Jerry Melser has lost his hearing twice.
The first time was after years working with noisy farm machinery.
The second time was last year, when he fell victim to two common causes of hearing aid loss: dogs and Covid face masks.
Let's start with that mask.
"As I pulled it off it was like a catapult, shooting my hearing aid over the car," Melser said.
The hearing aid shot towards his dog Jess and her waiting jaws.
"CHOMP ...and it was gone!"
Jess had clearly got a taste for hearing aids. A fortnight later she pinched the remaining one off a high bench and left it in pieces.
Melser had cover with AA Insurance. His home and contents policy specifically mentioned hearing aids on the front page.
But back a few pages in the fine print it also referred to standard conditions. Replacements would be the "nearest equivalent item" and AA Insurance has "preferred suppliers".
These things would lead Melser into a battle between competing audiology companies and leave him with hearing aids he feels aren't up to the job.
"I was happy they accepted the loss. There wasn't a big issue making a claim, it was very easy. It was just that I felt cheated at the end."
What are preferred suppliers?
AA insurance steered Melser to a division of Triton Hearing. It provides an Insurance Response Team which handles any claims for hearing aids made to AA Insurance.
As it happened, Triton Hearing had also supplied Melser's original hearing aids and so it easily assessed their value for replacement and the specs for their nearest equivalent.
Melser, who wanted to shop around, went to Specsavers Audiology. Fair Go confirmed with Specsavers that a value of $4900 was placed on the item, but only for mid-range hearing aids.
"The opposition said that they would give me absolutely top of the line hearing aids for that price, that were directional, noise cancelling," Melser told Fair Go.
But under the policy, it wasn't the price that counted, it was the product and whatever Triton Hearing's Insurance Response Team thought was right.
Working for AA Insurance, it looked at what Specsavers offered and "a similar pair within their portfolio to most closely match the feature set of his original hearing aids was approved", according to a Triton Hearing spokesperson.
"You can't give a competitor sole power to decide the issue. You just can't," Melser said.
He had wanted to take advantage of shopping around for a better deal, but any savings went to the insurer, and not directly to Melser.
That's how the contents cover is meant to work, AA Insurance head of home claims Tom Bartlett explained.
"AA Insurance's customers benefit from the preferred supplier relationship because it helps manage the cost of claims, which contributes to managing the cost of premiums for all customers."
It reviewed the situation.
"After speaking to Triton, we do not believe that Mr Melser was treated unfairly, and the options made available to him were appropriate," Bartlett said.
Triton Hearing also looked into the matter.
"We are confident that the Insurance Response Team handled this customer's insurance claim to the highest standards and in accordance with the agreed-upon process," a Triton Hearing spokesperson said in a statement.
"Mr Melser himself stated 'thanks... you are so helpful', near the completion of the call with the Insurance Response Team member."
Melser said this misses his point.
"The fact that I wasn't able to spend that amount of money on something I chose, that was what the problem was."
Consumer NZ making some noise
Consumer NZ said there needs to be more transparency whenever people are spending money on hearing aids and more choice and continuity of care.
"Consumers have told us they feel pressure to go with the insurer's preferred provider," investigator Vanessa Pratley said.
Consumer NZ has heard pressure can also come on when a customer is not sorting an insurance claim, just seeking better hearing.
Pratley pointed out that hearing tests are medical records and anyone can request those and take them elsewhere for a comparison, so customers should not feel pressured to accept offers of a particular hearing aid bundled with tests.
"Shop around," Pratley advised.
Consumer NZ is also calling on hearing clinics to review their pricing programmes, to be transparent about sales incentives, and for the Government to consider introducing robust regulatory options that support and protect consumers.
"Many of the clinics are vertically integrated.They're owned by the big manufacturers and there might be some sales incentives, there might be some commissions going on, and it's not really clear when that is or isn't going on," Pratley said.
"While it's not exactly a fair comparison, there are some aspects of the audiology industry that kind of do lend themselves to comparison with a car yard."
The companies Melser dealt with see it another way.
"The New Zealand Audiology industry takes great pride in its commitment to upholding clinical standards that prioritise patient well-being and professional integrity," a Triton Hearing spokesperson said.
Specsavers declined further comment.
AA Insurance then disclosed that in July Specsavers had joined its list of preferred audiology suppliers alongside Bay Audiology and Trition Hearing, whose Insurance Response Team continues to advise on claims involving requests to use an alternative supplier.
"We are sorry Mr Melser was unhappy with the experience and we are continuing to work with our preferred suppliers to ensure the process is easily understood and delivers customers with our expected high level of service and outcomes," Bartlett said.
Melser opted to stay with Specsavers and accepted the mid-range hearing aids that were fully covered by insurance, but after a year of struggling to hear clearly in group situations he wishes his policy had covered the value, not the like-for-like product.
"I don't think people understand unless they've got hearing loss."
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