no clue what happened or if/what I should do re car insurance--update #23

[SparklyUnicorn]

State Farm...AGAIN

 

I wondered where my renewal documents were.  Pulled out my information and sure enough the cards expired June 20th.  I never received any sort of notice of cancellation or changes.  And I'd be surprised if that weren't required by law.

 

Never had a claim, never not paid on time, no credit issues of any kind, etc.  So this makes no damn sense.  I called them and the guy just said I don't know why but it shows up at cancelled, I'll have your agent call you.  Well I can't wait that long because duh we need to drive somewhere!!  Agent works regular 9-5 hours.  BTW these commercials where you can call them anytime?  Bull.  You can't except for a claim or if you want to buy something.  For ongoing customers?  Nope.  They couldn't help me right then and there. 

 

So I called up another insurance company and got a policy in about 5 minutes with cards e-mailed within seconds.  It was better coverage and less expensive. So apparently no issues on that front..like I've got some lousy insurance rating or something.  Right?!

 

So maybe some crazy fluke?  But I find this really disturbing.  Not sure what/if I should do.  I still have insurance with them for home owners and that shows up on my account.  I will be looking around for that too though because that's incredibly messed up.

 

 

Edited June 24, 2016 by SparklyUnicorn

[Night Elf]

Don't they usually blame it on a computer glitch? I'm glad you found a better policy. The guy DID check to make sure your home owners policy was still in effect though, right?

[bettyandbob]

Never had this problem. I hope it's just your agent. We also get premium reminders well ahead. We have been able to talk with someone when we needed it. We've got sever bundled policies. I hope I don't start having these issues with state farm.

 

I'm glad you got a new policy quickly.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Don't they usually blame it on a computer glitch? I'm glad you found a better policy. The guy DID check to make sure your home owners policy was still in effect though, right?

 

Yes and I could see for myself that that policy was there (the homeowners).

[Carrie12345]

Weird!  Is your account online?

 

Our homeowners is State Farm, but I never really check it online b/c it's paid through our mortgage.

I pay my Geico car insurance every month online, and their system is pretty straightforward, with printable cards available at all times.  I once forgot to make a payment and they sent me an email right away to prevent any cancellation.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Never had this problem. I hope it's just your agent. We also get premium reminders well ahead. We have been able to talk with someone when we needed it. We've got sever bundled policies. I hope I don't start having these issues with state farm.

 

I'm glad you got a new policy quickly.

 

It very well could be my agent.  This is not the first time I've had issues with him.  This really was the nudge I needed to just go elsewhere, but really I am irritated.  I don't think they can just cancel policies without freaking telling people. 

 

In fact in NY, they fine you if you don't have insurance.  You have to go and unregister the car to get out of being fined.  The insurance company themselves also send out a letter stating this information. They did not do that.  So it really must have been some weird glitch, but still I can't drive around without freaking insurance!!

[tori@thehomefront]

Ugh! That sounds frustrating! Glad you were able to get insurance quickly somewhere else.

 

We had SF back when we were first married. Out of the blue they cancelled us, and by the time the letter informing us of the cancellation arrived, we'd been without coverage for days! They said it was because our credit rating changed, because we'd gotten a couple of lines of credit since starting the policy. 😒 Around here, people seem to consider them the gold standard, but I can't see why.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Ugh! That sounds frustrating! Glad you were able to get insurance quickly somewhere else.

 

We had SF back when we were first married. Out of the blue they cancelled us, and by the time the letter informing us of the cancellation arrived, we'd been without coverage for days! They said it was because our credit rating changed, because we'd gotten a couple of lines of credit since starting the policy. 😒 Around here, people seem to consider them the gold standard, but I can't see why.

 

This makes no sense.  For one thing the whole credit rating they use is based on claims to your policies.

[tori@thehomefront]

This makes no sense. For one thing the whole credit rating they use is based on claims to your policies.

I know, right? It's nuts, but that was the explanation they insisted was true. It was like talking to a brick wall.

[Xahm]

Check your car registration. In our state, insurance companies report if you don't pay and so your insurance gets canceled. Then dmv cancels your registration. It doesn't usually happen quickly, so you are almost certainly safe, but it can happen.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Weird!  Is your account online?

 

Our homeowners is State Farm, but I never really check it online b/c it's paid through our mortgage.

I pay my Geico car insurance every month online, and their system is pretty straightforward, with printable cards available at all times.  I once forgot to make a payment and they sent me an email right away to prevent any cancellation.

