Friday, March 2, 2012

Big enough to deliver, small enough to careTM

Big enough to deliver, small enough to careless^TM

Monday, February 20, 2012

Groupama Buildings and Contents Insurance

Review of Groupama Buildings and Contents Insurance

Submitted by Diana Pearson
Review Added: 19/5/2009 - Visitor Rating: 3.20 3.20

(5 votes)

Review Categories:
Home Insurance

Customer Review Comments:
The customer service is appalling and the staff were rude and unhelpful. Each time I phoned I was on hold for about half an hour and if they said they would call me back no one ever did.
They refused to pay out on a small claim without giving a valid reason and when I asked for it in writing they refused to do so. A complete waste of time paying for my policy because its completely useless as they refuse to pay out even when I submitted builders quotes. I wrote to the complaints department who just referred me back to the customer service helpline.
In my opinion I would not use this company ever again. I am not sure if they are a member of the FSA, if they are not it is not possible to complain to the ombudsman service. Therefore you have no help or any other way of getting a result other than the company who just ignore your complaint.

Good Points: none
Bad Points: everything
Customer Service Rating: 0/5
Value for Money Rating: 0/5
Overall Rating: 0/5
Made a Claim? Yes
Recommended? No
Insurer Website: groupama
See all Groupama Insurance reviews.

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I am just in the process of claiming and I am already finding them hopeless. When I asked them about how to prove a claim/ownership the person I spoke with told me that he cannot tell me that because it might result in me putting false claims forwards. Talk about a lack of professionalism. Unbelievable. I am glad the calls are recorded. They also could not bring my policy up because the servers were down across the whole office. Fills you with trust doesn't it?
Comment by K
Date: 25/6/2011

We also found them hopeless. They provided NO emrgency number. We found them difficult to contact. They would not give us a customer reference number when we presented for a claim. We had to press to know the name of the claims assistant we were speaking to. They stated Cunningham and Lindsay to be their loss adjusters and to contact them outside office hours but C & L said they had never heard of Groupama!
Comment by M Clyde
Date: 2/1/2010

I found this insurance company to have very poor customer service and was difficult to get through on the phone and totally unhelpful i would not use them again.
Comment by diana pearson
Date: 18/5/2009

Sunday, February 19, 2012

More complaints for Groupama.

Insurance heartache in Spain

December 10, 2011 • Andalucia, Health • 4 Comments

(Be the first to rate it)

• Graham Otter battled with Groupama for two years

EXCLUSIVE By Wendy Williams

AN expat has won a two year battle against an insurance company that refused to pay his hospital bills.

Retired IT director Graham Otter, 58, was forced to fight Groupama after it insisted that he was not covered due to a pre-existing condition.

Incredibly, it came after he was encouraged to move insurance companies with the promise of a lower premium.

“It seemed like an obvious move,” explained Otter, from Buckinghamshire, who has lived in Mijas Costa for seven years. “But it has been a nightmare.
“After commencing the policy I was admitted to hospital with an emergency heart condition a week later.”

Although his policy stated emergencies would be covered, Groupama informed him that his hospital bills would not be paid as his admission was related to a ‘pre-existing condition’.

However, he confirmed that his policy had clearly stated there was ‘no wait period’, moreover he had NOT suffered any previous conditions.

And even when his hospital doctor confirmed this, the insurance company still ignored his claim.

“Their response was just to ignore me and block any further cover for heart related treatment.
“Thankfully for the last two years I have only needed consultations and simple procedures but I have had to pay for these myself.
“In total I have been forced to pay around 4,000 euros.”

Otter had been forced to take out private health insurance after it emerged that he was not eligible for healthcare in Spain.

“I only have access to private medical care. Once I have been declined that, what can I do? I would have had to pack my bags and go home.”

Now, after two years of fighting, he has been reimbursed the money.

“But it would not have been achieved without a huge amount of effort and emotional stress which is exactly what you don’t need when dealing with a heart condition,” he added.
“I just hope that my experience may be a warning to others.”

When the Olive Press contacted Groupama a spokesmen said he could not discuss the matter with us.

Many insurance policies exclude people with a pre-existing condition or impose a waiting period before coverage starts.

If this is the case, although you are paying your monthly premiums, you may not have coverage for any care or services related to a pre-existing condition.

Anyone considering making a switch should take care to understand exactly what they are covered for.

Groupama customer service refuses to give any information. Groupama complaints mount.

Groupama to sell brokerage and UK arm

By Alistair Gray in London and Scheherazade Daneshkhu in Paris

Groupama has put its brokerage operations and UK business up for sale as the troubled French insurer seeks to shore up its capital position.
Staff at Gan Eurocourtage, one of France’s biggest insurance brokers, and the company’s UK division were told about the planned disposals on Thursday. The businesses employ a total of 2,610 people.

On this story

IN Financial Services

Groupama, formed from regional farmers’ mutuals more than a century ago, has been among the worst hit in the sector as a result of the eurozone debt crisis. The mutual insurer ran into financial difficulties last year after incurring losses on holdings of Greek sovereign debt and stock market investments.
Two rating agencies in September downgraded the group’s long-term debt to just above junk status, saying that management plans to build up capital to acceptable levels might be insufficient. The downgrades triggered the departure of Jean Azéma, the group’s longstanding chief executive.
His replacement, Thierry Martel, has said his priority would be “to reinforce the solvency of the Group” – mainly through cost-cutting.
Francois-Xavier Boisseau, Groupama’s UK chief executive, said told his staff in a memo on Thursday that the sale process – being handled by Deutsche Bank – would be “completed as quickly as possible” and that it would be “business as usual” in the meantime.
He said that the “current climate” had “resulted in Groupama receiving a number of spontaneous expressions of interest for some of the more profitable parts of its business.”
Groupama, the fifth-biggest insurer by premiums in France and the 15th largest in Europe, has a presence in 13 countries outside France, according to its 2010 annual report. The group is one of the top five shareholders in Société Générale, the French bank.
The UK is home to one of its largest international operations. The UK business specialises in property and casualty insurance and garnered gross written premiums of €549m in 2010.
It was not immediately clear what sum the group was hoping to fetch from the sales.
The planned sale of Gan Eurocourtage comes after Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, the French sovereign wealth fund, injected €300m into its brokerage unit.
Groupama has also agreed merge its stake in Silic, a property company, with CDC’s Icade business in order to create a real estate company holding business parks and offices in France. Some analysts expect that restructured property group to be put up for sale.
Groupama declined to comment

Friday, February 17, 2012

Groupama is technically insolvent and soon will need to be seen as no longer a going concern.

