Discovery Insure: grievous misconduct

On 27 March 2024, a reckless driver not paying attention crashed into my car from behind and that caused it to crash into the car in front. After exchanging details and notifying Discovery Insure, Moipone Rosina Kgokolo contacted me to inform me of the steps going forward. I emailed a copy of the driver's license, accident report, SAPS AR and details of the other parties involved in the accident. I also emailed dashcam footage in hi-res and clear of how the accident happened. In response I received the following email: “Good day Samantha, Received. Please may I ask you to rate my service on Hellopeter.com. http://hellopeter.com/discovery-insure. Supplier: Discovery Insure, Branch: Sandton, Person Responsible: Moipone Kgokolo, Department: Claims. Your comments will truly be much appreciated.” I thought it best to rate my overall experience with Discovery Insure. As I was informed that Shaylin Govender would be my Claims Administrator as Moipone was only the Claim Consultant and that an administrator is the best person to handle the next part of the claim. So far so good. I emailed and phoned every day with no one at Discovery contacting with regards to my car. Even though I cc’d in other people from different departments in hopes that someone could help me. Nothing. Then I did the only thing I knew works to get a response. I multi-email sent Shaylin about 20 emails every few minutes. It triggered a phone call to me. I asked about my car, and I asked when will Discovery Insure issue me with a courtesy vehicle as I have paid for that service. I felt no reassurance and need a car. Then I was told that my car is not insured due to non-payment. That Discovery Insure cannot process my claim. When I pointed out that Discovery Insure financial department has been trying to debit the incorrect account on several occasions and that on the system it has the correct account, I honestly think it's unfair that I suffer delays in my claim due to gross negligence on Discovery's part. It's stressful and unnerving to think that even though it was no fault of my own, if I didn't diligently follow up and tenaciously emailed and called in, that I could have lost my vehicle. As I know if I'm not insured during the time of the accident, my car would simply be written off. And just like that 5 April 2024, I received an email stating: “Please note that we have received the assessment report, and your vehicle has been deemed uneconomical for us to repair.” So, in simple English it means that it’s too expensive to repair my car. R194 723.14 according to the assessor Storm Harrison. I queried about this and said I would like to fetch my vehicle from Auction Nation and ask for a second opinion about the cost of repairs as I spoke to Mahindra and they confirmed that the price does not sound right. Now, bear in mind that damages to the car was the radiator and cosmetics, lucky for me I have a fair amount of knowledge of car engines and the fact that the car swings, starts and the car can drive a few 100 meters, means that the engine is sound enough for repairs. I organised the release of my car at Auction Nation and when I scanned the QR code on the windscreen, I saw my car was up for action. An employee confirmed that my car would have gone up for auction that Saturday 6 April 2024. When I brought this up with Siphesihle Brain Biyela the Senior Claims Specialist that you can’t sell or auction or advertise to sell or advertise to auction property that doesn’t belong to you. Siphesihle told me that it was standard practice for Auction Nation to advertise my vehicle for auction or stock to sell as it was deemed a write off. I asked Mahindra’s help for a quote on parts and repairs, and I sent it through to Discovery Insure. Proof that the assessor Storm Harrison loaded the quote so Discovery could throw out the claim as Siphesihle Brain Biyela confirmed that there is a certain bracket for repairs on accidents that they will pay. I also have 0.00 excess, so I thought that would help me. I have also been claim free since 19 Oct 2020 a few months shy of 4 years. Today is 17 April 2024 and Discovery has STILL made NO ATTEMPT to organise a courtesy vehicle even though it is a service I pay for. I have been told by Discovery that should I be able to bring down the price of the quote for the repairs, they will go ahead and grant the claim for repairs to proceed. With the help of Mahindra I sent a quote of R107 321.54 Yet Discovery would like to write off my vehicle and pay out my financer ABSA R243 000.00. Which is more than the repairs? It makes zero sense. But Siphesihle let slip during our heated conversation when Discovery Insure takes ownership of the car. They pay the Financer ABSA. Auction the car and receive a lovely amount. I feel that I have been rather patient with regards to the process of my claim. It has been 3 weeks and no one at Discovery Insure has tried to ensure that I have a vehicle as Avis has not contacted me. Nor have you given me a validation amount. Since Discovery has not provided me with a means of transport - I cannot work. So, loss of income has accumulated. I proposed that Discovery Insure should pay me R300,000.00. That should cover: Loss of income, Mahindra parts, panel and spraying, stress and mental health, public transportation. Ntombi Sumbana the Team Leader: Specialist Claims: “Kindly be advised that Discovery does not cover consequential loss following an accident, in this case, loss of income. We fully agree that the incident and knowing that your vehicle is a write-off may have caused emotional trauma thus affecting your health and we deeply empathise with you. As a health company, we fully know how such events may affect individuals daily.” Which is a lie as they don’t empathise at all and are more concerned about making money. Ntombi: “With that said, accepting for Discovery to pay this amount would mean that you have prejudiced yourself. The current cost for the claim is R195 203.67 which deems the vehicle a write off. Note that the value of your vehicle is estimated R277 000, very close to the cost of repairs.” This whole experience has left a disgusting taste in my mouth. It pains me that Discovery Insure personnel are quick to ask to be rated on Hello Peter for an excellent job well done, but never bother to follow up. I believe that this is a grievous misconduct against me as I could very well have lost my only source of income.