Santam & Associates poor customer treatment

Hello all.

It is with regret that I find myself writing this letter on this platform to see if any positive response would be forth coming from Santam vehicle insurance.

In December 2021 I was involved in a motor vehicle accident with 2 friends & my girlfriend in the car. Fortunately no other vehicle was involved and no injuries were sustained by any occupants. Today is the 01 August 2022 and to date our vehicle still has not been fully repaired - in fact we have had to make arrangement to get it transported in pieces to a private mechanic to put it all back together.

The reason being our brokerge, Quicksure Brakpan, tell us that Santam the insurer have made their decision and deem the uncompleted repairs as not accident related, rather wear & tear. Prior to the accident the car was running beautiful - she has been well taken care of and fully serviced by VW dealerships. Immediately after the accident the car would not engage any gears except for 1st & reverse (with difficulty). Even the salvage company had difficulty loading the vehicle onto the rollback. The sub-frame and undercarriage of the car were repaired by Chako Panelbeaters as per the approved quote from Quicksure, based on an assessment by Straighthrough assessors. Apparently this assessment is done remotely, digitally by photos taken of the damage. No one apparently bothered to try drive the car to assess the damage to the vehicles mechanics/engine.

Upon receiving the car back in February it was immediately apparent that things were not sound mechanically - and the car was returned to panelbeaters upon arrangement and the issues raised. Here we were informed the repairs were carried out as per the assessor quote - nothing mechanical was listed as requiring repairs - unbelievable as the car was undriveable after the accident???!!!

It was advised to take the car straight to the VW Springs dealership and have them assess the noises emanating from the engine compartment. This was done and they agreed something was not sound and that stripping the clutch & gearbox would be required. And so months of emails backwards & forwards between myself, Quicksure, Straightrough, the broker Elize Potgieter and Santam, whom I could not get any meeting set with, as they had "made" their decision, ensued.

Apparently respect, civility, appreciation and asking for help from one's insurer and broker are not regarded anymore. The broker, Elize Potgieter of Quicksure found me to be bugging her (her email to insurers) when I continually requested her assistance & updates with Santam. Quicksure were loathe to deal with me, the driver, as I am not the insured - my elderly father is. Unfortunately he has no email and was not present at, nor responsible for the accident. I was told by them they may no longer deal with me as I have no financial interest on the policy. After many emails, tel calls and visits to their offices I was permitted to correspond on behalf of the insured.

According to Elize & Quicksure, Santam had made their decision and that was final. I finally managed to have Quicksure authorise stripping of the clutch/gearbox assembly at their cost. Initially I was quoted by the dealership via Quicksure, privately, that this cost would be between R 9500 to R12000 to have this done by VW Springs dealership. Interesting that the dealership only charged Quicksure R2691.00 for the same work?? Even before the stripping we were also presented with an estimated quote for repairs to the clutch/gearbox of some R 55,000.

Upon stripping of clutch / gearbox assembly the verdict, by we believe the dealership & again Straighthough's expert assessor, was wear & tear. Apparently Santam presented with this one sided evidence, was content to say case closed; no further involvement required.

16 years of premiums paid, no claims and courtesy extended count for nothing when it comes to requesting Santam & their Associates to view this case with fresh eyes and a less blinkered approach. Yes the parts in further question to this accident are wear & tear items and the +- 80 emails backwards and forwards don't dispute that. What is disputed is that the accident caused more damage than was originally incorrectly assessed (the car drove before the accident perfectly. And afterwards was not driveable). But Santam, Straighthrough and VW Springs see only wear & tear - case closed. The fact that the car could not drive after the accident, that it stood for a month with a broken subframe, gearbox & clutch assembly hanging due to it not being properly supported causing even further damage; was then transported in this state from the accident scene some +_30km, then again transported in this state a further+_ 100km to the panelbeaters, apparently have no bearing on this case. The clear indication of mechanical noises emanating from the engine compartment, after all repairs are supposedly complete, also are ignored and count for nothing???!!! Wow.

Had the clutch etc given in during the normal course of events of driving the car - fair enough. But this is not the case. The car has been handed back to us from the dealership with the engine pieces (clutch / gearbox) dirty & oily just put in the boot of the car without even a covering to the carpet. The engine supported on a rusted piece of rectangular tubing, straight onto the cars paintwork without so much as a piece of plastic/rubber or cardboard to offer any protection during transport to the private mechanic - the bad taste left in our mouths after 7.5 months of poor service from so many parties & individuals is unpleasant to say the very least - and we are the paying clients!!!

Individuals who did however offer good service throughout and are worth mentioning are Francois van Schalkwyk of Chako Panelbeaters, Lizandre Lamprecht of VW Springs & the staff & driver at Brother Roadside towing.

The questions remain though:

Why is it that such a large successful "we got you covered" company as Santam, is so hard to engage with and cannot take the time to see if their customer has a valid point / valid justifiable perspective? That the insurer, Santam, is guarded by the brokerage house & broker - that the customer is left defending/fighting/proving/bugging for themselves? Why is a loyal faithful customer treated this way? Never mind best service, just served, listened to and aided would've been appreciated and expected?

Certainly we cannot offer our recommendation of the majority of the afore-mentioned companies to anyone.

Very disappointed and disillusioned. W Brewis