What the market seems to be saying: Groupama is technically insolvent and soon will need to be seen as no longer a going concern.Groupamamay stop paying coupons Groupama may not call the bonds All investment risks on strategic securities are for the account of the shareholdersWhat we believe to be the case: Groupama is one of the largest insurers in France and among the largest in Europe and it is technically solvent but weakly capitalised Groupama has paid all its coupons despite having the option to defer on one of the bonds and has a vested interest in abiding by market practice as it moves towards demutualisation Groupama call its dated subordinated bond at the second call date (call 2009/ redemption 2010) and we expect it to continue to do so. 75% of the assets are backing the life insurance funds and it is logical that most investment risk will be borne by the policyholders over the life of the policies on the basis of their returns.

www.investireoggi.it/.../135049d1318945271-tutto-quello-che-avrest...

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Groupama pledges underwriters to UK regions | Latest News | Insurance Times

All brokers take note. Use Groupama with caution.

Groupama on defence as Aviva and AXA eye broker books

25 January 2012 |By Newsdesk

AXA and Aviva talking to brokers about transferring Groupama business following sale decision

AXA and Aviva are in discussions with a number of brokers about transferring Groupama business following the decision to sell up.
Aviva’s director of trading, Phil Bayles, said: “Aviva is in the market for Groupama business and we are actively talking to a number of brokers.”

AXA commercial chief executive Amanda Blanc said: “Brokers have approached us and have had conversations about the account. And of course, we’ll help them if they decide to change.”
Groupama chief executive François-Xavier Boisseau said he was talking to brokers, who were supportive.
Boisseau has told brokers that Groupama’s UK book has a 200% solvency ratio and is separately capitalised from the rest of the group, currently weakened by the eurozone problems.
Standard & Poor’s has Groupama, and its subsidiaries, rated as BBB-, which is equivalent to one above junk. Groupama has put its UK arm and its broking subsidiaries up for sale.
Boisseau said: “Feedback from supporting brokers has been overwhelmingly positive and very supportive. It is very pleasing that we have recently confirmed a number of valuable new deals and we continue to see an encouraging level of interest and support from our business partners.
“We have been in touch with all Groupama brokers to update them about the sale process and we will continue to keep them informed as developments occur. As you might imagine, we have very close relationships with our major supporting brokers and have spoken personally with all of them to inform them of the news.
“Given the importance of these connections, we have a regular and ongoing business dialogue with them to manage any queries and concerns.”

Groupama for sale. Not interested in UK customers with properties in UK or France or Spain.

Groupama to sell UK business

French insurance group Groupama has put its UK business up for sale in a move that could raise up to £300m.

Groupama to sell UK business Photo: IAN ROMAN

By Jamie Dunkley, Financial Services Correspondent

6:13PM GMT 12 Jan 2012

Comment

The company has appointed Deutsche Bank to advise on the sale, which will include both its UK underwriting division and insurance broking businesses such as Manchester-based Bollington.

Groupama has been hit heavily by the eurozone debt crisis and replaced its chief executive Jean Azema in October following a series of poor results. Mr Azema, who was replaced by Thierry Martle, was blamed for the company having its credit rating downgraded last year.

François-Xavier Boisseau, the company’s UK chief executive, said a cheap sale was “out of the question”.

Mr Boisseau told Insurance Times: “The sale process will start very soon. The group will decide on the quality of the offers.

“What is very true is that the group appreciates the value of its UK operation. When we publish the results for 2011, they will show again a very significant increase in profit and demonstrate that the UK is a valuable asset to the group. For the group, it is out of the question to undersell its UK assets.”

Groupama UK for sale. Maybe that is why claims are not getting paid.

No money to go out when the money coming in slows down. Same thing happens to the Insurance companies. Are your premiums being paid for nothing. If you have a Home and Contents policy with Groupama better shop around for a new policy before you realise they have no interest in paying your claim.

Now finally there’s Groupama, the latest to put the for sale sign up. This one has been coming ever since the parent company got itself tangled up in the Eurozone crisis.
It needs to flog some assets and raise capital quickly and its UK operation, while not large, is steadily profitable and it is hoped that a sale would raise £300m.

Read more: http://www.insuranceage.co.uk/insurance-age/blog-post/2137387/groupama-et-al#ixzz1mSpIZ42C
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French company Groupama has many ties to the UK.

The average person on the street in the UK might not be aware of Groupama Insurance Company, however there presence can be seen on every high street where there is an Estate Agents office. This very well known French company has it's presence known throughout Europe and while treatment varies from country to country one thing remains the same. When ever possible they are refusing to settle claims any chance they can.

We are interested in hearing from any customers of Groupama that feels the service they recieved was not what they would expect from a large Insurance company.

What happens when Insurance companies stop paying out claims.

What happens when Insurance company start to find any excuse not to settle claims. The economy is falling and the average home owner has nowhere else to go. Groupama is one such Insurance company that has chosen not to settle claims whenever it sees possible.