Auto Insurance Question

[Greenmountain Farmer]

Anyone else here have there auto insurance through AIG thinking of going elsewhere for coverage due to their financial problems?

Tom in Vermont

 

[scott_vt]

Good Evenin Tom,
Well guess what buddy... Im insured by those bozoes also !!! My wife and I got rearended by a drunk last Oct. We got her car fixed through our insurance, AIG, at the time. We were rearended by a drunk at the time, he didnt even have his head lights on when he plowed into us ! At that time we werent even sure he had a valid policy ! But the good news was he did ! We had to front the $500 deductible to get her vehicle fixed, and after 6 months of phone calls we finally got our %$500 check !

Honestly I think these Bozos are too busy throwing extravagant parties for themselves to really run a business, IMHO !

And or gettin bailout money from out Govt, which BTW is our money !

Hope I answered your question !

 

[mjarrels]

Too big to fail...I'm thinking AIG is behind State Farm, Allstate, Rockingham Group, keep the list going! My thoughts... let them fail (three times a charm on baleouts) and number two insurace Co. will become number one!

mark

 

[mjarrels]

I just remembered something... years ago, I was at a car wash one sunday morning wating in line... I won't say (towel wrapped around his head) He washed the engine of his 65 mustang... no start, so he pushed it backward out of the car wash and down the hill... I saw it coming, he could'nt get in the driver door fast enough to stop... smacked into my front quarter panel! Same insurance agent... that claim took for ever to close! That same insurance agent spent 10 years in jail for stealing company funds!

mark

 

[Greenmountain Farmer]

Good Evenin Tom,
Well guess what buddy... Im insured by those bozoes also !!! My wife and I got rearended by a drunk last Oct. We got her car fixed through our insurance, AIG, at the time. We were rearended by a drunk at the time, he didnt even have his head lights on when he plowed into us ! At that time we werent even sure he had a valid policy ! But the good news was he did ! We had to front the $500 deductible to get her vehicle fixed, and after 6 months of phone calls we finally got our %$500 check !

Honestly I think these Bozos are too busy throwing extravagant parties for themselves to really run a business, IMHO !

And or gettin bailout money from out Govt, which BTW is our money !

Hope I answered your question !

Have had coverage through them for years, they paid a little over 7k on my only claim, hit a deer on I89 in Bolton Flats, just wonder if the service will be there when needed.
Tom in Vermont

 

[mjarrels]

I think Insurance Co. would rather pay a lawyer than a claim... I'm debating on dropping my insurance on property... Save $2200 a year and become self insured!

mark

 

[2manyrocks]

In Tenn., I think auto insurance is mandatory and a misdemeanor if you don't have it.

OP brings up good question about paying insurance premiums and wondering if the insurance company will be there to pay if a claim does arise. If everybody bails on them, they tank that much faster. Insurance companies do fail and get liquidated from time to time.

 

[LBrown59]

In Tenn.,
2*I think auto insurance is mandatory and a misdemeanor if you don't have it.
1* OP brings up good question about paying insurance premiums and wondering if the insurance company will be there to pay if a claim does arise.

2*Only if driven on the roads.
1*One of my pet peeves about mandatory insurance .
It forces you to buy insurance but there is no requirement on insurers to pay claims.
The end result is you're forced into purchasing something that don't exists.

 

[Bird]

In Tenn., I think auto insurance is mandatory and a misdemeanor if you don't have it.

OP brings up good question about paying insurance premiums and wondering if the insurance company will be there to pay if a claim does arise. If everybody bails on them, they tank that much faster. Insurance companies do fail and get liquidated from time to time.

I thought all states now had mandatory auto liability insurance. And as you said, it's a misdemeanor to not have it. But of course we'll always have people who violate the law. It's estimated that approximately 25% of the drivers in Texas are violating that law.

 

[deere755]

We just had a claim on our car that we had only owned for one month. A runaway shopping cart at wal mart hit the side of our car and put a small dent and a few scratches in it. The wind was terrible and it was raining when my wife came out of the store and found the cart. She gave it a quick glance and saw nothing so she came on home. When I pulled in the garage that evening the first thing I saw was the dent. I called the insurance company the next morning and by the next morning an adjuster was looking at it. I had my check the following week and it was fixed the next. About 2 and a half weeks and it was all taken care of. I was with AIG for awhile but now I am with Country insurance and would never consider doing business with anyone else again. We have had 2 claims so far in the last 10 years and Country always gives fast and fair service with our claims. I also like the fact that I deal with an agent and not someone on the phone whom I have never met.

