So you THOUGHT your insurance Co would take care of you..

[BUTCH1]

110% true in all forms of insurance.

Yea, I can't wait for tomorrow for the agent to explain why "I cannot issue a payment at this time, your agent will be in touch" note left with the estimate on my front seat by the claims adjuster. My policy expires on 10/12 and I will not be renewing until I receive the $1,600 they owe me.

 

[cubby1223]

Last Tuesday I was on my way to work when some maniac traveling around 70 on a 2-lane road (US#1) hit me from behind and kept going. He was moving so fast I did not attempt to catch him as it's a busy road at 6:45 AM and I didn't want to risk hurting someone else chasing down this asshole. So I called Progressive and they told me that someone would come to the house the next day 9-12, no one showed or called so I went to work. Today an adjuster came to my job and did the estimate, the tail light is shattered, the bumper has a huge chunk missing, the wheel is missing a "7 piece of metal right where it meets the tire and the quarter-panel is badly accordion'd and pushed in for 10" or so. First he started taking pictures I thought he would then he was taking pics of the interior and the mileage, WTF I thought, he told me it's "standard policy". I went back inside as he told me he would be there awhile finishing it so I told him to just leave it on the front seat. When I got out around 6 I opened it and was shocked to see he was busy looking up parts from local junkyards as replacements!. The used bumper he had listed was the wrong color and the wrong model, (Chevy kept the "classic" Malibu as a rental car, mine is the newer version). Then the topper, a note saying "I can't issue a payment at this time, your rep will be in touch"...huh?, I had asked for ME to be paid so I could take it to a shop I was comfortable doing the work, he kept trying to steer me to Daytona Toyota when Jon Hall Chevy is right next door and they do great body work and are the largest Chevy dealer in the Southeast. Then I saw this video and I now know why, I had no idea this kind of crap was going on in the industry, color me shocked!. I will be working the phone on Monday and I will not be playing nice either..

You switched to Progressive because they offered you the lowest rate.

Often times shitty service comes paired with the lowest rates.

Sorry, better luck next time.

 

[DrPizza]

Yea, I can't wait for tomorrow for the agent to explain why "I cannot issue a payment at this time, your agent will be in touch" note left with the estimate on my front seat by the claims adjuster. My policy expires on 10/12 and I will not be renewing until I receive the $1,600 they owe me.

Are you implying that you're going to be driving without insurance??! Or did you mean to phrase it as, if you don't have the money by Oct 12, you'll get a policy with someone else?

Reason the adjuster may have been going over the car extensively, is that given the age of the vehicle, if damage exceeds a certain percentage of the value of the vehicle, they just total it. Thus, he may have been attempting to treat you as well as possible - all brand new oem parts could have exceeded 75% of the value of the vehicle. Thus, instead of getting your meticulously cared for vehicle fixed, you could have wound up with a check for the average price of that particular make/model/year in your area, and been relieved of the ownership of the vehicle. In some states, if that happens, you've got first dibs at purchasing the vehicle at salvage value - that is, you have to pay whatever the highest bidding junk yard will pay for the vehicle, which might be a lot more than you expect.

If that doesn't sound fair, consider that someone could purchase a $1000 vehicle, crash it, and cause $5000 worth of repairs be necessary to bring its value back up to just $1000. That would be fiscally irresponsible. In that case, they would just cut a check for... $800... tell you that you paid more than the average value of such a vehicle, and called it a day.

 

[JEDI]

too difficult to read in one paragraph, but good luck anyway

this.
something about a car accident and progressive car insurance?
assuming u got screwed by them?

 

[cpacini]

Liberty Mutual is the bomb. If you're not using them, you have the wrong insurance company. My examples the last year:

Auto Accident - Wife got into an accident. Other driver cited. Other driver's insurance, Geico, wanted us to pay 25%, claiming my wife should have seen the other car. Other car claimed they couldn't see my wife because of a bush in the median. Geico couldn't understand how if their client couldn't see my wife because of the bush, my wife couldn't see their client. Liberty Mutual laughed at them and fought it. Went to arbitration. We won. Geico 100% responsible. Between that time, Liberty Mutual took care of everything, including cutting us checks for loss of vehicle. Gave us more than we paid, average turn around time for checks - 1 week. Always were on our side.

