The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Local driver frustrated over insurance red tape ehman Baig has a foldâ€" Rer of pictures of his "baby", a 1999 BMW M3 convertible painted in a shade of blue called Estoril, in honour of the picturesque Portuguese seaside resort that was once home to kings. and he‘s still waiting for his insurance claim Rehman Baig doesn‘t understand why his car insurer is takâ€" ing so long to cover him for an accident that took place last December Three months have gone by since Rehman Baig‘s accident, 1 w | + L U U ul * +0 PXARA ic 2 w s ( w To call it his dream car By Bos Vrsanac Chronicte Staff â€" 1 Transform Your Space doesn‘t adequately capture all the love and work he put into his baby, with all the details on display in his colâ€" lection of automobile vanity shots. From the 18â€"inch chrome wheels, to the thousands of dollars in other upgrades, nothing was too good for his prized possession. So when it came time to protecting it, there was no way he was going to scrimp on the insurance. He even went so far as to make sure it was properiy appraised, obtaining a speâ€" cial certificate, called an OPCE 19A, to reflect its true value at more than $71,000. But the dream turned into a nightmare last Dec. 10 when the Wilfrid Laurier University graduate was on his way to work at Budd Automotive in Kitchener from his Waterloo home. woe ueeanac puote CITY NEWS Drop into one of our convenient area locations today and tet us help you revive the look of your home with fresh new colours! Nothing beats the winter blahs like a quick freshening up of O PARA your living space with Para Paints. F CA f No f s "I was going to work and a guy came up from beside me and cut off the guy in front of me," said Baig. "The guy in front of me had to slam on his brakes and, to avoid them, I had to swerve to get out of the way. in the median three lanes across." Battered and bloodied, Baig was just happy to be alive. His car was not so lucky. "It was mushed," said Baig. "The front end looked like an accordion." His only solace was that he thought he was properly covered by his insurance provider, The Guarantee Company of North America. Based out of Toronto, with a claims office in Woodstock, an insurance appraiser came out a week later and confirmed that his car was "totalled." Baig still has a tape recording of the call he received. They told him it was a "total loss" and can‘t be fixed, and that the wreckers would pick it up as soon as he cleaned out his personal belongings. "They take our money in, but they don‘t want to pay it out." He expected a speedy settlement, but that was almost three months ago. Since then, he‘s seen nothing but red tape in dealâ€" ing with his insurance provider. The Guarantee Company of North America had to provide him a proof of loss form. The appraiser waited until two weeks ago to do so. Baig had a meeting last month between his insurâ€" ance broker at Kennedy and Klann, who has been advoâ€" cating on his behalf, and The Guarantee Company of North America. Once again, he finally thought he was going to get "I lost control and landed â€"Rehman Baig driver with Colour: his claim settled; but instead he got a letter from the insurance company‘s lawyers, saying they want him to go through what‘s called an "Examination Under Oath." "Everyone at the meeting thought this should be solved; three days later 1 get a letter in the mail telling me they want to do an examinaâ€" tion with me to discuss the car," said Baig. Baig tried to get some help from the insurance Bureau _ of _ Canada‘s ombudsman service to try to mediate his claim. They told him they couldn‘t do anything for him until he gets a "yea" or "nay" on his claim from The Guarâ€" antee Company of North America. "They can‘t do anything until you have a final posiâ€" tion letter from the compaâ€" ny," said Baig. "Either you get denied or you‘re not denied." That leaves 32â€"yearâ€"old Baig little choice but to retain a lawyer of his own, going out of pocket almost $2,500 just to have someone on retainer. Those fees will probably eat into his eventual settleâ€" ment. But what‘s really eating him is how the insurance company is treating a sixâ€" star driver who has never had to make a claim before in his life. And he‘s wondering how many other luxury car ownâ€" ers in Waterloo have had to go through what he‘s going through, even after he‘s done everything to the letâ€" ter, which includes getting a proper appraisal of his car. "How many other people in Ontario who have 19As get into an accident, and then have the insurance company delay in paying you?" asked Baig. "I‘m not a millionaire â€" $71,000 is $71.000 that isn‘t in my pocket." He‘s particularly incensed at the obscene level of profits the insurance industry reported last week, with the industry as a whole earning $4.2 billion in profit last year. "Guarantee {company) itself might not have made the billions, but I‘m sure they made millions," said Baig. "This is not a small company. "This has got to be hapâ€" pening to other people. They take our money in, but they don‘t want to pay out." Rehman Baig‘s 1999 Estoril blue BMW M3 convertible has sat in his driveway since the December 2004 accident. The Chronicle contacted Mike Conlon, the claims manager for The Guarantee Company of North America, who Baig has called many times to get his concerns addressed. Conlon said his company is still waiting for a response from Baig about the requested â€" Examination Under Oath. Conlon said it was part of the process, in the sense that it‘s mandated by the Insurance Act, but it‘s not a process they use all the time. He acknowledged most people don‘t have to retain a "We‘re not trying to give anybody a hard time..." â€" Mike Conlon The Guarantee Company of North America witouguf® ©594578â€"5330 HEERS =â€" DECORATING 383 hing Street North, Waterioo Phone: (519) 772â€"1 127 w BiogiX o+ BGap ks c us ob TY onea Bd «*IHENEE «CCabNcs 505M ANCC t 4 5767576 lawyer to get a settlement from their insurer. Asked why The Guaranâ€" tee Company of North America was using it in Baig‘s case, he said he couldâ€" n‘t speak to the specifics of the claim the Waterloo man has filed. "We‘re obviously not requesting this lightly," said Conlon. "I believe this is the only issue with the policy, the car itself. "We‘re not trying to give anybody a hard time, that‘s all 1 can say about it I think Once that‘s completed (the Examination Under Oath) we can hopefully move forâ€" ward." But Baig is frustrated with the whole process. â€" "The 19A was supposed to protect my investment in my car," said Baig. "I‘ve given them receipts for everything I‘ve put into my car â€" every single question they‘ve asked, I‘ve answered. "I don‘t know why I have to go spend thousands of dollars on a lawyer just to finish up a claim. "If they say this is normal practice, does every client have to go out and spend $2,000 to $3,000 to hire a lawyer to take care of a claim?" suBMITTED PHOTG b.E.% AI9M06 670