 

[RichZ]

I have State Farm, and last week we got a letter that they are cancelling our auto insurance. We have 2 pick ups and a cargo van. The letter said it was due to a speeding ticket (8 mph over the limit) that I got 4 years ago, and one my step daughter got 3 years ago. My step daughter hasn't lived with us for 3 years. When my wife called to tell them that my step daughter doesn't even live with us, and isn't even on our insurance (and never was), they said it was also because I had 4 wind shields replaced over 8 years, and had a fender bender. The fender bender was in an auto mechanic's lot, and one of the workers drove a car into the back of my pick up while I was about to back up. He claimed that I backed up into the car. I called my agent, and he said that they'd send someone to check it out. My agent called me back and told me it wasn't worth fighting, the repair was only about $100, and they'd cover it. Now, several years later, they're using it as an excuse to drop me. For years I paid my premiums without a problem, and now that they find that I've had several very minor claims over 8 years, they want to drop me. I guess it's OK for you to have the insurance, as long as you don't make any claims.

 

[tallyho8]

I have State Farm, and last week we got a letter that they are cancelling our auto insurance. We have 2 pick ups and a cargo van. The letter said it was due to a speeding ticket (8 mph over the limit) that I got 4 years ago, and one my step daughter got 3 years ago. My step daughter hasn't lived with us for 3 years. When my wife called to tell them that my step daughter doesn't even live with us, and isn't even on our insurance (and never was), they said it was also because I had 4 wind shields replaced over 8 years, and had a fender bender. The fender bender was in an auto mechanic's lot, and one of the workers drove a car into the back of my pick up while I was about to back up. He claimed that I backed up into the car. I called my agent, and he said that they'd send someone to check it out. My agent called me back and told me it wasn't worth fighting, the repair was only about $100, and they'd cover it. Now, several years later, they're using it as an excuse to drop me. For years I paid my premiums without a problem, and now that they find that I've had several very minor claims over 8 years, they want to drop me. I guess it's OK for you to have the insurance, as long as you don't make any claims.

That's the way all insurance companies work. If you make x number of claims in a certain time period they cancel you. In Louisiana your limit on homeowners insurance claims is 2 within a 3 year period. It doesn't matter if the claim is $1 or $1,000,000.

This is why I keep a high (at least $1000) deductible on all of my policies. If I have a minor repair, like yours that was only $100, I pay for it myself instead of claiming it. The money I save on lower premiums is about enough to pay for these minor claims and I don't get my insurance cancelled or my premiums raised.

One "at fault" claim for $100 on many insurance policies will raise your premium $50 a year for 7 years. You can see that it is much cheaper to pay for the repair yourself. If it gets cancelled, like yours did, then it will probably cost you at least $100 more per year to get a policy with a different company.

 

[dmccarty]

Rich,

Call up the State Insurance Commissioner or whatever they are called up your way and see what they have to say about being dropped.

A coworker a few years ago was notified that he was going to be dropped because he had two claims on the house insurance due to falling trees. He was looking for new insurance and I suggested he call up the State and see what they said about the situation. Turns out his insurance decided to NOT drop him when the Insurance Commission contacted them.

Tis worth a try if YOU want to keep State Farm.

If there is a Farm Bureau insurance company in your state you might want to try them. I went with FB on everything when we moved out of the city. They were cheaper for the same coverage than the company we had been using which was from AAA.

Later,
Dan

 

[RichZ]

Dan, great minds think alike. I called my agent and told him to tell the company's "powers that be" that we were going to do exactly what you said. My agent called us back in a couple of days. Not only are they renewing us, but suddenly our rates are going down. What a coincidence!!!

But, I don't appreciate being treated this way, so I'm pricing insurance with other companies, including the Farm Bureau. We need to increase our farm insurance, anyway.

 

[dmccarty]

Rich,

Glad to see it working out. I would look for new insurance as well. To heck with them.



Later,
Dan

 

[kthompson]

Richz, be sure to price all polices on property with one company and not just one policy. It is the total pricing you are interested in.

As to AIG, they are really a bunch of small companies they have bought over the years. They in the last few years had began to use the AIG brand on all of them (I think on all). Most States have some sort of guaranty fund to protect the insured if a company goes belly up. You have to check with your State's Dept of Insurance for details.