Water Damage in Kitchen - LM came out, took pics of damaged cabinets. Included replacement of granite, and repainting of kitchen AND family room (rooms were adjacent and contiguous). Cut a check for 90% on the spot. Cut the rest after we sent pics of finished work. We got to decide who to use.

Daughter Auto Accident - This just happened, but within a couple days, adjuster reviewed damage, cited Total Loss (which I expected), Loss Adjuster gave us payout which was slightly higher than the used vehicle is going for at dealers. Will overnight check once we submit paperwork to salvage yard.

They are always friendly, adjusters speak with you to tell you how they do things, how they come out to their prices, give you the option of using your own repair shop AND I have never had my rate raised. I asked one of the adjusters how that was so, and they stated that unless there are multiple similar claims (auto and home claims are segregated) they don't raise rates. I also asked why the quick turnaround times on cutting checks - Adjusters are scored on customer satisfaction. The longer a case goes, generally the lower their scores.

BTW, I moved from Allstate (after being with them for years) to LM when Allstate gave me a debunked answer to why my Home Owner's Insurance went up $1200 in one year. LM came in under what I was paying BEFORE Allstate raised my rates.

As far as I'm concerned, I will never leave LM.

I ran a quote with them, they wanted $660 a month to insure a 3 year old Mazda 6 with a ~$10,000 book value.

Honestly I'm surprised they even bothered giving me a rate.

 

[BUTCH1]

Are you implying that you're going to be driving without insurance??! Or did you mean to phrase it as, if you don't have the money by Oct 12, you'll get a policy with someone else?

Reason the adjuster may have been going over the car extensively, is that given the age of the vehicle, if damage exceeds a certain percentage of the value of the vehicle, they just total it. Thus, he may have been attempting to treat you as well as possible - all brand new oem parts could have exceeded 75% of the value of the vehicle. Thus, instead of getting your meticulously cared for vehicle fixed, you could have wound up with a check for the average price of that particular make/model/year in your area, and been relieved of the ownership of the vehicle. In some states, if that happens, you've got first dibs at purchasing the vehicle at salvage value - that is, you have to pay whatever the highest bidding junk yard will pay for the vehicle, which might be a lot more than you expect.

If that doesn't sound fair, consider that someone could purchase a $1000 vehicle, crash it, and cause $5000 worth of repairs be necessary to bring its value back up to just $1000. That would be fiscally irresponsible. In that case, they would just cut a check for... $800... tell you that you paid more than the average value of such a vehicle, and called it a day.

No, I won't drive without insurance but I won't re-up with Progressive at this point. I have 14 days to find a different carrier. As for the car's value KBB list's it @4200 the repair estimate was $2,100-500 deductible=$1,600. I'm getting different opinions from everyone on this, my neighbor said I take it to the Chevy dealer and demand all new OEM parts but lets be realistic, it's a 10yr old car so I don't have an issue with used parts, I do have an issue with them withholding payment for no obvious reason. I paid for the 6 month policy in full up front.

 

[BUTCH1]

this.
something about a car accident and progressive car insurance?
assuming u got screwed by them?

Yea, it's kind of rambling but I don't see where one would find it impossible to read. IDK, I'm old now, maybe my brain is fried.

 

[OverVolt]

Insurance companies HATE this one trick!

Thats how your title sounds.

I never had any trouble with an insurance adjuster. They are there to estimate damage. Their job is to determine if the car is totaled or not. If its not even close to being totaled, then its an easy job.

 

[nageov3t]

I've actually had good experiences with Progressive (they're not the cheapest option for me, but it's close enough to Geico and State Farm that I stick with them based on previous claims experiences)

I live pretty close to one of their service centers, though, so I just drop the car off, pickup a free rental, and pick the car up when it's done. afaik, never had any issues with bad repairs or shitty replacement parts.

