Insurance Companies

Was quoted a rate which was agreed on and paid for in full proof of insurance was sent to my bank and car dealership. However, I had to back out of picking up my new car on sunday because I got a call from my insurance company late friday night with the end result of a new rate was 132% more than the negotiated rate the night before.

YES.
When you get a quote for your auto insurance, it is ONLY a quote, and subject to underwriting. You obviously need to pay in order to start coverage, but the rate shouldnt change unless there are points on yours or another drivers record which wasnt disclosed.
Now, if your agent made a mistake in the quoting and rated you in a way which he shouldnt have, then during the underwriting process, this could change your rate. You need to ask the agent WHY the rate changed, and get a valid explanation.
There is not much that can be done at this time. You need to either keep that policy at a higher rate, or switch to another company and get your money refunded for the time that you havent used it.

I’m looking to find a cheap insurance company to insure my car in Arizona. I was paying 116 a month for it at the general and I was wondering if anyone knew of a cheaper place.

I know 2 people who got a lower rate with Geico.

I recently had a car accident and the insurance company of the other person now wants me to pay the damage. What happens if I just ignore them, keep travelling and then leave Australia for good without paying a cent to the insurance. What will happen? Will my bad credit record in Australia follow me to Germany? Will I be stopped at the border? Will they try to get the money from me in Germany?

Do the right thing and pay for it! You will feel much better about it.

My car was hit by a car in a minor accident. I filed a claim to the the guy’s insurance company. But the guy never respond to the contact from his insurance company and I. Is there any regulation or law indicate the time limit for accident processing? His insurance company said it has to wait for 30 days before making any further movement. Is that true? Can someone give any suggestion to speed it up?

Thanks!
can I include the car rental fee in the claim?

his insurance company is correct. they have a set amount of time that they *have* to wait until they process your claim further. as far as speeding it up, you really can’t.

however, if you have collision coverage and the amount of damage exceeds your deductible, you can submit a claim into your own insurance company for the loss, and you will be paid for the damage, less your deductible, within a matter of days…

your company will then attempt to collect from his insurance company whatever they paid out to you, as well as your deductible…whatever percentage they receive of the loss from his company is the same percentage you’ll receive of your deductible..however, this process may take a month or longer.

What is the problem defination facing a car insurance company if it was run in a manual way ( without the use of computers ) [[ about 6 point please ]] and what are the benefits if it was turned into a computerised system.

thank you

My first agency was a manual agency.

There are two main issues: 1. it costs more in manpower (it’s much more labor intensive) and 2. it’s much more likely to lead to an e&o issue.

I used to have to type up an invoice, in five parts. One was the bill to the insured. Then I filed the other FOUR. For each bill, for each client. One went in the client’s file. One went to the agency accounts receivable file. One went into expirations, so we wouldn’t forget to renew a policy. And the last one, well, it’s been so long I don’t remember, but it went somewhere ELSE. So it’s tons more paperwork, tons more filing. Tons more opportunities for mistakes.

Obviously, once you computerize, there’s less paperwork – so one person can handle a bigger book of business. AND there are less chances for errors.

My wife’s car was hit from behind and other party’s car insurance (Company A) settled the claim. Now my wife drives my car (of course she’s insured too) and hits someone else’s car. Now my insurance company wants me to give them consent to call insurance company A who have nothing to do with this latest incident. Is this legal??

Of course. They are exploring the record of your wife, and if you refuse you will likely lose your insurance and have a hard time finding another company. It’s perfectly reasonable for an insurance company to use measures like this to check facts you have supplied, and investigate driving records. They are offering you insurance on the basis of the statistical probability you will need a payout – they are simply protecting their business.

my car was hit in parking lot and insurance is dragging its feet to investigate. how much time is officially allowed for this investigation and what are my rights bacause it has been 30 days today. i have a full insurance on this car and insurance company is investigating as a fraud claim!. insurance from metlife!

Claims being investigated for fraud are under different guidelines than claims that are not being investigated for fraud. and when a claim has been brought into the SIU department that info isn’t shared with the person being investigated. But when they are brought into SIU, it’s for a darn good reason, whether you’re committing fraud or not. By law the insurance has to investigate suspicious claims, whether or not it actually is.

As for what ‘cece’ recommends, contacting the state…you can do that, that’s your option. But once they are aware your claim is being investigated for fraud–you’re done.

I was hit from behind in my car and as a result my car was totaled. The police report says it was the fault of the other driver and his insurance company has already sent out a guy to look at my car. It has been approximately 45 days since the accident and the other guys insurance company says it needs a "statement" from their driver, who is not cooperating and has been unreachable since the accident. My lawyer even gave me a ballpark figure that the insurance company was talking about but, says that I must wait on them to reach their driver. Well if the other driver never shows up how long do I have to wait to get the property portion of the claim, that is to say when will the company have to legally pay for my car?

I’m not sure where George gets his information, but he’s completely incorrect…..

Each state’s DOI (Department of Insurance) regulates WHAT, WHEN, WHY, and HOW an insurance company does something. The DOI requires the insurance companies do an INDEPENDENT investigation of the accident….they are not allowed to rely on, as George says, police reports, for many reasons, but one factor could be because they are seldom accurate and to be quite honest, the officer isn’t "investigating" the loss–he’s writing statements & typing a report. A cop doesn’t determine negligence, but what he can tell you is who violated what vehicle code. Depending on the cop, he may or may not provide additional info, such as skid marks, speed, etc……

As part of the investigation process, as well as contractual responsibilities with their insured, the insurance company has to speak with BOTH the driver and named insured (who can sometimes be 2 different people.) The have to 1) make the named insured aware of the claim and 2) verify the facts of loss with the driver. But this is just a small step, albeit a HUGE one, in getting closer to settling the claim.

The insurance company can’t MAKE the guy cooperate, even though there is a cooperation clause in his policy. The other insurance can’t pay the claim until he speaks with the driver/insured. All the insurance company can do is continue to make reasonable attempts to speak with the driver, and worse case scenario, they can deny coverage for lack of cooperation. But you don’t know why the guy’s not calling them anymore than they do…as far as they know, the guy’s dead, in jail, or in a hospital somewhere.

As for how long do they have, you have to check with your DOI. Most states say upon receipt of proof of claim, i.e. estimate of damages, they have 10 days to pay or deny the claim. If the investigation is not complete, they must notify you in writing every 30 days of the status. This is just an example, so check with your DOI for exact procedures and timelines. They legally pay for your car when they have meet the requirements of BOTH the DOI and their policy with their insured.

As for you….you have a duty to mitigate your damages. What does this mean? You have to make reasonable attempts to prevent any additional damages/cost from incurring. If you don’t have collision coverage, then you’ll have to wait on your repairs I suppose, but that’s not the other guys fault, that’s your for not being properly covered. Your insurance will subrogate the at fault party if you do have collision.

I am getting of my parents car insurance and i am shopping around for a good quote. I called one person who needed to run my credit. Is every company going to want to run my credit? I don’t want my scores to go down.

You have every right to be concerned about companies checking your credit, but insurance companies use a "soft hit" inquiry. It never shows up on your credit report and has no impact on your score what so ever. The difference is they are not actually pulling the entire report just your score. Car dealerships, furniture stores, etc. actually pull the entire report, which shows up as an inquiry on your report. Having multiple inquiries, or "hard hits" can damage your standings.
To actually answer your question, yes, nearly all insurance companies now use credit to determine your premium.

Can someone reccommend a good car insurance company that also provides renter’s insurance? Thanks.

Erie – if it is available in your state.

So easy a caveman can do it.