Geez, the perception about insurance companies and the misconceptions about claims is astounding on this site.

First of all, if you're traveling too fast to see, and stop for, a stationary object in the road, you really don't think you're at fault ?

Second of all, if there are extenuating circumstances, I, as a claim adjuster, have the flexibility to make it a not-at-fault accident for you. Say there's a truck ahead of you and it moves out of your lane to avoid that object just as the truck is about to reach a stationary object, leaving you little time to react and avoid it ? Okay... not your fault. I would still handle it as a collision loss because the policy clearly defines it as one, but I would code the claim so you're not considered at fault and surcharged for the accident.

And lastly, the idea that insurance companies "owe" you because you've paid ALL those premiums to them and never filed a claim.... you clearly don't understand the principles of insurance. You are NOT pre-paying for your claims. You are paying to avoid the risks involved in driving, including the risk of serious injuries to others. If you don't feel that insurance is worth removing that risk from your shoulders, you're a different kind of person than most.

 

Really- You are going to defend the good people at the insurance companies.
Scum of the earth if you ask me and reform is needed in this country. They are great at collecting money and very poor at paying it out when it is needed. As an adjuster you job is to pay out as little as possible. Am I missing something here? It doesn't really matter what insurance you have as they all want to toss you a few crumbs after the fact. You pay your premiums then when you need them it is always a big hassle to get it taken care of. Yes I have had a few when they insurance company did the right thing. But those times are far and few between. I love how he first thing out of his mouth is the fraud unit will be after you. What comes around goes around. They are great at collecting money and very poor at paying out. They work by intimidation and only have there interests at heart. You are the customer and step one is intimidation. See above. And if they do pay out then they cancel you because there is no money to be made. Scum of the earth. Right up there with the politicians they buy to keep it all running smoothly in their favor. Just like the Bankers and Wall Street crowd. If you don't like they tell you to get a lawyer and file suite.
Pay more money to get what you thought you had covered. Great group of people. I recommend carrying the lowest possible coverage because they pay out at the end is exactly the same. Bottom dollars.

 

Maybe because you always go with lowest bidder is why you have poor experience. I have State Farm and have had great service. They aren't the cheapest, but I talk to a human that knows her job, not some high school flunkie at the other end of an 800 number.

You get what you pay for, so don't expect Mercedes class service with your Hundai class product.

And all those premiums you pay aren't yours for the taking. It isn't a savings account.

 

You're misinformed and your hatred probably stems from a claim where you were clearly at fault but disagree because you are the world's best driver.

When in training, they never EVER told me to pay out as little as possible. The mantra always was and always will be, PAY WHAT WE OWE.

And recommending carrying the lowest possible coverage... now there is some intelligent advice !

Wowzers !

 

Now that this thread train has totally derailed...I'll Jack it.
CR&PW&JB (or PB&J as I still read it ):
I lowered my deductible on comp as I am moving about 30 miles inland (live near the gulf coast now). The scenery and wildlife is completely different to where we are going to live. The amount of animals and possible things to run into, especially at dark (when I go to work) will be greatly increased. Would you say this is a wise decision as I feel the likelihood of hitting an animal or road debris will increase? I think the animals or moving stuff is a Comp claim and stationary object is a Collision.

I also plan on looking at extra driving lights or an LED bar even though it will be illegal to use on the road, I won't use it if there is other traffic. It should help me see more when it is dark.

 

Striking an animal is always a comp claim. Swerving to avoid an animal, not hitting it but striking other objects is a collision claim.

I always have recommended a low Comp dedictible for the mere reason there are so many claims that fall under your comp coverage, for which you have very little or no control over. I carry a Comp deductible of $100 and a Collision deductible of $500 (used to be $1000, just lowered it).

I feel those are the best options for most drivers. But you can have your company run you various quotes using different deductibles and see which one makes most sense for you.

 

I like my insurance companies. I've only had to make two claims.

Totalled a motorcycle (my fault.) and got a check for above fair market value within days.
Someone hit my parked car, they put me in touch with a great body shop (who lent me a new Benz for 3 weeks, covered by insurance.) and went after the other party, not charging me the deductible. Zero hassle, other than having to give up the Mercedes when the repair was done.

 

Yeah, I have state farm. Way back in the day, I rear ended another car, mostly a beater. Old lady was driving it. Neither of us seemed injured. 20 months later I get served a lawsuit for $2m... She was claiming this and that.

State Farm took care of everything, the defense cost, and the final settlement. I didnt have to do much from my end. My rates never even went up.

Ive had good luck with them. I think people's perception of insurance i based off of poor experiences with cut throat companies.

 

i don't get why you would file a claim on a $800 repair and increase your rates. just pay it and move on in life.

 

This!

And why my deductible is $1,000.

 

I think CR wrote a script that searches NAM for insurance keywords so he can rain down knowledge!

I have USAA, filed one claim 12 years ago and it was a piece of cake. Actually, it was a similar situation: public bus in front of me ran over something metal and kicked it into my hood and front bumper; on a highway off ramp with no way to dodge; was not given a Mercedes (Geo Metro, I think) and had my car back in a few days out of pocket was only the deductible...no increase in rates.

Knock on wood...

 

@psichick- I was ready to pay this claim until I was told that I did not have to pay a deductible nor have this comp claim go against my rates. So to answer your question.
Whew- glad I even had the money - to be able to move on with life.
Love your assumption that everyone would have the $800 to pay this claim and move on.