 

[Bacstar]

USAA is my insurance, and so far in the 4-5 years I've been with them, I've had to use them twice. Each time on a different car and on my last one this past month, I wasn't even in the car at the time of the accident.

Both accidents I've taken it to the same preferred shop, and both times they did great work. On my first accident, the repair shop even let me get some aftermarket replacements for the grill. I only had to pay the difference on what the max price that insurance would cover.

USAA was so easy to deal with, other than filing the report to start my claim,and speaking to the adjuster a couple times to get my story, it was mostly problem free. My agent even got the dealership to pay for my rental for the days I went over because Jeep kept sending the wrong airbags. Paid my deductible and everything else was covered; this last accident was over $11k. This time though I think my rates are going to go up when I renew in December. I've used up my accident forgiveness even though I wasn't in the car on this last accident

 

[Micrornd]

IDK, I'm old now, maybe my brain is fried.

Probably.
1-877-693-5236 - Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Consumer Helpline.
The first # to call if you have questions about any type of insurance in Florida.
They make the rules and will tell you what the insurance company can and cannot do.

 

[kranky]

Let's not forget that the adjuster has a lot of leeway in handling a claim. Some are less cooperative than others, according to our body shop guy (who is not only highly skilled, but a great guy also). He told me that on a couple of occasions over the years he's steered customers to other shops because he knows the adjuster for Insurer X is tight with the guy at Body Shop Z, which translates into a more generous estimate of what will be repaired and Body Shop Z will knock $250 off the deductible. The guy we use doesn't do that.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I have State Farm. Many claims, no issues or rate increases.

I have Liberty Mutual, they've raised my rates by several hundred dollars the last two years, and I haven't had any accidents or claims.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I ran a quote with them, they wanted $660 a month to insure a 3 year old Mazda 6 with a ~$10,000 book value.

Honestly I'm surprised they even bothered giving me a rate.

I'm paying over $2000 / year for a 2004 minivan, and I don't even have collision on it.
(LM)

Edit: Oh, $660 / a MONTH, that's pretty damn excessive.

 

[Captante]

USAA has always treated me right.

 

[slag]

Last Tuesday I was on my way to work when some maniac traveling around 70 on a 2-lane road (US#1) hit me from behind and kept going. He was moving so fast I did not attempt to catch him as it's a busy road at 6:45 AM and I didn't want to risk hurting someone else chasing down this asshole. So I called Progressive and they told me that someone would come to the house the next day 9-12, no one showed or called so I went to work. Today an adjuster came to my job and did the estimate, the tail light is shattered, the bumper has a huge chunk missing, the wheel is missing a "7 piece of metal right where it meets the tire and the quarter-panel is badly accordion'd and pushed in for 10" or so. First he started taking pictures I thought he would then he was taking pics of the interior and the mileage, WTF I thought, he told me it's "standard policy". I went back inside as he told me he would be there awhile finishing it so I told him to just leave it on the front seat. When I got out around 6 I opened it and was shocked to see he was busy looking up parts from local junkyards as replacements!. The used bumper he had listed was the wrong color and the wrong model, (Chevy kept the "classic" Malibu as a rental car, mine is the newer version). Then the topper, a note saying "I can't issue a payment at this time, your rep will be in touch"...huh?, I had asked for ME to be paid so I could take it to a shop I was comfortable doing the work, he kept trying to steer me to Daytona Toyota when Jon Hall Chevy is right next door and they do great body work and are the largest Chevy dealer in the Southeast. Then I saw this video and I now know why, I had no idea this kind of crap was going on in the industry, color me shocked!. I will be working the phone on Monday and I will not be playing nice either..

This isn't the industry. This is your crappy insurance. My insurance has never pulled crap like this.

 

[slag]

Insurance isn't there to take care of you or help you in any way.

