Disappointing Settlement Offer – Car Can’t Be Fixed!

I am extremely disappointed with Old Mutual Insure – a company I valued and worked for, for over eight years. A client of Old Mutual Insure (via a broker named Integrisure) hit my parked car at a shopping centre in September 2024. The client admitted fault and instructed me to claim from her insurance.

From then on, the claims process was a complete nightmare. I made countless calls to Integrisure to follow up on my claim, only to be told repeatedly that they could not speak to me because I was not their client. Feeling stuck, I contacted their client, who advised me to keep following up, so I persisted.

Eventually, I was given a claim number, only to discover it was incorrect. After more phone calls, I was provided with the correct claim number and told Quest Claims Solutions was handling my third-party claim. Despite the frustration, I submitted all the required documents: a sketch of the accident, photos of the damage, and two panel beater quotations.

One panel beater quoted R26,000, while the other quoted R12,000. However, Quest came back with a settlement offer of just R9,000 – far lower than either quote. I later learned the assessment was done via an online platform called Audatex, which supposedly evaluated the damages electronically. How can the true nature of physical damages be accurately assessed without inspecting the car in person?

When I contacted one of the panel beaters to accept the lower offer, they declined to fix the car for that amount. The second panel beater re-assessed the damages and updated their quote after determining that the entire front bumper would need to be removed. I forwarded this updated quote and detailed photographs to Quest, but they dismissed my concerns.

To my disbelief, the Quest representative forwarded me an email from an Old Mutual Insure assessor outright rejecting the updated quote and photographs, stating that they did not justify a reassessment. Meanwhile, the client who hit my car, initially empathetic, told me her insurance advised her not to have further contact with me.

I am now left with an unfixed car that I have been driving for over three months. The settlement amount of R9,000 is so inadequate that no panel beater is willing to repair my car for it.

The only way I will accept the R9,000 settlement is if Old Mutual Insure recommends a reputable panel beater who will fix my car for this amount. Without this, I feel completely abandoned and betrayed by a company I once trusted.

This experience has left me beyond frustrated and disappointed. What is the purpose of insurance if claims are handled in such a negligent and dismissive manner? I trusted Old Mutual Insure, but their handling of this claim has been utterly unprofessional and unfair.

To anyone considering using Old Mutual Insure or their affiliates, think twice – this company does not honor claims fairly, leaving customers like me stranded with no resolution. I urge Old Mutual Insure to reconsider my settlement based on the evidence provided and deliver the service they claim to offer.