I found this on a website!
I had an accident about 2 months ago.
Now if things could not get any worse, I am currently going through what can only be termed as the blatant cheating of a customer from one of India’s largest Companies – ICICI. The following is a timeline as to what happened and continues to happen.
12-11-05: Accident took place. Police report was made. Insurance company was notified and claim number received.
16-11-05: After checking the list of cashless garages on their company website, and verifying the same with your customer service representatives as well as the garage of choice – Autograph Skoda, official Skoda dealers, I towed the car to the workshop. All papers as desired by ICICI were handed over to the garage to produce to the Insurance agent at the time of the survey. The only reason I picked an authorised Skoda garage, even after knowing the ridiculous prices they have, was because ICICI told me they had a cashless facility for that garage.
16-11-05: I received a telephone call from Autograph Pvt. Ltd stating that the surveyor – Nikhil from ICICI had inspected the car and the estimate and had approved the same.
9-12-05: I am informed the car repairs are complete. I arrived at the garage and was personally present when another surveyor, Mr. Abhay Yadav, completed the post repair survey. He was given a copy of the final bill and informed me that he would have the working ready by
12-12-05, and that he would inform me of the amount I would have to pay as depreciation, deductible on plastic parts and salvage charges etc. At this point I also gave the telephone number of the Inspector at the police station that had written the accident report so that they could call and verify what I had told them.
15-12-05: I receive a call from Abhay stating that a copy of the FIR was required to be submitted in order to process my cashless claim. A fax sent by ICICI on 16-12-05 states that they require the copy of the FIR to process the claim. He also informs me at this point that the working has been completed and they are now only waiting for this last document.
19-12-05: After speaking to Mr. Abhay on the phone, I faxed a copy of the FIR to his office.
19-12-05: At 7:30pm, I get a call from Mr. Abhay stating that ICICI cannot process my cashless claim as a third party has been injured and a case has been filed. He instructed me that if I want my car I could pick it up after paying the full amount. I then spoke to Mr. Suresh Shetty, who stated, “the ICICI legal department had advised them not to pay the claim”. I asked for a written copy of the clause in the policy where it is stated that the claim for vehicle repairs cannot be paid unless the case is solved in court. I also spoke to my long time insurance agent from New India Assurance who confirmed that there is no such requirement and that ICICI is known to harass its customers on large claims.
I was put on the line with Mr. Kapil Madgar who stated that he was the Regional Manager. I asked him to provide me with the clause as mentioned above. However he rudely told me that he does not know and even though he was sitting in the office, he did not take the bother to atleast try and assist me. Till date, Mr. Abhay and Mr. Shetty were well mannered and helpful to the extent they could be, but I must say that the manner of speaking of Mr. Kapil leaves a lot to be desired! As it was obvious that I was not going to get an accurate answer on the phone, I have asked for a written statement by fax from the company showing me where this clause is mentioned. I was assured that it would be with me by 10am the next day. Nothing came.
Note the following information taken directly from the ICICI website (https://icicilombard.com/app/Claim/Motor_claim.asp) on the point of cashless claims.
Motor Claim Procedure
In case of motor insurance claim, you can avail cashless facility for the repair of your car in any of our cashless garage network. However, If the car is serviced in a garage outside the purview of our network, then you can claim reimbursement for the same.
In Case of an Accident
Note the number of the other vehicle involved in the accident, if any.
Jot down the names and contact details of witnesses, if any.
Contact our 24x7 call centre. Get your claim number / reference number. Call centre representative will provide you the details of documents required for claim processing and also details of our preferred garage, where cashless repair facility can be availed.
File an FIR at the nearest police station in case of property damage, bodily injury, theft and major damages.
After Registering the Claim
Our customer service manager will contact you within 24 hours of registering the claim.
Submit the copy of documents to the dealer / CSM and get verified with the originals.
Our CSM will get the estimate for the repairs of your vehicle and give spot approval after assessment.
After completion of repair at our preferred garage we will make payment of our share of the loss directly to the garage.
The insured to pay the excess mentioned in the policy and depreciation, salvage etc informed by the CSM.
All this information was faxed to ICICI.
On 20/12/2005, I receive the biggest shock of my life. I get an unsigned fax from ICICI stating that they will NOT HONOUR my insurance at all stating the limitation in the policy of “PACEMAKING”. No expalination was given as to what they mean by pacemaking, and my agent at New India told me that this is a motorsport activity and does not apply to my case at all.
All further attempts to get a proper reply from ICICI has fallen on deaf years, and a fax sent on the 20th to their MD – Mr. Sandeep Bakshi has not been replied too till date.
There is no-one at ICICI who is willing to take responsibility, all their written correspondence is unsigned, and there is no-one you can speak to who will give you a straight answer. This from a company who’s slogan is “Haam hai na!” I should take them to court for false advertising alone!
I have now approached the WIAA who are supporting me completely. This battle will now move to the Insurance Regulatory Board. From there I can move the Consumer Court if I am not happy with the verdict.
However this will now take time and I have no choice but to fund the entire repair costs myself. But, from all the legal opinions I have taken, I am in very good standing legally and I should win my case plus penalties and other expenses paid to me.
I am putting this topic up here now to WARN all other members (and the thousands of non-members who view this thread everyday) that ICICI are COMPLETE CHEATS AND DO NOT GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS. They will try anything in their power to wriggle out of paying a large claim, which they are rightfully entitled to pay. This tactic is probably their company policy, hoping that finally the customer will give up and forget about it.
My Final note – DO NOT DEAL WITH ICICI, whether its their banking, insurance or loans. They will gladly take your money with a smile, but when it comes to actual customer service, they are the WORST I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.
