Systems are down ask me anything

[DisgruntledVirus]

Get to work this morning with an email saying our systems are down and work cannot be assigned/done.

So ATOT what questions do you have for an auto/homeowner insurance underwriter?

edit: I do not give any kind of legal advice, but will answer questions as to how insurance works. Refer to your agent for specific questions on your policy, and I am solely answering questions about how we work and general countrywide information. Each state has specifics (California and Texas especially), so once again refer to your agent/policy jacket for personal policy information.

 

[MotF Bane]

Parody thread? Or just inspired?

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: MotF Bane
Parody thread? Or just inspired?

Just inspired. Been here an hour and 1/2 and getting bored so need something else to do while I wait to be able to do work

 

[cherrytwist]

Have you ever shot anyone?

 

[RightIsWrong]

Are insurance companies able to detect tickets that you receive in another state? I heard a wive's tale that other states are not permitted to denote tickets on another state's licenses/drivers and that insurance companies never know about them as long as they are paid.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: cherrytwist
Have you ever shot anyone?

No

 

[Wheezer]

Originally posted by: cherrytwist
Have you ever shot anyone?

LOL....only ATOT

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: RightIsWrong
Are insurance companies able to detect tickets that you receive in another state? I heard a wive's tale that other states are not permitted to denote tickets on another state's licenses/drivers and that insurance companies never know about them as long as they are paid.

We see, and rate policies, on any tickets you have received. It doesn't matter if the state you got the ticket in was your home state, or one you were traveling through. It will show up on your motor vehicle report, and you will get rated on it.

edit: For Ohio you can go here and see what tickets/violations we will be able to see. (You will have to find it for other states though )

 

[QurazyQuisp]

How come you guys don't actively check for tickets and so on, on people's licenses?

My insurance company still hasn't seen the ticket I got over a year ago. (Although, I think I got all the points dropped, but I'm not entirely sure.)

 

[JoeBleed]

on home owners insurace, what is typical covered, content wise, and to what limit? At what point to you have to declare something special and expensive? Or do you just need proof of purchase?

I don't yet own a home, but am in the market. So was wondering about that.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: QurazyQuisp
How come you guys don't actively check for tickets and so on, on people's licenses?

My insurance company still hasn't seen the ticket I got over a year ago. (Although, I think I got all the points dropped, but I'm not entirely sure.)

Assuming it's showing up on your MVR (motor vehicle report), it might go without being seen. The reason is we check MVR's on all new business, and randomly on renewals. We do not have the capacity to check every policy at renewal, so we randomly check them. Your policy has renewed at least twice since then (every 6 months), so your policy just hasn't been looked at by underwriting.

 

[mshan]

Is there any real difference in quality of auto or homeowner's insurance between different companies, if you choose the same levels of coverage and deductibles?

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: JoeBleed
on home owners insurace, what is typical covered, content wise, and to what limit? At what point to you have to declare something special and expensive? Or do you just need proof of purchase?

I don't yet own a home, but am in the market. So was wondering about that.

Limits depend completely on the policy. What will be covered content wise is any personal property you own (excluding cars, boats, rv's, any motor vehicle like snowmobiles/atvs/dirtbikes, etc which all need their own policy).

I will give an example to help explain it a bit. You have a policy that has a $50,000 personal property limit. If your home is totally destroyed from a covered loss (say a tornado or fire for example), then whatever the current value of the property is will be what is paid to you up to your limits. A $3000 HDTV you bought a few years ago might only be worth $1200 now, so you would get $1200.

Everybody should make a detailed list of expensive/meaningful items with serial numbers/model numbers, the price you paid (receipts are always beneficial), and pictures. Then put it in a safe deposit box, safe, or store at a relatives. There are no requirements to declare somethings special and expensive, it is at your sole discresion. Special coverage for certain items costs a bit more, but you will get whatever amount is stated when the policy is taken out (usually the cost you paid for the item). Wedding bands/rings, audio/video equipment, hobbies (coin collections and such), etc are usual items I see with special coverage.

The other thing is there are two types of content coverage. The cheaper kind gives you the current market value of the item, the expensive version gives you what you paid for it (this is different then the special coverage, because that has each item specifically listed). Talk with your agent, they will be able to help you figure out what some things you might want special coverage on.

 

[buck]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: RightIsWrong
Are insurance companies able to detect tickets that you receive in another state? I heard a wive's tale that other states are not permitted to denote tickets on another state's licenses/drivers and that insurance companies never know about them as long as they are paid.