 

Hey CR&P- I am surprised that you continue to be astounded by the dislike or disagreements with insurance companies on this site. I really appreciate the fact that you work for and are passionate about the insurance industry, but overall everyone I talk to has a bad taste in their mouth when taking insurance.
Personally my issue with ins companies is that for 30 years I have paid on average $2000 or more per yr to cover my autos. I have never had a claim so in my mind insurance companies are ahead $60k. Now I really don't have a problem paying this out for peace of mind and protection- but when it comes time for me to file a claim- yup I will get somewhat testy if there is any pushback from the insurance company.
I also tend to agree with what another poster wrote- it feels like the insurance companies are trying to pay out as little as possible.
Insurance companies are not my main pet peeve actually- Oil companies fill that bill. Record profits reported every Qtr and Yr but need to raise prices because of their R&D efforts. Yeah right.
Hope you continue to keep us (sadly-uninformed) peeps updated on doing the right thing wen dealing with all things insurance. Your input is valued. P.S I am actually attempting to read thru your 12K posts to see what I missed.
Thanks in advance.

 

Going under 500 on the comp deductible really changes the premium. If there is a great chance of hitting animals then maybe that makes sense but for city/urban driving it might not be worth it to me. But like you said, run the quotes and see

 

I had 500 and 500, but lowered my comp to 200 as it changed the 6 month premium by $5.50, I can go down to $100 but it will cost me another $4.10. If I save the $4.10 every 6 months and never make a claim I am out that money, if I make 1 claim on my comp in just over 12 years, it is a wash. It might be worth it to lower it.

To go from $200 to $50 it will be an additional $7.60...$200 to $0 is 28.30. Yeah shopping is key.

 

I wouldn't go to $50 but $100 makes sense for most people. Given how many things can happen to your car that would result in a comp claim, the average person has a comp claim every few years. Of course, I've seen some people who have multiple comp claims every year.

Examples of comp claims: theft, vandalism, malicious mischief (think: someone puts sugar or water in your gas tank) hail, flood, striking an animal or being struck by an animal, being struck by any object such as rocks and road debris... or we often see ice being blown off the tops of trucks... you drop something on your car while working in your garage... and although debatable between collision or comp, we usually cover under comp when someone pushes a shopping cart into your parked vehicle.

 

Interesting. I have luckily never had to make any of these claims (knocking on all the wood-like veneer on my desk now) in my 12 years of driving.

I had one incident where I had a loaner MINI and it was lower than mine, pulled too far forward up to the parking stop (lot was full and my buddy with a motorcycle was parking behind me). I left with 4 ppl in the car and it pull the front bumper off, ripped a foglight wiring harness and cracked the carrier for the front end. It was more than my deductible but I paid out of pocket to not make a claim as it was not a big difference form my deductible or just paying for it.

 

That would have been a Collision claim, had you made the claim.

You also would have been considered at-fault for that claim.

Wise, in that case, not to file the claim.

 

CR&P...

I'm an Emergency Dept provider and see bogus insurance MVC injury claims on a daily bases, so I understand your frustrations. Although I can relate to your valid concerns regarding insurance fraud, I think your flaming of the original poster is unwarranted, and as a newb to NAM, it makes me less likely to want to start a thread for trollers to fluff their feathers over. Not cool... even if you do have 12000 posts that are "nice." How does that quote go -- It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to destroy it?

As you are a licensed professional, I would have higher expectations of your responses to the original poster when the topic is pertinent to your field. If my insurance carrier spoke as you do, I would take my business elsewhere.

 

I too am an adjuster/examiner (25 yrs now) and while i agree with CR&P's thoughts on insurance i like to think i would have responded somewhat differently to the OP and probably avoided all of the extraneous crap that came as a response. I am not a 'passionate' insurance person and i see things on both sides of the coin. It's true to a small degree that there are adjusters/insurers out there who treat people as 'guilty' first and force the individual to prove that they aren't at fault. This nearly always leaves a bad taste in the customer's mouth and its the ones who have bad experiences that make most of the noise about insurance. I was never taught or told to short-change people on a claim and I always take the approach that if we owe it then we should pay it and the quicker the better. But...just dont blatantly lie to me because after 25 yrs i've gotten fairly good at recognizing the BS stories and if i do then i am going to make you work very hard for your claim because all you are doing is screwing the good policy holders who only make a claim when they have to. Just remember that insurance is a group thing, not an individual thing and the insurers need a lot more good drivers than bad drivers to make a profit. And as a business they do need to make money to satisfy their shareholders just like any other business. And like most businesses they have good profit years and bad loss years but unless you are a shareholder you wont listen to them when they say they lost money that year. Your only real alternative is non-profit government run insurance and you really dont want the government running things do you?

 

You are entitled to your opinion but I wouldn't take back a single word I wrote to the OP if I had 1,000 years to reconsider.

 

cr&pw&jp.....relax. Your out of line and a little to angry.

 

Who are you to tell me to relax about insurance fraud and that I'm out of line ? Who the F are you ?

And FYI... I'm quite relaxed... look at the dates of the posts. And I had every right to be pissed and if you had a lick of sense, you'd be pissed too because you're paying for people like him.

 

 

Yikes, Merry Christmas to y'all!