Insurance question part II

fastfredracing · 01-28-2021, 02:53 PM

When is it not wise to use your insurance ?
I feel like I just got dropped due to having 2 claims in the last 4 years. Both small, one 2400, and one 1500, both of them with $500 dollar deductibles .
I pay my bill on time every month, when something happens to a customer car, I feel it prudent to take care of it . That is why I have insurance correct?
Ill spill the details later about how I got dropped, it was really greasy . I think I am reporting to the state insurance board. My agent , really hung me out to dry .
In 25 years of wrenching on cars professionally , self employed, I have had 4 claims . Biggest ever was 8k . An employee smooshed a box truck .

drcoastline · 01-28-2021, 04:04 PM

Insurance is a for profit business. Their only responsibility is to pay your claims during your policy period. It is difficult to say exactly when to use your insurance as everyone's financial situation is different. But as a loose rule only use it for losses you can not reasonably afford to pay.

LWJ · 01-28-2021, 08:29 PM

Also, we are in a “hard market” currently. Meaning, carriers are underwriting with much more scrutiny. What was acceptable in the past isn’t so today. It makes things tough and will also push up rates.

Why? Because insurance is dynamic and moves in cycles. This is an up cycle. We have had down cycles in the past. Most folks just don’t remember them or didn’t notice.

Sorry for you Fred. You are a good guy. Auto repair is a tough class.

cabmandone · cabmandone's Garage

Just nuts man. The crazy thing is, you pay insurance to protect you if you have an event.... so you have two small events and BAM they drop you. There oughta be laws against that kind of stuff. People pay insurance and they pay out of pocket for things out of fear the insurance company will raise their rates. OR like in my daughter's car example, the people choose to lie to their insurance company so their rates won't go up. Insurance is a scam.

I guess the lesson in this is that if you're going to go, go big. Make it worth them dropping you.

Maybe we could go all Reddit on their asses?

nota · 01-29-2021, 08:27 AM

REALLY IS NO REASON TO STICK WITH A CORP

you should low bid every time you renew

ie drop them don't wait for them to drop you

1990C4S · 01-29-2021, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LWJ

Also, we are in a “hard market” currently. Meaning, carriers are underwriting with much more scrutiny. What was acceptable in the past isn’t so today. It makes things tough and will also push up rates.

Why? Because insurance is dynamic and moves in cycles. This is an up cycle. We have had down cycles in the past. Most folks just don’t remember them or didn’t notice.

Sorry for you Fred. You are a good guy. Auto repair is a tough class.

This. I just saw a 40% increase in my business insurance. When I went back to complain they pretty much said 'pay or move on'.

masraum · 01-29-2021, 08:35 AM

Ins cos suck.

Years ago, I contacted ours about getting windshields fixed. They advised that they'd pay small claims for having rock chips fixed, no problem. We went and had 2 cars fixed (several per car) and claimed something like $200 ($100 each). On top of that, we had one small fender-bender in a parking lot. Yep, you guessed it, 3 claims in 12 months (fender bender and 2 windshields), and we got dropped. When I asked about the windshields, they presented it as if it wasn't a problem, but they didn't specifically say (and I didn't ask, shame on me) if it would count against us. I think that happened at about the same time as a hurricane had come through Houston and lots of ins cos were looking for a way out.

fastfredracing · 01-29-2021, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nota

REALLY IS NO REASON TO STICK WITH A CORP

you should low bid every time you renew

ie drop them don't wait for them to drop you

Yep, no love .
Every single one of them, has either rate crept me, or dropped my after an incident .

fastfredracing · 01-29-2021, 11:30 AM

Doing more shopping today, 2 different companies, asked if I have a FB account for the business. Good thing I am not a loud moth on social media
Careful what you say and post on line fellows.
My motto for the new world heading forward, is keep my mouth shut, head down, work hard, love my family , and ignore all the other bs .

pmax · pmax's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

Doing more shopping today, 2 different companies, asked if I have a FB account for the business. Good thing I am not a loud moth on social media
Careful what you say and post on line fellows.
My motto for the new world heading forward, is keep my mouth shut, head down, work hard, love my family , and ignore all the other bs .

