now well over a month so I emailed again for an update. I got an email from Mmbatho Mpuru who says she's gathering info and drafting a letter to submit to the Arbitration Dept.

I tried the call centre Dispute department and spoke to Leandro who said he needs to check with his Supervisor Charlton and to hold on to speak to Charlton. One of them dropped the line and that's it. No answers!

I am still unwilling to accept the fact that Bettersure insured my roof without assessment and took my premiums for said insured roof but upon a claim for that roof state that the roof application is incorrect and therefore not covered.

Why is a roof insured without assessment. My telephonic application which I still have nor received a copy of clearly states that it's a thatch roof with a semcrete coating.

The email for the Arbitration dept listed Bettersure is really messing around. I need the Arbitration dept findings to submit to the ombudsman which is last resort for this claim to be paid

Today my wife called the claims dept for clarity and spoke to Leandro, he made her hold on while he spoke to his supervisor Charlton for clarity then said he would put her through to Charlton.

It seems like Bettersure wants the claim to be over a year old and become null. I lodged this claim in Jan 2024 and its now Nov 2024 with little progress.

All emails to the claims, complaints and dispute departments get read and marked as resolved without being adressed. Andile Shezi did this last week when I requested an updated copy of proof of insurance for my home foe the bank.

Whats happening here is total misconduct by bettersure call centre employees and abuse of power by senior management.

Think twice before insuring with bettersure...their low premiums come with a high price tag!

My house in uninhabitable due to the mold and now it's up to me to fight for rights that I've paid to have.

Totally unfair!