[PraNeel]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Here's my ordeal:
Having been a customer of Bajaj Allianz for many years now for multiple motor insurances, they still didn't bother to resolve the issue. I have notified IRDA of this scam that's happening.

Please stay away from Bajaj Allianz - Don't waste your money and precious time here. I learned it!

Thanks for sharing this. I have three simple rules while purchasing insurance:
1. Never take insurance from private players.
2. Always take insurance from manufacturer tie up one like Maruti Insurance, or go to the nearest sarkari insurance office and get the policy issued.
3. Always there is a margin and request for a discount. Always quote the competitive rate being offered. It helps!!
P.S. Calculate the IDV of the vehicle as per the depreciation rate and never go less or above it.

[maddy42]

Ridiculous that you need such a run around for a refund from a firm which is the darling of the markets and media!

Feel this scam preys on the time constraint and sometimes our innocence or naivete. They get you on the line and treat you like fish which has been hooked and all they have to do is convince you on a payment with not much details provided. You are essentially given a time clock similar to what is done by Mark Cuban on shark tank. Deal now or never. Beware of such pressures as money which leaves your account will not come back easily.

Let me give an example. There is large job portal which starts with N. Recently got a call from them recommending some advance service for a price, included resume highlights, more jobs in your mailbox and the moon. They then state this price is 4500 and needs to be done now, and when i asked if a cheaper option was there made me talk to a manager who stated that a special discount will get the price to 3900 but i need to pay on a link which they sent. I told i was headed for a meeting and will do so in 20 mins and cut the call.

I was almost convinced before talking to a friend who is a HR and he strongly recommended against this as the ask is too much. He also said these services are done for a lower price elsewhere. This made me look up reviews which was not satisfactory to say the least.

When i didnt pay in 30 mins there were a lot of calls from their end pressurising me to go for this one off deal and even criticizing my profile etc. I think i dodged a bullet. To think of it such tactics does not bode well on a company or people and i pity folks who work for such organizations as this karma will hit you back badly.

In hindsight question yourself when taking such decisions and always be ready to backout. Do not let anyone box you in to a corner and do your due diligence. You may miss out some good deal, but not always.

Anyone faced similar instances?

Maddy

[locusjag]

Guys, I've worked on building insurance policy underwriting ("sales") systems for 15 years now, for various insurance companies. I'm talking about the systems that take your information (either directly if you key in your data, or if a broker does the keying in or a policybazaar type guy keys it in for you) and fix a premium and send out that PDF policy document out to you.

As harrowing as the OP's predicament is, don't take it out on Bajaj Allianz. Don't read too much into this. It seems like a run-of-the-mill software production bug in their underwriting system whereby the policy got rated and the billing (i.e., the payment) was successful, but the sub-system which generates the damned PDF document has failed.

I wonder if Bajaj Allianz has their own in-house captive IT arm or not, or if they have an outsourced production support team from an IT services vendor. These things should be settled aggressively with a fixed SLA. A dumb software bug is needlessly sullying their brand name now.

[turbodude]

Bajaj Allianz had gone from good to worst. I had my first claim with them in 2010 and then another one in 2012 for 4 wheeler insurance. Everything went on so smoothly that time and claims settled very fast.

Considering this, I bought their 3 year policy for my Jupiter and when its renewal was due, my horrors started. I visited Kalyan West branch office and asked for renewal process.

They did not have digital payment options. No card machine, no UPI, no account number and IFSC codes. Can you believe this happened in 2019? I went out and brought cash to renew my policy.

Did my harassment stop? No. I did not receive policy document even after many follow ups and emails. After a week or so my patience ran out and I escalated to IRDAI. This worked and I got the policy document on email. I realized later that I was conned by Kalyan office and 15 Lakh personal accident insurance was not mandatory.

Then there was another incident in 2020. I started getting insurance renewal reminders for some Innova which I do not own and never owned earlier. Daily sms, robo calls twice a day and emails.

I contacted their call centre, filled in their DO NOT DISTURB form but in vain. Then I remembered that they only respond to IRDAI. So escalated hard and then it stopped.

Now comes the funny part. Innova original owner paid the insurance premium few days later and Bajaj Allianz promptly sent the confirmation sms to me .

Stay away from them at any cost. They are not worth it.