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-politics-religion/1085356-spiral-silence.html

LWJ · 02-08-2021, 03:15 AM

Back to your first question, "when to use?" here is my thought.

1. If an injury- no matter how bad - turn it in. Injuries can balloon form nothing to very large.
2. If property damage / loss, think about self insuring if at all possible.

Drcoastline is correct, turn in what you can't afford to lose.

Final thought. Frequency- lots of claims - is worse than severity.

I have turned in multi million dollar claims and not given increases at renewal.

If you can explain a claim as a freak once in a lifetime event, you may not be punished.

(Not likely in a hard market).

drcoastline · 02-08-2021, 04:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LWJ

Back to your first question, "when to use?" here is my thought.

1. If an injury- no matter how bad - turn it in. Injuries can balloon form nothing to very large.
2. If property damage / loss, think about self insuring if at all possible.

Drcoastline is correct, turn in what you can't afford to lose.

Final thought. Frequency- lots of claims - is worse than severity.

I have turned in multi million dollar claims and not given increases at renewal.

If you can explain a claim as a freak once in a lifetime event, you may not be punished.

(Not likely in a hard market).

In another "insurance" thread not so long ago I chimed in and ruffled a few feathers. So little reluctant to say to much as people want the answers they want to hear not the answer they need to hear.

I am in the insurance business. I have owned my own agency for 23 years and been in the business for 29. I specialize in commercial insurance and asset protection in NJ and PA.

The first thing you must realize when purchasing insurance of any kind is you are transferring responsibility of the "loss" from yourself to the insurance company. You pay a sum of money (the premium) to the company and they agree to pay the "loss" or "loses" during a given period of time. When you sign on the dotted line you agree to keep the carrier informed of all incidents so the can mitigate their losses.

So regardless of how minor you think an incident is you have a legal responsibility to notify the carrier. This can be tricky because to many notifications can send up red flags
that there may be issues. Not notifying them can result in denial of a claim and/or cancellation.

LWJ is spot on with his thoughts. Frequent minor claims is far worse than an accidental catastrophe. Insurance is for the catastrophic unknown event. Not repeated minor, careless or preventable events.

1. Injury- When he says "turn it in" that simply means notify the carrier. Contact your agent and report the incident. It also means always, call the police and get the incident documented. The police will take statements and in turn will call the ambulance. The EMT's will documented the injury. The EMT's will assess the injury and if sever transport the victim to the hospital if a minor injury ask the person if they want to go to the hospital. Here in NJ when you call the police the ambulance and fire department automatically respond. If the person declines that is on record. If the person accepts then there is a hospital record further documenting the extent of the injury.

2. Property- Fully self insuring is great if you have the means and if permitted if a mortgage company is involved. A deductible is a form of self insuring. A deductible is the portion of damage you pay before the insuring company pays. Assess your financial situation and take the highest deductible you can reasonably afford and restrain form filing claims that are barely above the deductible limit. If you have a $10,000.00 deductible and he damage to your property is $11,000.00 think twice before asking the insurance company to pay. Of course notify the carrier of the loss but that you will be opting not to file a claim at this time. They will assign an adjuster. If it turns out damage is more extensive and is now $20,000.00 Informa the carrier you wish to formally file.

Lastly, no insurance company is obligated to renew a policy at expiation regardless of claim history. The contract is for one year, period. Three months prior to expiration the carrier will underwrite based on a multitude of factors. They will make a determination if they want to renew or not. They could careless if you have been with them one year, ten or thirty years. You shouldn't care either. It is all about profits.
that is the nature of the business. Yes they have nice commercials you're in good hands, we care about you, blah, blah, blah. They don't give a shizzle.

The only exception to longevity to being with a carrier (in NJ/PA) is personal auto insurance. There is a sweet spot of about four years. If you shop and move to often you will get penalized, not often enough and most likely you will be paying to much.

Nice post LWJ