Is NFU in trouble???

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MissMincePie&Brandy

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Has anyone else heard this???

I've had a claim going on Since 1st September. I've rang up several times to chase NFU and I each time I've got through to them it's been explained that they are experiencing a backlog. I have tried today to contact them and so far no answer. In nearly 3 and a half months I have received nothing from them in writing, and only very vague information when I call up.

I have just bought another horse, and my vet gave me the impression it would not be wise to insure with NFU and advised me to use one of several others. My OH thinks this sounds like the company might be in trouble. Does any one have any info, as NFU are not answering the phone.

I've insured my horses with NFU for years, and that adds up! I've never previously made a claim. Now it seems that I should either have saved my money or insured with someone else?
 
Have you been trying to call their claims line? You often don't get an answer on that!!

Over the last 18 months I've made 4 claims and they have all taken 2/3 months to pay out. But they have every time. This "backlog" does seem permanent!! My husband made a real fuss with the last claim when they gave us the same repsonse and we did get it pushed through faster.
 
As far as I know, not, I've just had a claim go through and paid out. Is it your agent that is not pushing or are you with NFU direct?
 
I deal with my local office. They always answer within a couple of rings, and the only claim I have made in umpteen years of insuring with them was dealt with and paid up on within 10 days. I got a call only yesterday asking some questions about my business as my renewal comes up shortly and I have practically everything insured with them, so I very much hope they are not in trouble:confused:
 
I made a claim in March with them and they had a backlog then, they had another company called First Equine to help them.
 
Jesus I hope not!! My lorry insurance is about £400 more expensive elsewhere!! :eek:

I claimed for an injury to my horse and they were pretty fast..... I am a moaned though and rung like everyday chasing :p
 
I'll just keep on trying to chase! Is 3 and a half months normal then?

The trouble is, it was being paid directly to the vet, who are now chasing me to settle the bill :(

What about other companies (I'm going to cancel the policy and change as soon as NFU have settled this). How long do the likes of KBIS etc usually take to pay a straightforward claim?
 
I have had no problem and this year I lost a horse and two cars. They recently moved into a new, purpose built office block, I suspect that is what caused problems.
 
I sumbitted a claim when Belle went lame in the summer, I had never made a claim before & was assured that it would be straight forward.

Well.......... claim start date June 2010, claim was finally settled & payment received at the vets on 26th November 2010! In the end I was ringing NFU at least once a week chasing them, not good service at all, am very disappointed :o(
 
While it is obvious that NFU is struggling to cope with its workload from an equine insurance perspective I really wouldn't worry that it may be "in trouble" as it is part of an ENORMOUS organisation which is generally extremely healthy, if the insurance part were in trouble the other parts would have to bail it out I believe as I don't think the insurance wing would be ringfenced from the other parts of it (correct me if I'm wrong!).

However, all the inefficiency is probably causing their reputation damage I expect!! Financially though I suspect they are fine - insurance companies usually are no matter how rubbish they are as the make sooooo much freakin money!!!! If you are struggling I would really recommend calling or even visiting your local office, they are usually extremely friendly and a face often get far more attention than a call to a random call centre!
 
I don't use NFU (not for any particular reason, just never have) but I had trouble earlier this year with another insurance company. If you can't get a sensible answer out of them then write to them in the first instance, stating your concerns and how you want them to respond. You can also discuss it with the Financial Services Authority who can help you with the correct procedure to follow and with wording of complaint letters. I ended up having to go to the Financial Ombudsman to get money from my insurer (not E&L though!!) and eventually was paid in Sept this year for bills from Jan!
 
No I dont think so. I had a claim with them last year. It took about six months to resolve and towards the end I kept pushing and then First Equine took over my case and paid no problems.
 
They have recently paid nearly £5K for my mare's KS op with no problem at all. Maybe it depends on what part of the country you are as I have never experienced any problems and have been with them for years!
 
Misinterpreted said:
I'll just keep on trying to chase! Is 3 and a half months normal then?

The trouble is, it was being paid directly to the vet, who are now chasing me to settle the bill :(

What about other companies (I'm going to cancel the policy and change as soon as NFU have settled this). How long do the likes of KBIS etc usually take to pay a straightforward claim?
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It took them five months to pay out on my last claim. I've been insured with them for 10 years and they have been really prompt with all previous claims. This year they seem to have gone down hill. Got too big with not enough staff?
 
I doubt it! I think the trouble is actually because they have outsourced to first equine so NFU are acting more as a middleman but i guess this was to try and resolve the backlog problems they have been experiencing. However, please remember NFU are generally very good at paying out claims.

If you deal with a local agent then it may be worth giving them a call or popping in to see if they can push things along, especially if it meant them losing your custom!
 
treacle_beastie said:
I doubt it! I think the trouble is actually because they have outsourced to first equine so NFU are acting more as a middleman but i guess this was to try and resolve the backlog problems they have been experiencing. However, please remember NFU are generally very good at paying out claims.

