I’ve chosen photos that are very cheery to counteract the written content.
While in Mackay, I spent two days cataloguing receipts for the insurance company. If any of you have ever been unfortunate enough to be robbed (as we were from out of our rental car at the outset of this trip), you know that the misfortune of having your belongings taken from you pales in comparison to the unpleasantness of filing an insurance claim. After gathering proof that I owned the items I claimed had been stolen from me, I now have to provide proof that I have replaced those items with identical or similar items.
Our insurance company has a delightful thing called “recoverable depreciation.” This means that the insurance company trusts you, but only as far as they can throw you and your alleged stolen possessions. So, we were reimbursed for all the items we listed (and proved) as stolen, but only for their depreciated value. In order to recover the difference between the replacement cost of a new item and the depreciated value, I have to produce receipts for 162 line items. I’ve had various phases of this process hanging over my head since we started the trip but it was virtually impossible to complete without decent internet. I had no more excuses.
I spent all the time I could without being criminally negligent of our children (I did send them off on many errands to parks and grocery stores and then hoped they would return) working on this project. I created a spreadsheet based on the list the insurance company provided me which was based on the list I provided them. I listed every single item, then created a list of receipts, then referenced the receipt number next to each item. I scanned or photographed the receipts, converted currencies, edited the photos to reflect the receipt number and US dollar value, and did every single thing I could think of so that they would refund all the money.
I spoke to one lady on the phone who reassured me that they wanted to give me the money and that I didn’t need to line up every item, but could group larger categories like “toys” or “clothing” together. She also encouraged me to call her directly when I had my list ready. I should have taken her advice. Instead, confident that I had done all that they wanted, I sent it to my assigned representative. This woman operates with a different set of instructions than the one I spoke to on the phone. She said I have to line up each and every item with an identical (or very similar) item. For example, if my TV was stolen, I can replace it with LG instead of Sony, but it still has to be a TV.
Hmm. They are fresh out of stuffed griffins and Playmobil boats (with working motor) in all the stores we’ve visited so far. We also have not come across any clothes from Title Nine or my lovely Patagonia backpack that served as a diaper bag or the pack we carried all the kids in that we no longer really need but thought might come in handy. While all those things made sense for us to own in the past, I would rather replace them with other items that are either a) available or b) useful to us now. So frustrating. I have decided to table my rage and wait until Darwin when I can call the nice lady that isn’t my assigned representative and have her help me. See, sailing around the world is really just like regular life, except more difficult because there’s no internet and nowhere to send your kids during the day except parks and grocery stores where, at least on these days, no kid-stealing people were hanging out.
I’m hopeful that USAA will come through for me. My chances are good if I can just reach that nice lady again. Last time I stayed up and called during US business hours which meant I was sitting in the hallway by the swimming pool at 1 am so I wouldn’t wake anyone up. This time, I’m hoping to find somewhere with padded seats. Or at least a chair.
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