They are there to make money. Be damn sure they will do anything possible to give you the least amount back, or nothing at all if they can.

Thats just not true. I work for an insurance company (health), and my wife is an adjuster for an insurance company and what you are describing is not how insurance companies operate.

 

[cpacini]

I'm paying over $2000 / year for a 2004 minivan, and I don't even have collision on it.
(LM)

Edit: Oh, $660 / a MONTH, that's pretty damn excessive.

Yeah I did the same thing lol, I saw the rate and just assumed at first that it had to be 6 month premium.

 

[Newell Steamer]

I never thought such a thing. Insurance companies are the WORST.

You pay insurance and they rarely cover you or make attempts to back out of their obligations. They just want to collect your money and ensure you get as little as possible back when in need.

I feel bad for the people who pay $500 plus on insurance and then the company refuses to pay when an accident occurs.

 

[boomhower]

My last claim they made me go to "their" preferred body shop to get an estimate. I did, then I took it to my preferred body shop to have it repaired. My preferred shop charged a few hundred extra and they paid without any problems. This was with Liberty Mutual. I am with Amica now.

Using used or aftermarket parts is common and acceptable. As long as it is in good condition it doesn't really matter. If you want a brand new tail light from the factory then you are paying the difference.

 

[crashtech]

I suppose when people think of used parts, they think of used OEM parts. But there are so many knock-off parts being installed, it's probable that the part found will not only be worn, but aftermarket as well.

 

[trmiv]

Worse try dealing with the insurance of the other driver. My wife was rear-ended by a dump truck in June, and we're still trying to get their shitty insurance, National General Insurance, to pay out. They had a guy come out and do the estimate on the car, then handed it off to an adjuster who just ignored calls and emails. Then out of the blue the emails to the adjuster started bouncing back. We called and apparently he was fired, and his manager was fired. They didn't bother to re-assign our case to another adjuster. They said they'd do that and we STILL can't get anyone to call us back. We call, leave messages, they ignore it. OVer three months since the accident and nothing has been done.

 

[nageov3t]

Worse try dealing with the insurance of the other driver. My wife was rear-ended by a dump truck in June, and we're still trying to get their shitty insurance, National General Insurance, to pay out. They had a guy come out and do the estimate on the car, then handed it off to an adjuster who just ignored calls and emails. Then out of the blue the emails to the adjuster started bouncing back. We called and apparently he was fired, and his manager was fired. They didn't bother to re-assign our case to another adjuster. They said they'd do that and we STILL can't get anyone to call us back. We call, leave messages, they ignore it. OVer three months since the accident and nothing has been done.

can't your insurance company deal with them for you?

I'm not super familiar with the process, having only filed like 2 claims in my life, but for both of the accidents I just reported it to my insurance company.

sent them the name of the other driver, their insurance information, and pictures of the accident... they did the heavy lifting and called me 2 weeks later once determination of fault had been finalized so that I could get reimbursed for my deductible (also had the option of not paying the deductible at all if I'd waited until after the determination to get the repairs)

 

[Ns1]

Worse try dealing with the insurance of the other driver. My wife was rear-ended by a dump truck in June, and we're still trying to get their shitty insurance, National General Insurance, to pay out. They had a guy come out and do the estimate on the car, then handed it off to an adjuster who just ignored calls and emails. Then out of the blue the emails to the adjuster started bouncing back. We called and apparently he was fired, and his manager was fired. They didn't bother to re-assign our case to another adjuster. They said they'd do that and we STILL can't get anyone to call us back. We call, leave messages, they ignore it. OVer three months since the accident and nothing has been done.

I have never filed a claim with another person's insurance - I call my insurance company and THEY call the other person's insurance.

 

[crashtech]

I have never filed a claim with another person's insurance - I call my insurance company and THEY call the other person's insurance.

That's the way to do it if the other person's insurance proves recalcitrant. This doesn't work unless you have full coverage, if you only have liability, your insurance company has no vested interest in pursuing the at-fault party.