In the interest of keeping the record honest following my last post, it's only fair to report that I have now been pleasantly surprised. Not relishing the prospect of a phone call (including most probably a lengthy time spent on hold), I decided to try email first. Believe it or not, my email was actually acted on within a day, and I have now received confirmation that the claim is being handled properly. Whoever read my email and did the right thing, I doubt you're reading this, but thanks. You've saved my wife and me (and your company as well) a significant amount of hassle. It's nice to be reminded that things can actually work.