 

That's who I went with.  We had them years ago.  No complaints, but State Farm came along promising great combined rates.  So I did the quote thing and it was far less if I combined.  I was told for the same coverage.  That turned out to not be the case.  So at that point they lied to me.  Should have changed it right then and there, but you know how that goes. Agent claimed that was just a mistake.  Right...

[SparklyUnicorn]

Check your car registration. In our state, insurance companies report if you don't pay and so your insurance gets canceled. Then dmv cancels your registration. It doesn't usually happen quickly, so you are almost certainly safe, but it can happen.

 

I didn't NOT pay!!  In fact I was recently charged on  my bank account.

[Scarlett]

I didn't NOT pay!! In fact I was recently charged on my bank account.

I love State Farm. In fact with some recent claims I love them even more because they are so good at paying. And my boss who owns a top notch collision repair loves them. There are some insurance companies he won't even write an estimate for.

 

They do provide a pretty big discount for carrying home and auto...so expect an increase in your home that will equal the difference in your lower auto through Geico.

 

Personally I think it is your agent. I would be calling corporate and raising Holy Heck this morning.

[Xahm]

That makes it more infuriating to be dropped, but far less likely to have been reported (teeny, tiny, silver lining, I hope). My husband is a cop and has had people find out their insurance dropped them when he pulls them over for driving an unregistered car. He tries to be nice about it because he knows they are in for a lot of paperwork and time spent in the courthouse and dmv.

[Lanny]

Wonderful that you got a policy from another company and got covered again. I had State Farm for many years in Texas (car and house) and yes, the agents have normal office hours and probably cannot be reached when they are closed.  I am surprised that you did not receive a cancellation notice.  I had 2 claims on my car insurance (Hail damage once and car was broken into once) and they took very good care of me, so I was always happy with State Farm. I am sure that varies, from state to state.   Maybe your new car insurance company can also give you good coverage on your house?

[chiguirre]

I didn't NOT pay!!  In fact I was recently charged on  my bank account.

 

Time to contact the NY insurance commission. That's a bunch of bull on SF's part!

[SparklyUnicorn]

I love State Farm. In fact with some recent claims I love them even more because they are so good at paying. And my boss who owns a top notch collision repair loves them. There are some insurance companies he won't even write an estimate for.

 

They do provide a pretty big discount for carrying home and auto...so expect an increase in your home that will equal the difference in your lower auto through Geico.

 

Personally I think it is your agent. I would be calling corporate and raising Holy Heck this morning.

 

Yeah screw them. I just got a quote on home owners.  Same price.  Overall I'd pay a very similar amount, but the coverage with the new company would be better. 

[zoobie]

I love State Farm. In fact with some recent claims I love them even more because they are so good at paying. And my boss who owns a top notch collision repair loves them. There are some insurance companies he won't even write an estimate for.

 

They do provide a pretty big discount for carrying home and auto...so expect an increase in your home that will equal the difference in your lower auto through Geico.

 

Personally I think it is your agent. I would be calling corporate and raising Holy Heck this morning.

It must vary from state to state. Here they're called Snake Farm by attorneys and are loathsome at paying claims.

 

Sparkly, if you can find an independent agent, s/he will run the coverage you want across a bunch of companies and get multiple quotes. They all have different actuarial formulas, so you can see some variance. Glad you got coverage so quickly and caught the problem yourself!

[SparklyUnicorn]

It must vary from state to state. Here they're called Snake Farm by attorneys and are loathsome at paying claims.

 

Sparkly, if you can find an independent agent, s/he will run the coverage you want across a bunch of companies and get multiple quotes. They all have different actuarial formulas, so you can see some variance. Glad you got coverage so quickly and caught the problem yourself!

 

Yes, for better coverage we'll pay $69 less per 6 months.

 

I do plan to complain to the state though.  They can't just cancel without telling us.  Mistake or not, that's really pretty terrible in my book.  And there is no reason for it at all. 

[Katy]

I'd file a complaint with the insurance commissioner too.  It might be a computer fluke, but either way if they pulled a payment you're still legally covered and never had a gap.   Either way it sounds as if somehow a whole lot of laws were violated.  You can file a complaint online in every state I've lived in.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'd file a complaint with the insurance commissioner too.  It might be a computer fluke, but either way if they pulled a payment you're still legally covered and never had a gap.   Either way it sounds as if somehow a whole lot of laws were violated.  You can file a complaint online in every state I've lived in.