We see, and rate policies, on any tickets you have received. It doesn't matter if the state you got the ticket in was your home state, or one you were traveling through. It will show up on your motor vehicle report, and you will get rated on it.

edit: For Ohio you can go https://www.dps.state.oh.us/ne...etdb/ENGLISH/MMENW.asp">here</a> and see what tickets/violations we will be able to see. (You will have to find it for other states though )

How can we see tickets from other states? Do you have a secret database? How long are the tickets kept viewable?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Have you ever outright laughed at someone's claim?

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: mshan
Is there any real difference in quality of auto or homeowner's insurance between different companies, if you choose the same levels of coverage and deductibles?

Yes, but not nearly as much with homeowners/renters.

Auto insurance you definitely get what you pay for. Is there a difference between a "state minimum" company, and one of the top 5 insurance companies? Without a doubt.

For example, I have noticed a few companies recently advertising how you can always reach a "licensed adjuster any time." First is that most companies have had somebody there 24/7 for years, and secondly they will just be somebody who can leave a note in your policy for your adjuster. I do not know of any company that has adjuster on staff able to be contacted outside of 7-6 pm mon-fri and 7-3ish on sat.

Another one is roadside assitance, that a lot of companies are saying they now offer included in your policy. The more expensive companies have done this for a while.

The cheaper stuff doesn't have added things, and they try to hype up how good they are because of their "added benefits" that the top companies have done for years.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Speaking of those "added benefits"

Allstate has commercials saying:
"Your rates won't go up when you get in an accident"
as well as
"Your rates will go down for every six months you don't get in an accident"

...do they just raise rates by eliminating a discount?

 

[OdiN]

If your systems are down, how can you post.

Obviously you are lying.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: buck

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: RightIsWrong
Are insurance companies able to detect tickets that you receive in another state? I heard a wive's tale that other states are not permitted to denote tickets on another state's licenses/drivers and that insurance companies never know about them as long as they are paid.

We see, and rate policies, on any tickets you have received. It doesn't matter if the state you got the ticket in was your home state, or one you were traveling through. It will show up on your motor vehicle report, and you will get rated on it.

edit: For Ohio you can go https://www.dps.state.oh.us/ne...etdb/ENGLISH/MMENW.asp">here</a> and see what tickets/violations we will be able to see. (You will have to find it for other states though )

How can we see tickets from other states? Do you have a secret database? How long are the tickets kept viewable?

Usually it will be on your states DMV website. The CLUE database has a lot of information in it, but AFAIK it does not store MVR data. It get's pulled from the state's systems IIRC.

Tickets usually get rated (and stay on your MVR) for 3 years from the date of the incident (some states might have this different, as I only work part of the country).

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
Have you ever outright laughed at someone's claim?

When I used to work in the new claims department and yes I have. Definitely some pretty funny stories. Also some very sad ones. Some that make you think "wow people do the right thing."

You hear just about every possible type of story.

 

[Capt Caveman]

If I've been in couple of accidents(rear-ended), not at fault and able to get reimbursed by the other person's insurance company, are my rates affected?

 

[sao123]

why do people prefer term life to whole life?
term life just seems like a waste of money... you pay lots of money over a period of time and then at the end you just lose it all when your coverage ends... (its kind of like renting a house)...

while whole life, you pay lots of money, but you always have it. (its like buying a house)...At the end, you still have something to show for what you payed for.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
Speaking of those "added benefits"

Allstate has commercials saying:
"Your rates won't go up when you get in an accident"
as well as
"Your rates will go down for every six months you don't get in an accident"

...do they just raise rates by eliminating a discount?

They have different levels of coverage. They have the basic, silver, gold, and platinum IIRC. Their basic coverage does not offer either accident forgiveness or the every 6 month discount. To get both you have to get platinum level.

What this means is you are paying for these benefits through the course of your policy. So it starts off more expensive then the basic policy, but after it renews a few times (and you get the 6 months accident free discount) it can come down to the price of basic coverage. Also if you have the basic coverage and get in an accident your rates will go up, if you have accident forgiveness it will not. So one accident can make your rates higher then if you had paid for the accident forgiveness policy.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: OdiN
If your systems are down, how can you post.

Obviously you are lying.

Our servers that house the databases we need, and the programs we use for me to be able to work are down. Not my local desktop.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
If I've been in couple of accidents(rear-ended), not at fault and able to get reimbursed by the other person's insurance company, are my rates affected?

They shouldn't be, but it will come up on your MVR.

To explain a bit more in depth what happens is when you apply with my company to get a policy with us we look at all operators MVR's. Then take the # of violations, at-fault accidents, and not-at fault accidents. You can only have a certain number of each based on how many operators/vehicles you have. So if even though we cannot rate for a not-at-fault accident, we can deny issuing/renewing a policy for it.

If your company didn't pay out anything, then they should not change your rates.