[neil.jericho]

I had shared this thread in different motorcycling groups and I found a lot of people responded with negative feedback on Bajaj Allianz as well as Bajaj Finserv. A gentleman who is well known in the motorcycling community shared two of his negative experiences with me, so that I can post it on the forum. I havent edited his responses in any way, I have posted below exactly what he sent me.

Car 1:
Dec 31st 2020:Insurance was expiring in Jan. I asked my Amex RM to check and provide details and got a final quote of Rs. 61,297 for Zero Dep and promptly paid it. They even said RSA was complimentary.
Jan 5th 2021: Remembered that I hadn't received the Policy copy and pinged my Amex RM. She says some issue with Bajaj and she's checking.
Jan 9th: Still no copy. Amex RM still waiting on Bajaj Allianz, who are saying it's a 'Technical issue'
Jan 10th: I am informed that the 'Technical issue' was that they can't give me Zero Dep and offer me an atrocious quote without zero dep instead. I feel cheated and tell them I want Zero Dep or my money back.
Jan 11th: Conference call with Amex RM, Bajaj Allianz Sales manager and Bajaj Allianz Product Manager. They tell me some story about system accepting the booking first but then showing error. I tell them I want my money back asap or I am registering a complaint with IRDA right away.
After multiple follow ups by my RM, I get my money back on Jan 14th.

Car 2:
Mar 26th: Insurance was due for my car which just turned 5 years old. I get a final quote of Rs. 22021 from Bajaj Allianz and make the payment. But no Policy is issued or mailed to me.
Mar 27: I get a mail saying 'Deficit Payment' from Bajaj Allianz where they say they had wrongly calculated premium amount to be Rs 22021 instead of Rs. 32880 (see screenshot). This is after I had already paid Rs. 22021.
This clearly sounded like cheating to me - quote a smaller premium, lock in customer, then demand a much higher premium. I sent them a mail on this. (see screenshot)
Mar 29th: I get a call from Bajaj Allianz apologising for 'Technical issue'. They say it was a genuine error and I need to pay the difference amount to get the policy issued. I give them a piece of my mind and they kept saying 'technical issue' or 'human error'. They marginally reduce the difference amount to be paid and beg me to pay and close the issue. I caved in I guess, paid the difference amount (nearly 10K) and got the policy issued.

Below is his feedback on the experiences that other forum members have shared on this thread.

But now, reading others experiences, it is clear to me that these were not one off instances that occurred only with me. Something is very rotten at Bajaj Allianz and I would never do business with them again.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

II get the confirmation message from Bajaj, issuing payment provider showing me that the EMI has been accepted etc. I call up the finance provider and check on the refund status. Says they haven't received any sort of refund initiation from Bajaj Allianz (so the scam is really happening. They are now holding my money illegally). I convince the payment provider and finally they were able to cancel the payment.

A little OT, what do you mean when you say refund of EMI? Who is this provider and how does Bajaj still have your money?

[pkk077]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Off topic- I've been buying only Liability Only (Third party) policies with the 7,50,000 rupee cover now - just fulfilling the basic requirements of law.

Which insurer do you use? My insurance agent told me that only govt. companies do third party only. Private insurers refuse to do third party only.

[Brumby]

Bajaj-Allianz is doing this for more than 2 years now, the customer care is like an infinite loop and you will never get a result. In 2019 I had to renew the policy for my Innova and while renewing it online, I noticed that they had entered wrongly the first date of registration in their database, I put a request for correction with all relevant documents and then the never ending communication with customer care started. I decided to renew only after the correction is done, but it was never done. When it was time I could not delay further I decided to renew with other service provider.
Surprisingly after four months of the policy expiry date I got a mail and a call from Bajaj-Allianz that the correction has been done

Presently I am preferring ICICI-Lombard just that they are a bit better to respond to customer's queries and requests.

Sometimes I fail to understand who decides such practices to be followed in organisations of high repute.

Cheers

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by pkk077

Which insurer do you use? My insurance agent told me that only govt. companies do third party only. Private insurers refuse to do third party only.

I use Acko for the scooter, and Bajaj for the car. Why Bajaj? Because I give business to an intermediary whom I know for 24 years, and he does motor insurance with Bajaj only.

