Marsh Insurance dealings??? UPDATE

[carrbowl]

I am having my first dealings with the insurance company Marsh which is through PPA. I have to say, I am not impressed. I called Marsh yesterday. Was told to call the claims company. Was told to email my name, phone number and policy number along with a brief description as to what happened.(??? we can't do that 2 second thing over the phone??? ok ...what ever) Got a call this morning saying, they can't really do anything now, they don't have a copy of the policy and it will be at least a week before they can get a copy of it.

carrbowl added 2 Minutes and 35 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

called Marsh just now "due to the holiday we are closed today" ????? isn't the holiday two days from now???

[CaptainTom]

This is interesting.
Keep us informed of what transpires so we can decide their fate.

[carrbowl]

Have you ever dealt with them Tom?

[CaptainTom]

NO. And your experience will help me decide if I ever will.

[pbyd]

Renae, I don’t want to sound like I am prying, but if you could tell us, what type of claim was it (equipment loss, etc.). I have thought of going to another insurance carrier and like Tom, this could make a difference in which company I would change to.
Thanks,
Wayne

[carrbowl]

Here is the story. new 50D and 24-70 2.8 lense was on the tripod. Somehow the tripod fell over. The lense disconnected from the camera and both disconnected from the tripod. Called Marsh at their special PPA number. They told me to call the claims company--York I believe it is. Called them---not real customer orientated, but ok I can still handle it. I asked them what to do. They told me I needed to email them the information. "So what information do you need" him "just a minute let me check" name, address, policy number and briefly what happened. I'm thinking, and we can't just take the 2 minutes and do that over the phone? Ok maybe they want it via email so they have confirmation......whatever. I have to ask the man for his email address???? The next day I get a call from their company...the man said " you called to report a claim" "yes I did" "what do you need" ????? I basically asked all the questions, and it appeared he was clueless. Told me it would take a week to get a copy of my policy, asked me if it needed to be replaced or if it could be repaired, didn't know if they would pay for a loaner, just things I would expect them to be asking me, not vica versa. Since I was a little befuddled with the claims company I thought I would call Marsh back (policy company) it was Thursday July 2---their recording told me they were closed due the holiday?????

I guess this goes back to expectations. One of the reasons I went with this insurance is i was expecting, and they advertised, like they understood photographers and how important their cameras are to their business. I expected them to have a copy of my policy and know if I could get a loaner, I expected them to know if I should take it someone to get an estimate to have it repaired or replaced, etc.

Maybe I'm the one clueless...it has been known to happen????

[pbyd]

Renae, thanks, I would have expected more from them also. I had a claim on a policy once with another company and got very similar service, after that I put everything I could in a savings account and started making monthly payments to my savings account and not to the insurance company. Now after many years I am self insured on my equipment (I can now replace all of my equipment if needed). I still have to carry liability insurance on my studio etc. and I hate that I do. I really hope you get better service and if not you should call PPA and let them know what is going on.
Good luck,
Wayne
P.S. I do hate insurance companies and the way they treat the client. We pay a full premium to the company each month and when we make a claim it is like we are trying to rip them off.

[Charles Putnam]

Welcome to the land of Marshians. Having previously worked for one of their competators (Aon), the big insurance brokers know very little about "client service" - only about collecting premiums and making Wall Street happy. FYI, Marsh is an insurance agency/brokerage, not a company. PPA has contracted with them to handle their insurance programs.

Best recommendation - call Monday, request to speak to a supervisor or manager. Explain what occurred, what you were told (it would take them a week to find the policy, which is crap - they have a database system that should have the information), and request immediate assistance.

Also, contact PPA and follow up in writing about the poor service you received. PPA needs to know that Marsh is dropping the ball.

[dhphoto]

I'm interested in how this turns out because I have Marsh insurance.

[trac76002]

I've been thinking of using them...so very interested to see the outcome.

[ChuckW]

As stated above Marsh is an insurance broker, not an insurance company. A very big broker I might add - they do insurance brokerage work for many of the fortune 500 companies. Perhaps that might explain some of their reluctance to work with just one individual! They should however help you if the claims company with which you are filing your claim is not being responsive!

[carrbowl]

I called Marsh today. The claims company (York) did ask for the policy on Thursday of last week. Marsh is in the process today of getting the policy together to send it to York. Marsh expects it to be a week before York gets the Policy. This does not make me happy!!! A week before I even know if I should try to get a quote for it to be fixed or get new or what..obviously this is going to be a very slow process....

[dhphoto]

Originally Posted by carrbowl

I called Marsh today. The claims company (York) did ask for the policy on Thursday of last week. Marsh is in the process today of getting the policy together to send it to York. Marsh expects it to be a week before York gets the Policy. This does not make me happy!!! A week before I even know if I should try to get a quote for it to be fixed or get new or what..obviously this is going to be a very slow process....

This is NOT making me feel good about my decision to go with Marsh. Before-hand, during my research, I heard nothing but praises about them but this kind of turn-around on critical equipment doesn't seem good.

[carrbowl]

Originally Posted by dhphoto

This is NOT making me feel good about my decision to go with Marsh. Before-hand, during my research, I heard nothing but praises about them but this kind of turn-around on critical equipment doesn't seem good.

trust me I'm feeling your pain, and trying to be not biased. Like I said before, I got the impression, they dealt with things very quickly because they know how important cameras, and lenses are to a photographer. I hope this gets better.

[utdbear]

This is very unlike Marsh. I would call back today and every day until you get a solution. Everything I've heard from them regarding claims has been outstanding. There is also a form on the policy to call the Texas Dept of Insurance if you keep having problem.

Also, if you dropped your camera, get them to replace it and the lens. Thats the reason you're paying the $2.40 rate on your equipment, to have replacement cost.