Claims Zone: soft handling

When Terry Sinclair and his family were robbed in the middle of the night, his broker and Hiscox treated them with sensitivity

When Terry Sinclair tucked his two young children into bed and retired for the evening with his wife, he was looking forward to a good night’s sleep. He didn’t expect to be woken shortly before 7am on Sunday by his six-year-old daughter, who had discovered that the front door was open.

When she looked out the open door, Terry’s daughter discovered that a robbery was taking place and the thieves had already been in the house and taken a number of personal items, including jewellery and watches from the family’s safe. The men had also stolen items from their BMW car and, when they realised they were being watched, drove away in Terry’s Mini.

Quickly settled

Terry describes the experience as “not pleasant for my family” and phoned his insurance broker first thing on Monday morning. Simon Ambler from Oval Insurance Broking Limited had recommended Hiscox’s household insurance to Terry, so was able to start dealing with the claim straight away.

Terry says: “I spoke to my broker at Oval the day after the robbery and I was pleased with how he dealt with everything. The broker, Hiscox and the loss adjuster were very professional and the claim was settled quickly.

“Throughout the process, they also kept in regular contact with me to let me know how it was progressing. The speed and quality of the service I received was more than satisfactory.”

Personal experience

Terry’s claim was handled by Hiscox Technical Claims Underwriter Juliet Bailey. She says: “In these situations, it is important that we appoint the right loss adjuster. In this sort of case, when the client’s family was involved, we know from personal experience that the adjuster has to have a good manner with the client and empathy with their situation.

“That’s why we used Criterion and its owner Chris Monks, who went to see the clients. We know that by appointing the right adjuster, the claim is going to be handled sensitively.”

Terry adds: “I was pleased with the choice of the policy and how my family were handled.”