So, this was a good opportunity… even though you can see he’s not all that happy about this

Well, Outsurance didn’t even have the decency to phone me themselves to tell me they’re repudiating the claim.  They got the assessor to be the messenger of that bad news.

To say I’m upset is an understatement.

Apparently because there was no forced entry is the reason they’re not paying.  I locked the car for pete sake!! Even though every other person I know that’s claimed from insurance where this has happened has had it repudiated because they didn’t specify the items.  Mine were specified!!

So, they’d rather pay for a R85000 claim for the camera and damage to the car, than just for the camera alone.  Where it’s clear that I was watched and targetted!!

I actually don’t know what to do, I feel like telling them to get knotted and take all my insurance away from them.  I pay them a fortune every month, and this is the first time I’ve ever claimed from them!!

What’s the freaking point of insuring my equipment?

And Outsurance… why are you so chicken not to phone your clients directly?

If I’d left it somewhere and claimed, it would be paid out.  If I’d smashed the window and pretended, it would be paid out… but because I did the honest thing and did this properly, nothing is going to happen!! Nice one guys!

It’s not like this is a strange case either, there are thousands of cases of this happening at the moment, and the insurance companies are getting off scott free!!

As for Outsurance…  I’m clearly not worth enough to even get a phone call from them directly.    That’s shoddy customer service! Seriously shoddy!

** Update 1 – the claims manager is apparently going to chat to me about it in the morning….

**Update 2 –  I’ve checked Outsurance’s Facebook wall, and this is what they say:  We have discussed the issue of theft via remote blocking at the highest levels of our company and our stance on not covering this type of theft will not change. From our discussion of yesterday, this a type of theft that can be prevented by our clients by ensuring their vehicle is properly locked. I understand and appreciate your concern regarding this issue, it highlights the crime and is informative to people who might not be aware that the crime can be prevented. 

Nice hey?  So, if you’re a victim like me… this is what you can expect… so much for Fully Comprehensive cover!!

*** Update 3 (10 feb 2012) got a call from Gerhardt the Claims Manager, who clearly hadn’t read any of my blog posts… but anyhoo…  they’re not going to review it the case.  According to him no insurance company pays these claims… really?  That’s not what my network online is saying. Guess they’ve lost me as a client. My big issue now is that they completely wasted my time… if they knew they weren’t going to pay on Monday, why make me go through the affidavit and the waiting for an assessor bit… I feel like charging them for the hours I’ve wasted on this!! Such SHODDY customer service!  He said that they don’t like prejudicing clients… seriously… really?  Surely the affidavit they received on Tuesday was enough then.  Outsurance’s processes are NOT client-centric AT ALL!! Not that they care, it’s clear from the conversation that they don’t actually care whether I move my business elsewhere or not.  I’m not important to them at all.

And of course, what’s photos of my family without some of the huskies… 

LOL and Bradley showing me his freestyle

M beautiful Canon 5D MKII got stolen out my car and I’m meeting the insurance assessor in the morning so y’all pray Outsurance pays out… please!! I’ve got the replacement quotes as they asked, have been through the police mills etc, now it’ the assessor’s turn.

This was my favourite week of the course so far, and although I’ve been pretty good in the past with getting my clients to relax in front of the camera, I feel that the way Brooke does it was just awesome, and will get my photos to the “next level”.  I really think the family enjoyed what I did too, and the parents learnt a bit about their kids in the process

I didn’t do the “interview” with my clients very long in advance, I actually did it on the day.  On the hour long drive from the George airport to Mossel Bay I got to know them a bit… and that helped immensely.  I’m busy building my forms to use for future shoots, so that every client will get to fill out a questionaire so that their shoot is more meaningful.

In this shoot, the biggest thing it changed was the location.  The idea when they emailed me to book the shoot, was for the location to be on the beach at the Point.  It’s rocky.  It was a bit smelly because of the red bait, and there’s a restaurant close by with loads of people walking past all the time. It would have been a challenge, and I could see that Anita (the mom) wasn’t all that keen on the place when we chatted in the car.  So after a long conversation over lunch, and a few more suggestions, we decided on Little Brak River beach because they have a holiday home there and have spent many long summer days on the beach… perfect!! And the photos ended up being so more meaningful because we chose a location that meant something to the family.

We did the shoot at 5pm, and the sun was still a little too high for my liking, but it meant that I could spend longer on the shoot… so it worked out in the end.

As for the train station photos, that was not planned at all.  After the shoot we stopped there for a few drinks.  I took one look at the tracks and the old buildings and asked the girls if they were up for a few more photos I’m glad they agreed!!

After this, I’m determined not to use the same “old” locations for every shoot like I tend to do… my shoots are now going to be much more personalised.

But let’s do this because I really want to show you the beauty that is Mossel Bay…

I really really wanted to visit the lighthouse, but it’s stupidly only open from Monday to Fridays!!

This was taken just under the lighthouse at the Point

Looking towards the Point.  I stayed in the little houses you can see on the right.

I just loved all the dogwalkers on Little Brak beach

And I had to laugh when this black labrador came sauntering down the beach looking as pleased as punch with the barbell (sp?) that he had stolen from the seagulls.

And the rest are the views on Sunday morning at breakfast.  I ate at Delphino’s restaurant on the Point next to the village that I was staying in and the restaurant overlooks the beach

Gosh I love this image… I can see this blown up on a canvas

I could very easily have a holiday vacation there… it’s too beautiful and the sea wasn’t too cold either.