Day in the Life ... Visit to the Insurance Company

A car insurance claim in Jordan is a very different experience from the UK. In the UK, both drivers involved in the accident will exchange insurance details and then both will write their account of what happened. The two insurance companies will then decide who was at fault and therefore, which company will pay. The police only become involved if someone is seriously injured. Everything is done over the telephone or by post, unless there are further police proceedings.

In Jordan, the police must be called immediately for any crash. They decide who is to blame for the accident, and then write this in a report for the insurance company. When Kate had an accident in her car recently, the police rightly decided that it was the other driver's fault, so I had to go to his company to sort out the claim. These things are never sorted by telephone or post in Jordan.

 

Fortunately, my Jordanian friend came along to help guide me through the process. The insurance office was very full of other people making claims, and it took us a long time to talk to someone. There did not seem to be any queueing system, so it was a matter of barging in and pushing your papers further forwards than everyone else. We did not manage to complete the process before their 12pm closing time because they did not accept the photocopy I had of the other driver's insurance policy and he was not on their computer system.

The next day, we returned with the original policy, went to a few different offices to get different stamps and signatures on the forms and it was all finished in about half an hour. Everyone served me very quickly. 'Why was it so much easier today compared to the yesterday?', I asked myself. But then I realised that it was because I was wearing a suit, since I would be having an important business meeting later in the day. In shame-honour culture, the more honourable clients are served before the less honourable. Wealth is one characteristic of an honourable gentleman, so anyone in a smart suit will be served quickly, just in case they are someone rich and important. This is a source of great irritation to scruffy-looking Western tourists who complain that other people who arrived at the hotel reception after them are served first. I made a mental note to always wear my suit in these kind of situations in the future.