All insurance companies are mandated to issue Liability Only (Third Party or TP) policies, and you can see this option on their websites too. But the "khufiya" reality is that they aren't keen on TP policies since neither the company nor the intermediary gets to earn any worthwhile commission. The older GIC companies like National, Oriental, New India, United India issue TP policies without making a fuss.

Another point - when I renew the Bajaj TP policy, I go by a link that my friend gives me, and not on the website. Try renewing on the website with the old policy number and it will say that the policy number is invalid. No issues on Acko, though.

My journey with TP policies for the car is as follows:

2014 - Reliance (a known agent in Surat)
2015 - HDFC Ergo (same as above)
2016 - National (through a known officer)
2017, 18, 19, 20 - Bajaj ( through my friend of 24 years who got his own intermediary code for Gen. insurance policies).

Remove the friend from the equation and Bajaj is history for me. I'm sick of their spam calls.

[saion666]

I had been a customer of Bajaj Allianz for nearly 7 years. I heard very good reviews of their motor insurance policy here on Teambhp itself and have been renewing my car policy with them.

The premiums were always a tad bit higher,which I was ok with.However in the last two years ,they are charging nearly double of what something like acko or digit are offering. I mailed them,requested them to atleast bring some parity with screenshots of quotations from others but they just kept forwarding my request from one executive to other. Finally this year I swithched to Acko.

P.s:- I did not have to make a single claim in the last 7 years,touchwood.

[roadrunner_nv]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

I had shared this thread in different motorcycling groups and I found a lot of people responded with negative feedback on Bajaj Allianz as well as Bajaj Finserv. A gentleman who is well known in the motorcycling community shared two of his negative experiences with me, so that I can post it on the forum. I havent edited his responses in any way, I have posted below exactly what he sent me.

I belong to a biking community too and unsurprisingly, you’ll find such “influencers” with feedback about Acko, Digit, ICICI Lombard, HDFC ergo, Reliance and Bajaj Allianz. They all have their own marks of inadequate service, claims experiences across. Not just private players, some from the public sector too (mostly claims related).

It would be unwise to keep slinging mud on such forums. Don’t tell me that you never experienced deficiency of any sort anywhere else..be it a dealership, service, telecom or internet provider or even your neighbourhood hotel or bar

My own HDFC ergo policy took over six months for a simple change of detail. Not just that, it also costed me as my car was towed away during a visit to the HDFC office

What remains to be seen if if the company in question manages to help him out. Better late than never.

[HTC]

Dear Admins, Please move this post to the correct thread or delete if found inappropriate for this topic. I wanted to share my experience claiming repair costs from an insurance company via policybazaar.

It is a sorry state of affairs across all insurance companies I guess. Everything is hunky dory till they are getting customers money. Things will take a sharp U turn whey they have to pay the customers. Let me tell you my experience. Since policybazaar makes it so easy to get new policy or renew policy, I had been regularly renewing my four 2 wheelers and a car insurances using policybazaar. The quotes were competitive, can renew the policy in 10-15 mins, no need to worry about inspection or insurance agents. I was all happy and gleaming with joy with the new found ease of buying insurance online.

All good things must come to an end. Alas, I scratched my car's rear left door and fender at the apartment basement when I was reverse parking. Since it was raining heavily and mirrors were all wet, didn't judge the pillar properly and ended up with deep scratch to door and fender.Usually, I get the damage attended immediately if it is mechanical issue or damage to metal panels. In this case, it was door and fender with exposed metal, I immediately called the policybazaar helpline. I was advised to use the self video claim method.
Took the video of damage, 360 degree view of the car and sent it along with bunch of other requested documents. Initial estimate was INR 13k. Got an email from policybazaar to proceed with the repair.

I had to pay the workshop for repair from my pocket and the claim amount will be transferred to my bank account after claim settlement. Even after 4 months after repair, the claim amount was not settled. Hundreds of calls talking to policybazaar support who wouldn't even know the basic english.Funny part is, after few days, I knew exactly what the support person would talk about for the next 5 minutes. Could have lip synced their response.

They say they are extremely sorry for the inconvenience and promise that the concerned department representatives will call me back and hangup. At random time during the day, I used to get a call from their automated system and before I could receive the call, it would get cut and I get an automated email sayin- "Oops! We couldn't reach you Hi! We tried to reach you on your registered mobile number, to discuss your Motor claims enquiry. Kindly provide us an alternate number .."

