Poor Customer Service & Badly managed Insurance Portfolio

I have always viewed Discovery as a responsible, reliable and Customer Centric organisation. I have held this establishment in such high regard, because they seemed to have the edge with regards to customer service, quality products and a well aligned business model that meets the needs of their Clients. So to me Discovery was the obvious choice to change over to since my husband and I were in the process of starting up a new business venture and would require their sort of skills in managing our insurance, taking care of business and personal needs and providing us with the best cover.

However my perception of this organisation has changed drastically since they have shown me a totally different side on the quality of service they offer and how a Client is treated. I have experienced the most appalling and disappointing service from Discovery consultants when dealing with my husband's accident claim. Initially I only had personal insurance cover, we then included business cover where some of my personal cover(1 Vehicle) was then moved over to our business cover when my portfolio was restructured. And since this restructure of my portfolio, my whole account has been so badly mis managed, with the changes not being done as per our requests. Apart from that there were unjustified Debits going off my account which no one bothered to investigate or advise me off until I picked it up and queried which has been happening monthly. Despite the mismanagement of my account or lack of interest to structure my policy correctly, I still gave Discovery the benefit of the doubt that everything would be resolved as per my expectations. But while struggling to get clarity on what was going with my portfolio and insurance cover, my husband was involved in a terrible accident and our brand new vehicle was written off, and thats when the real frustrations and bad service reached another level. Apart from the long delays in resolving the claim, there was not an ounce of empathy, sincerity or humanness in handling this matter.

After going through such traumatic ordeal which was the accident, we required at least some support from our service provider, instead the manner in which we were treated was beyond shocking. My husband who was in recovery, was constantly harassed by Discovery consultants regarding damaged equipment and products even though i was dealing directly with the broker reagrding all this. I would never have expected to be treated in such a manner and i conveyed how upsetting this was to the Broker. This caused unnecessary emotional stress, in an already difficult time for us, and I just expected alot more from Discovery especially when dealing with their Clients who are going through an extremely difficult situation.

Apart from the mismanagement and harrassment, it was also confirmed in writing that we would receive a replacement vehicle, and then almost 2 weeks later I received an email with an agreement of loss, which offered settlement and not replacement. I was quite confused and baffled to receive such an email, as the last communication which I received stated that they would replace the vehicle. I queried this with the Broker, who then queried with Discovery, only to receive cold, harsh, unapologetic emails stating they received directive from management not to replace the Vehicle. If this was the case, why was I not informed immediately. Discovery should have made direct contact with me, to explain their error, not hide behind the Brokers, they should have at least taken accountability and apologised for giving confirmation on such an important matter, and then dishonouring their written confirmation. To date I have not received a single call from any Discovery Consultant or manager to apologise for these mess ups, or to even offer a simple explanation as to why there has been such mismanagement of my whole account. I'm a Client of Discovery, and my business should be treated with some level of respect. Instead no one has bothered to understand or at least acknowledge all the issues I have experienced or to at least acknowledge my frustrations as a Client.

I am now liable for a shortfall of over R30 000, because my personal insurance which included replacement was moved to my Business policy. Had I been informed of the differences in Cover, I would never have consolidated my personal insurance with the Business Insurance. I would think that being such a well recognized institute and one of the leaders in the industry, that Discovery Consultants would have gone through my policy noticed the shortfall aspect and done a courtesy call to advise me of this and to at least offer me shortfall cover. Offering advice and highlighting Gaps in cover should at least be part of the service protocol when gaining new business or doing policy restructures. But it looks at though, once we signed on the dotted line, all liability and responsibility get placed on the Clients shoulders, and no one really bothers with going over your policy to ensure everything is correct and that the Client will be covered in every aspect.

I am writing this complaint not to discredit Discovery but hopefully to highlight to the Heads and Execs at Discovery of what is actually happening on the ground, so they realise the frustrations and difficulties Clients are experiencing on a daily basis, and most importantly the lack of proper customer service, where most of their employees only fall back on the signed contract instead of actually making the effort to investigate properly, to understand the situation and to service the Client in the correct manner. Your employees are a reflection of Discovery, and if this is how Clients are being treated, then it gives a very poor and dismal reflection of Discovery. I am all for policies and processes being followed however, when there have been huge mess up's with a Clients policy restructure from the onset, then Discovery trained employees should have picked up on this and then discussed with the broker or Client their concerns that things were not correct on the Policy. But everyone is too busy covering their own backs instead of taking accountability which gives the impression that Discovery does not have the Clients best interests at heart, and meeting their Clients needs are not a priority.

I am so disappointed, and just emotionally exhausted and frustrated with this whole process. It's literally been an absolute nightmare. I never expected such disappointing customer service from such a well renowned establishment such as this. I currently have personal insurance, business insurance and my husband banks with Discovery. So I was actually on the verge of trying out the medical aid, but how can I even consider leaving my health care needs with Discovery, when my personal&business insurance needs/portfolio has been such a huge mess up.

Thank You