Auto insurance: Getting a claim reclassified

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
. . . Hitting a curb and causing $2400 worth of damage means you're a lousy driver. . . .

I resemble that remark. Besides, you haven't seen the height of that curb. Under most conditions, even here, curbs are low enough to slide under the rocker panel of an average sedan, except for the older areas of town with sunken roads and sidewalks jacked up by overgrown oak trees. Whenever I park by one of those concrete cliffs -- and I avoid it when I can -- I tell my passenger, "Don't open the door yet. Let me see if you can get out."

(I'll agree that that kind of damage makes the insurance company think the claimant is a lousy driver -- "lousy" in the sense of "too expensive for us.")


Depends on the car. One thing I hate about the Mercedes is that the front end is so low that I don't risk putting the front wheels up to any curbs. I don't trust the parking sensors either to pick it up, but so far it seems to work. And I stay away from the curbs when parallel parking, sometimes I dip the passenger mirror just to see how close I am to the curb. The rim sticks out more than the tire so the first thing you'd hit would be the rim, not the tire.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Do people that have good long term driving records and have paid tens of thousands of dollars in premiums over the decades really get screwed when they file a single claim?


Honestly, I've had my independent insurance agent tell me to NEVER file a homeowner's claim, unless it is absolutely necessary to.

 

[Wolf359]

For auto and home, you should avoid filing a claim as it's well known that once you file a claim, your premiums will shoot up.

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: Wolf359
For auto and home, you should avoid filing a claim as it's well known that once you file a claim, your premiums will shoot up.
Taking it a step further, I'd be careful about questions as well. I had some shingles blow off of my house due to a storm and called just to ask if it was worth the effort to file a claim. Never had to as it turned out the builder's roofer admitted to a mistake and fixed the problem under warranty, but years later I was in the office for something else and when the agent pulled up my file, the *inquiry* was still logged.

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Hmmmm. Maybe those of us in no-fault states are no worse off then the rest of you.

Do people that have good long term driving records and have paid tens of thousands of dollars in premiums over the decades really get screwed when they file a single claim?
I wouldn't say "screwed" per se, as I've had good service from State Farm. The series of accidents I mentioned earlier only meant I lost my accident-free discount, but the rates were never really increased due to that. Well, technically, I guess losing the discount was an increase, but I've never had my rates increased above and beyond what was expected. And I've always received excellent service from the various agents I've had over time.

 

[opus1]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Originally Posted By: opus1
Same story here, I was hit by someone who was insured but one of those "bare minumum" companies that you see advertising on daytime TV.


What's the name of this insurance company?

I have a feeling it's one that they made fun of on Family Guy.

No, no pseudo-military, flakey women dressed in white or lizards.

I think it was called either Universal Insurance or Unified Insurance; I never heard of them but my agent sure did because when I first talked to her she said that I should contact them first and if they don't cooperate to call her back later in the week. She then asked the name of the company and when I told her she said "Oh, we'll definitely be talking later this week."

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: Tdbo
Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Originally Posted By: Tdbo
. . . That is why I stay away from Flo's, Lizards, etc and focus on companies with stable track records and excellent customer service.

I would too. But the rates in this stupid state are driving me down into the lower regions!


But see what happens when you go low?
Now you know.

The choice was to pay the high rates and (maybe) not have a rate jump with an accident; or pay low rates and hope not to have an accident at all (which worked well for me for years). Either way I'd be paying much more than people in more sensible parts of the country.