[Vision2020] Deny All Claims

[Scott Dredge]

I had State Farm insurance for auto back in 1990 until I was rear ended and they were so horrible to deal with (I had uninsured coverage) that ultimately when it turned out that the guy who hit me was deemed to be insured and his insurance company (AAA) was so easy to work with I switched to over to them.

In 1999 I switched to Allstate.  I don't have any major complaints about them.  I was rear ended with very minor damage and they handled that fine as the guy who hit me was also insured with Allstate.  The only minor issue I had with them was when I scraped the door of a rental car in a parking garage.  When I phoned Allstate to talk to them about it, I reached some snarky lady who told me, 'WELL IF YOU FILE A CLAIM, YOU'RE RATES WILL GO UP.'  My second call was to Alaska Airlines Signature Visa and it turned out that one of their benefits was that they covered up to $500 in damage so they told me to allow the rental car company to charge me $500 over and above my rental cost and they would reimburse me for the charge which they did about 11 months later.

However, Allstate did from time to time raise my rates over the years and I finally reached my breaking point in February and switched over to Liberty Mutual.  One of the other firms I almost went with was Amica Mutual since they had a 5 star customer satisfaction rating with JD Power & Associates and their rates were very good.

The thing that I really hate most about insurance companies is that you don't know how bad they are until you actually file claim and they hand you back a magnifying glass for you to read all the fine print and explain that buried in all the legalize is that they only owe you a settlement of $0, but out of the 'kindness of their heart' they'll throw you a bone that is always less than total amount of premiums you've dutifully paid to them over the years.  And if you endorse / deposit the check they hand over to you, they now have your signature on that piece of paper which has more verbiage on it barely visible to the naked eye that you agree that everything is 'settled in full' with no further legal recourse.  And to add insult to injury, they'll sometimes cancel your policy come time for renewal.  The other thing I absolutely hate about the largest insurers is their saturation adverstising.  What an absolute waste of good money paid to them by their customers.  Does anyone in this day and age really choose an insurer based on their non-stop TV & radio ads or do they do the smart thing and comparison shop to get the best rate from firms with good customer ratings?

-Scott
 		 	   		  
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