Actual repair cost was upward of INR 17k. One fine day, I was asked to send the repair invoice through the postal courier. Which I did. Again the waiting game started. After 6 months I saw INR 9.8k credited to my bank account. When I tried to reason how come they settled for less than approved amount against estimation ( 13k), got* below email,

"Dear Sir,
Greetings for the day!As per sheet your claim has been approved by the surveyor based on comprehensive policy terms and conditions,
and if you have any concern for the same you can contact the surveyor Mr. xxxxxxxxxx, 98xxxxxxxx4, for the same.
We are attaching both the reports for your reference, and approval always provided as per labour schedule.
"We are here to help you to get your claim processed by the Insurer."Assuring you the best of our services!"

That is when I sent a harsh email stating how unprofessional the experience was dealing with them and there is absolutely no transparency in their process.
But what did I gain from this experience? A good lesson. I stopped using policybazaar totally. Now I go to the insurance provider's website and buy the insurance after registering as their user. Yes it takes 30 mins extra doing it, My cost INR 500 extra, but at least I can avoid dealing with middle men and have peace of mind. And what did policybazaar lose? A loyal customer for many years.

Between, I was just sharing my experience and I do not have any animosity towards any insurance providers or enablers. Many might have benefited from policybazaar or similar . Looks like I was unlucky and ended up having a bad experience.

I guess I will stop my rant for now. Be Safe!

[SASproject]

Originally Posted by locusjag

Guys, I've worked on building insurance policy underwriting ("sales") systems for 15 years now, for various insurance companies. I'm talking about the systems that take your information (either directly if you key in your data, or if a broker does the keying in or a policybazaar type guy keys it in for you) and fix a premium and send out that PDF policy document out to you.

As harrowing as the OP's predicament is, don't take it out on Bajaj Allianz. Don't read too much into this. It seems like a run-of-the-mill software production bug in their underwriting system whereby the policy got rated and the billing (i.e., the payment) was successful, but the sub-system which generates the damned PDF document has failed.

I have also been in the tech industry for almost a decade now but sorry that makes no sense.

Sure there are technical complexities but that is not the customers responsibility to resolve. If Bajaj is using a bad system that customers have a bad experience with it is 100% Bajaj's responsibility.

If this were valid logic BMW could say that sorry your gearbox failed but blame ZF and not BMW. Its not the customers job to track down components and sub-systems of a company.

Offtopic but this is one of the things that struck me the most when I moved to the US - the customer service here is impeccable. I don't know how big the market for such a company would be in India but I would happily pay 10-20% additional premium if I had a company that was very consumer focused and got tech right.

[udayjani]

Interestingly, I ran into similar issue while buying Icici Term insurance online. After paying the premium, uploading all the documents, policy was put on hold pending medical checkup.

While filing the application online, their was no mention of medical checkup however soon after uploading all income documents and paying the policy premium, I was being redirected for medical checkup.

After finishing the medical checkup, my policy was rejected stating “This Plan is unavailable to you at this time due to basic eligibility requirements. The premium paid will be refunded to your account in 15 working days”

I called their customer care but all they say is that policy is rejected on medical grounds and they are not liberty to disclose the basic requirements which I didn’t meet.

And funny thing is that we have to send email to their customer service to process the refund. Without customer sending an email, refund won’t be processed.

After this fiasco, I’m planning to complaint this incident to IRDA to understand the basic requirements on which ICICI has rejected the issuance of policy.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by SASproject

I have also been in the tech industry for almost a decade now but sorry that makes no sense.

Sure there are technical complexities but that is not the customers responsibility to resolve. If Bajaj is using a bad system that customers have a bad experience with it is 100% Bajaj's responsibility.

If this were valid logic BMW could say that sorry your gearbox failed but blame ZF and not BMW. Its not the customers job to track down components and sub-systems of a company.
.

I understand where you're coming from.

I'm saying pretty much the same thing you've said but in a different light. Their systems are the root cause of this mess and it's ruining their brand image. Of course where you've differentiated your response is in saying that the customers won't care. And that's 100% right on your 0art.

But all I'm saying is - it's not some vicious scam. I can recognize a production bug in these systems and I think I see one here. That's it. It's most likely to be an innocuous bug behind the scenes.