Zurich Insurance Refused to Honor Replacement Clause for My Car After Accident
On 13.05.2024, I purchased a car worth ₺1,500,000 with a bank loan and was compelled to take out a ₺60,000 insurance policy from Zurich. On 21.12.2024, I had an accident where the other party was found 100% at fault, as confirmed by the police report. A claim file was opened on 25.12.2024 with the number 1139334. My car was towed to Istanbul Airport, the sole service center for the Togg brand in Turkey. The service representatives informed me they had no agreement with Zurich, meaning I would need to pay all repair costs myself. To complicate matters, when I contacted Zurich, I discovered my policy included a 20% deductible, which is unlawful for a newly purchased car. Since I could not take the car to another service, I approved the repair and an expert assessed the damage at ₺437,000, classifying the car as heavily damaged because the repair cost exceeded 30% of the market value. Two weeks later, the car was sent for salvage, but Zurich’s market value inquiry was based on the highest package of the car, while mine was the basic package. I objected, and after a reevaluation, a salvage value of ₺915,900 was established on 13.01.2025, with Zurich offering to pay ₺1,215,180 in compensation. I cannot accept this unethical offer. You forced me into an overpriced policy, unlawfully applied a deductible, accepted my car as heavily damaged but failed to honor the "Replacement Value Clause" in my policy. This clause, mandatory for new car policies, requires the insurer to pay the car’s delivery price. When I asked for its application, you threatened to rescind the heavy damage classification and repair the car instead. Moreover, you demand I sign a release form waiving my legal rights to accept your offer. Your actions are unethical, and I urge you to abandon this approach of bad faith.
Dear Sir/Madam, Your request has been received and is currently under review. We will get back to you as soon as possible. Kind regards, ZURICH INSURANCE INC. Customer Experience and Satisfaction Department
Dear Sir/Madam, Following our meeting on January 15, 2025, the necessary information has been provided to you. Sincerely, ZURICH INSURANCE INC.
The official I spoke with acknowledged the grievance I experienced. They agreed with me on all the issues present in the policy. They conceded that the deductible exemption cannot be applied to a new vehicle, there is no agreement with the authorized service, the policy is overpriced, the market value is calculated based on the wrong vehicle, and the Replacement Cost Clause is not applied. They said they would forward the issue to the relevant department and resolve it. I am waiting for a response from them. Nothing has been resolved yet.