 

Yep.  I already have the address.

[skimomma]

This happened to us years ago except I didn't catch it for two whole months!  We were driving around without insurance for TWO months!  In our case we had not paid.  I never got a bill, lost track of time, and didn't even think about it.  We had a multi-policy with home owners.  After much digging we discovered that SF had dropped our home owners insurance because they no longer covered our "kind of house."  Seeing as we have no dogs, no trampoline, no pool, no wood burning anything, etc..... the only explanation that makes sense is "old house in a crappy neighborhood."  No one that I spoke to could give me a specific reason for it no longer being covered.  We have never even made a claim.  My hunch is that our agent was supposed to have handled this communication with us and failed to do so.  So both the homeowners and car insurance were cancelled and we were none the wiser.  We never got a cancellation notice or anything despite the fact that they are super great at sending us junk mail and spam.  Thank goodness nothing happened!  We got new insurance, skipped the agent part, and I have a reminder on the calendar to make sure we are renewed just in case.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I called them this morning (local office).  She said oh oh yeah..no you are covered.  I said uh well where are my insurance documents?  Oh well didn't you get the cancellation letter a few months ago.  I said I got a letter cancelling the road side.  Oh well yeah a bunch of people got letters and that was all a mistake...you are covered.  But...again...where are my documents?  I said I bought insurance elsewhere this morning because I only have expired documents and you know..my husband had to get to freaking work.  I said I called first, but was told it was cancelled.  She claimed oh yeah they can't tell from the corporate office. 

 

Lady you make no sense.  So she said oh well you got new coverage elsewhere anyway so could you just send me that info.  I did because yeah I don't want to keep paying for the other insurance, but what in hell is wrong with these people?!  If there was some mix up months ago, why have I heard nothing about it since? 

[Katy]

I called them this morning (local office).  She said oh oh yeah..no you are covered.  I said uh well where are my insurance documents?  Oh well didn't you get the cancellation letter a few months ago.  I said I got a letter cancelling the road side.  Oh well yeah a bunch of people got letters and that was all a mistake...you are covered.  But...again...where are my documents?  I said I bought insurance elsewhere this morning because I only have expired documents and you know..my husband had to get to freaking work.  I said I called first, but was told it was cancelled.  She claimed oh yeah they can't tell from the corporate office. 

 

Lady you make no sense.  So she said oh well you got new coverage elsewhere anyway so could you just send me that info.  I did because yeah I don't want to keep paying for the other insurance, but what in hell is wrong with these people?!  If there was some mix up months ago, why have I heard nothing about it since? 

 

What?!?  Yes, the corporate office CAN tell if a policy is in effect or something.  File a complaint with the insurance commissioner right now.  My hunch is that someone in the office is embezzling funds and pretending you're still covered.  Until you get a claim.

[SparklyUnicorn]

What?!?  Yes, the corporate office CAN tell if a policy is in effect or something.  File a complaint with the insurance commissioner right now.  My hunch is that someone in the office is embezzling funds and pretending you're still covered.  Until you get a claim.

 

Well now that's a crappy thought.

 

Although the money is drawn from an outside source (not locally). 

 

But yeah something very strange is going on.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

 

 

It's your agent.

 

I'd find a new SF agent.

[SparklyUnicorn]

It's your agent.

 

I'd find a new SF agent.

 

I still have homeowners through them.  At this point I don't want auto.  They were never cheaper so that was never worth it.  But now i"m a bit concerned that I even have to deal with their homeowners stuff.  Is it possible to switch this to a new agent I wonder?

[Carol in Cal.]

Seriously, the corporate office can't tell you whether you are covered?  That's just plain insane, because they are the ones who would have to back you if you had a claim.  Something is very wrong here, red flags on the play.

 

We have Farmers, because I wanted a local agent that I could always call on.  But we have State Farm for our cabin because Farmers has this rule that if you don't go into a home at least every 30 days (not necessarily overnight, but at least present) that their homeowners' insurance is void.  We didn't want the stress of that requirement on our cabin, even though it is a year round place, so we went with State Farm on that.  I know both agents personally, and specifically asked our State Farm one about whether they have that sort of requirement for second homes, and he said that they didn't.  We were lucky to even get that coverage as it was after the Rim Fire.  State Farm isn't writing policies in the mountains up there anymore.  I guess I will have to keep a close eye on whether it gets cancelled.  Carp.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Seriously, the corporate office can't tell you whether you are covered?  That's just plain insane, because they are the ones who would have to back you if you had a claim.  Something is very wrong here, red flags on the play.

