Recently had a claim settled with Laka so thought it would be worth giving a detailed review with a timeline as I couldn’t find too much info on this before I started the process. If you find this helpful then I would be grateful if you could use my code to sign up so we both get 30 days free cover:
Big thanks to Sam and the team for getting this sorted so quickly.
The claim was for crash damage, cracking a carbon mtb frame almost all the way through the top tube and down tube.
I submitted the claim via the website claims form, and had to fill in details like when it happened and where, the gear involved, if I think a bike shop needs to do a damage assessment or help with repairs, if anyone was with me at the time etc. I also uploaded photos of the bike/damage and a short video in which I described the accident in minor detail.
I submitted the claim last Saturday and received an auto response advising they would be in touch in 3 working days and are not available at weekends.
Monday: Email from Anna confirming they have completed their assessment and approved my claim to replace the frame, and that the fulfilment team would be in touch - no follow up information or questions asked.
Tuesday: Email from Sam, asking if I was committed to sticking with the same brand or if I was interested in any others.
I emailed back with some ideas of other brands/framesets I’d be interested in.
Wednesday: Sam emailed to advise the whole bike would be written off and replaced, and I would send my damaged bike to them after the claim is complete so they could recover some costs.
I sent some options back for specs/colours etc of bikes I’d be interested in at various spec levels to allow for any discounts they may be able to get.
Friday: I had chased on live chat/emailed Sam back as I hadn’t heard anything, Sam let me know they had some unexpected absences in the team, and that he was still waiting to hear back from their preferred supplier on the prices and was actively chasing them.
Bank holiday weekend, so wasn’t expecting to hear back until Tuesday. On the Monday evening I emailed Sam about a really good deal I had my eye on that went out of stock, and if possible, have the claim settled in cash so I could take the next sale opportunity that came up.
Tuesday: Sam emailed to say they are flexible and could source from anywhere if any of the options they came up with didn’t work for me, and forwarded me a list of the options from their supplier including full custom build or upgrade options (which indeed didn’t work for me with no major discounts available to bring the spec I was after into budget).
I sent over a link to another bike I’d seen in the sales and asked if they could purchase that one or settle in cash so I could do so.
Wednesday: I emailed again and said I had checked stock with the retailer and it was the last one in stock so would appreciate if they could jump on it asap.
Sam responded to confirm the size/colour and got the bike ordered for me before the end of the day.
Sam was incredibly patient with me, always sending additional emails with my thoughts on different bike options, and chasing for updates etc, and handled the process exceptionally well. It was a very quick turnaround at only really 5/6 working days from approval to an order of a bike. And it was no small cost either.
Well worth having insurance with Laka, you certainly get what you pay for.