Pettiest insurer in South Africa, Discovery Insure

On 07/01/2023, I had an incident where my wife was driving and we hit a pothole. This burst the right front tyre and bent the rim. On the same night we replaced the damaged with my spare, which is not on very good condition. On Monday 09/01/2023, I called Discovery Insure to register a claim. The advisor I spoke to advised that I do not have a claim if the damage is only to the tyre. I was advised to take the vehicle to Tiger Wheel and Tyre(TWT), which is a service provider on the Discovery panel. They even offer value added products for the insurer.

Since my vehicle was not safe to drive with the spare, I only managed to take the vehicle to TWT on Saturday, 14/01/2023. TWT discovered that not only was the tyre damaged, but both right hand side rims were bent, and the right front wheel was pushed back and needed alignment.

I needed to use my car again, and had enough money at the time for the repairs, so I asked them to proceed with the repairs. I was issued a wheel alignment report, and an invoice noting the repairs done to the vehicle.

On Monday the 16/01/2023 I submitted a claim with Discovery Insure for a refund for the repairs done. I also sent them the documentation I received from TWT. I called on Wednesday, 18/01/2023 to follow up on the claim. I spoke to a gentleman who put me on hold while I assume he spoke to my claims advisor, Buyisiwe Dlamini. It became clear that she had not actioned the claim and only opened my documents at that point.

Later in the afternoon she asked that I send her photos of the damaged rim and tyre. In my frustration, I admit that I was rude in the reply. I advised her that I did not take photos of the damages, but I had supp**** proof of repairs from their service provider, and if she doubted the authenticity, she could call the TWT. I believe this is what ultimately informed the decision to reject my claim.

On Thursday 19/01/2023 I was called by Buyisiwe to inform me my claim had been rejected due to me not getting written approval to proceed with the repairs.

I had not received the rejection letter by Friday 20/01/2023 and I tried to follow up. I also tried to speak to a team manager or a manager in order to understand how I had prejudiced the insurer. I wish for the Ombudsman to please listen to the recording as I was **** to regarding the manager’s availability. In the end I was not able to speak to a manager, I kept getting referred to their disputes department even though I did not yet have a rejection letter or a full understanding of how the insurer was prejudiced.

I eventually received the letter on 20/01/2023, however I have still not received the recordings I requested, especially the one from the 09/01/2023.

The insurers agent was probably annoyed with me and on that reason rejected my claim. She failed to show how my actions prejudiced the company and ignored the following; • I only have one car, and needed to use it get to work and back, it was unsafe with the old spare • I used a service provider that is on the insurer’s panel, and I would assume the insurer has a relationship of trust with their service provider • I submitted documents confirming the repairs done by the insurer’s service provider, if any doubts exist, the insurer has the option of calling the service provider to get confirmation • The rejection is based on not providing photos of the damaged wheels and tyres, but the insurer made no other attempts to validate the damages. The insurer also ignored the wheel alignment report which confirms the suspension damage • The insurer had an opportunity to register the claim on 09/01/2023 and assess the damages, but their agent chose not to do so, and left me to fend for myself. I do not think it is fair that I am punished for making a plan to get my car back on the road.