 

We have Farmers, because I wanted a local agent that I could always call on.  But we have State Farm for our cabin because Farmers has this rule that if you don't go into a home at least every 30 days (not necessarily overnight, but at least present) that their homeowners' insurance is void.  We didn't want the stress of that requirement on our cabin, even though it is a year round place, so we went with State Farm on that.  I know both agents personally, and specifically asked our State Farm one about whether they have that sort of requirement for second homes, and he said that they didn't.  We were lucky to even get that coverage as it was after the Rim Fire.  State Farm isn't writing policies in the mountains up there anymore.  I guess I will have to keep a close eye on whether it gets cancelled.  Carp.

 

We plan to just get a different company for all of it.  But I agree. I do not like this crap where supposedly they cannot tell we are covered.  She said there is a difference between the national office and the local office.  Ok, well that may very well be, but this morning at 6 in the morning I thought I didn't have coverage and had absolutely no way to verify that.  The local office was not open for calls.  Well that's not going to work for me.  I don't want to have to wonder.  I'm pretty sure by not sending me renewed documents nor an official cancellation they were breaking the law.  I would have been ok with them at least contacting me in some way to tell me of any sort of mix up so I know I have coverage, but as of this morning I had absolutely no proof of that and could not get them to even verify it over the phone. 

 

And the worst thing is this woman just mumbled on the phone.  She couldn't even explain it.

 

I did file a complaint with the state just now too. 

[MooCow]

Sparkly- You just saved me over $150 a month on car insurance! Your post got me to do a quote, so now we have different insurance.

 

Thank you! :hurray: :hurray:

 

ETA: we knew we were being screwed, but stayed out of misguided loyalty and because I hate change. Stupid, I know.

Edited June 24, 2016 by MooCow

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

I still have homeowners through them. At this point I don't want auto. They were never cheaper so that was never worth it. But now i"m a bit concerned that I even have to deal with their homeowners stuff. Is it possible to switch this to a new agent I wonder?

You can switch to a new agent. Just find one you like and talk to them about changing agents.

 

We had similar happen years ago with a specific agent.

[elegantlion]

I guess you didn't talk to Jake then?  :coolgleamA:

 

I'm about to drop State Farm too. 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Sparkly- You just saved me over $150 a month on car insurance! Your post got me to do a quote, so now we have different insurance.

 

Thank you! :hurray: :hurray:

 

ETA: we knew we were being screwed, but stayed out of misguided loyalty and because I hate change. Stupid, I know.

 

Well this gives me some major satisfaction.  :laugh:

[Scarlett]

I still have homeowners through them. At this point I don't want auto. They were never cheaper so that was never worth it. But now i"m a bit concerned that I even have to deal with their homeowners stuff. Is it possible to switch this to a new agent I wonder?

Yes. you can can use whatever agent you want.

[MooCow]

Well this gives me some major satisfaction.  :laugh:

 

 I called my agent and our homeowners will go up $700 but we are still saving $1300 a year.

She wants to try to come close to the new insurance.

 

You rock! :thumbup:

[SKL]

I use Geico.com and I have an automatic billing dealie so I don't have to worry about this.

 

I'm usually great about paying my bills early, but then there have been a couple times when I screwed up, and one awshit wipes out every attaboy you ever earned and then some.  :P

 

It does not surprise me about car insurance companies.  IME they can be pretty dang ruthless.  Though some are probably better than others.

[SKL]

Just a word to the wise, that I found out the hard way.  (This was like 20 years ago though.)  My old insurance company charged me a cancellation fee which they took out of my pro-rated refund.  Of course if you are already expired, that wouldn't be an issue, but if you are switching during the term of an existing policy, it could cost you.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Just a word to the wise, that I found out the hard way.  (This was like 20 years ago though.)  My old insurance company charged me a cancellation fee which they took out of my pro-rated refund.  Of course if you are already expired, that wouldn't be an issue, but if you are switching during the term of an existing policy, it could cost you.

 

Oh I would put up one hell of a stink if they did that.  They didn't do what they were supposed to do.  Either way, no that won't be the case. 

[AngieW in Texas]

State Farm was horrific here. The agent I had was awful. I finally ended up going way over her head and having the regional manager working as my agent and I told him I would stay with State Farm only until the end of the 6 months and then I was switching. They were a nightmare to deal with.

 

We switched to Farmers and have been with them for a very long time now.