IELTS GT: contact insurance company for the item lost

Hi All,

I am preparing for the IELTS test, and here is my informal letter writing for the first writing task, could you please give me some comments? thx a lot!

On a recent holiday you lost a valuable item. Fortunately you have travel insurance to cover the cost of anything lost.
Write a letter to the manager of your insurance company. In you letter
.describe the item you lost
.explain how you lost it
.tell the insurance company what you would like them to do

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to ask for the procedures I should follow in order to get compensation for my lost mobile phone during my vacation.

When I was having a trip in Malaysia, I lost my iPhone on the bus from Melaka to the airport. I tried to call the bus company to see if anyone found my iPhone, but I didn't succeed. The mobile phone I lost is iPhone6 Plus with 64G storage capacity and its color is silver. I bought it about one month ago in Apple Store in Singapore and I can show you the purchasing receipt if you need.

Since I have travel insurance to cover anything lost, may I know what kind of procedure I should follow in order to apply for the reimbursement for my lost iPhone? Can I get full or only partial reimbursement ? I try to find information from your website but I am still not quite sure what I should do.

Your timely help would be highly appreciated.

Best Regards
Tom

Rui, I think you are mistaken. this is not an informal letter that you are writing. Rather, this is a formal letter of inquiry. That is why your writing tone is serious, informative, and requesting that an action be taken at the end of it. Actually the letter that you wrote is good. It contains all of the information necessary to get the insurance claim process started. There are just some slight problems with the way you delivered your message in English. While it is understandable, there is a more polished way of stating this letter. For example:

Dear Sir or Madam,

I recently purchased travel insurance from your company. I am covered under policy number 123456789. Now, I am writing to inquire as to how I can file a claim for the mobile phone that I lost while on vacation in Malaysia. The phone was lost during my bus trip from Melaka to the airport. Inquiries at the bus company have proved futile as nobody turned in my phone to the lost and found. The Malaysian police have already provided me with an Affidavit of Loss should it be required for the claim investigation. The lost phone is a silver Phone 6 with 64 Gig storage capacity. I purchased the phone at the Apple Store in Singapore and I still have the purchase receipt to prove the price and model number should you request to receive a copy as part of the inquiry process.

I look forward to receiving your communication containing the claims procedure and reimbursement forms. I would just like to know if I will be receiving a full or partial refund in this case as my insurance policy seems unclear regarding that part. There was no information regarding that question on your website either.

Your timely help would be highly appreciated.

Best Regards
Tom (indicate your last name for formality sake.)

Hi Louisa,

Thanks a lot for your suggestion and example. I do learn a lot from your reply, especially your example.
Thanks again!