If you deal with a local agent then it may be worth giving them a call or popping in to see if they can push things along, especially if it meant them losing your custom!
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Are First Equine the same as Equine First? That is who I had trouble with. They agree your claim (eventually) and then deliberately withhold money they owe you. Took me months to get them to pay out, despite pressure from me, my vet, regular letters. The only way to get your money out of Equine First is firstly to call them at least once a week (there is only one person dealing with equine claims and she is CRAP, they are still sorting out the stuff from the Equestrian Direct collapse 18 months/2 years ago) and to start proceedings with the Financial Ombudsman. Make a record of every contact you have with them, dates, details etc and keep on top of them. They only pay out when you make a fuss.
 
I don't believe so, certainly I am not aware of anything.

My mare injured her tendons in March, I didn't even send the completed claim form back till late April. I got my first cheque from NFU covering the first bills I'd paid out of my own pocket 2 weeks later, and since then it has been ongoing, they are paying vets direct at my request. We have had stem cell therapy and following on from that regular scans to see how it has been progressing.

I need to organise another scan to see if/what there is anything else we can do/need to do before the claim period comes to an end in March 2011.

I have been dealing direct with NFU in York on this claim. No problems whatsoever, they've always answered the phone, and its all made sense.
 
My local NFU have just moved into new offices so I wouldnt think they'd be spending if they were in trouble, or I hope not :D
 
I had horses insured with them for years and backlog was normal, though you'd always get there in the end. What made me leave them recently was the local office's continued incompetence. After about 10 years of it I had enough and am with SEIB now who are completely professional.
 
I doubt they are in trouble but suspect the problem lies firmly at the door of equine first.

They are not a big company...think the boss & a couple of self employed people (because they are too tight to employ people full time) who are expected to cover most of the country for 9p a mile! Oh, and one office based person who is expected to deal with all the paperwork, reports, diary etc. The boss is a beligerant woman who assumes everyone is making a fraudulent claim & refuses to pay for anything...the evidence that the claim is genuine can be as clear as day but they insist on spending months 'investigating' & trying to trip people up! Because obv we are all dodgy and have the time to invent injuries and accidents for financial gain :mad:

And yes, I speak from experience from wasting 5 months of my time working freelance for them a couple of years ago - needless to say I am still owed quite a bit from being unpaid so it is not surprising you are all struggling to get claims settled. Like others have said, I would insist that nfu take the claims back in house because in all fairness they are usually pretty good at paying out......just not when it is subbed out to a so called professional loss adjuster!

Hmm...perhaps I should drag myself back into the workplace and offer to take on their backlog :D
 
Nando said:
I doubt they are in trouble but suspect the problem lies firmly at the door of equine first.

They are not a big company...think the boss & a couple of self employed people (because they are too tight to employ people full time) who are expected to cover most of the country for 9p a mile! Oh, and one office based person who is expected to deal with all the paperwork, reports, diary etc. The boss is a beligerant woman who assumes everyone is making a fraudulent claim & refuses to pay for anything...the evidence that the claim is genuine can be as clear as day but they insist on spending months 'investigating' & trying to trip people up! Because obv we are all dodgy and have the time to invent injuries and accidents for financial gain :mad:

And yes, I speak from experience from wasting 5 months of my time working freelance for them a couple of years ago - needless to say I am still owed quite a bit from being unpaid so it is not surprising you are all struggling to get claims settled. Like others have said, I would insist that nfu take the claims back in house because in all fairness they are usually pretty good at paying out......just not when it is subbed out to a so called professional loss adjuster!

Hmm...perhaps I should drag myself back into the workplace and offer to take on their backlog :D
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agree with you entirely on this but do you really want to go back to working in insurance - i hope i never have to go back into the industry ever again!
 
no i don't think so i recently had a small claim and it was paid promptly, did not need to chase them at all.

NFU are one of the few companies my vets will accept direct payments from, they have a good reputation.

Maybe they have more claims than normal or are trying to increase "efficency" by employing less staff.
 
Ha ha..you are probably right! Infact, no...you are def right :p

I am relieved everytime there is a major flood or 'event' that I am not going to get the call to trek across the country to deal with it :o However, it would mean all these long suffering peeps would get their claims settled :)

Second thoughts......think i will take your advice :D
 
Ive just had pay out for bills submitted in March.......they sent the wrong amount claimed for and in fact they didnt know what they had paid for and hadnt!
I sent bills in together and they had to sub contract a company to deal with claims in the summer.....they are the ones that cocked up. I still havent been paid out the right amount and have given in
 
Maybe the best approach (should you wish to renew with NFU) would be to attach a letter to the renewal saying that you are renewing on condition that NFU handle any claims direct and do not engage the services of any 3rd party :) Should focus their minds if enough policy holders do it :D .....
 
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