A cautionary tale…..

So, we thought we would share this story as a reminder that ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’.

We had a customer that was insured with Company A. She was involved in a minor parking lot accident where the police were not called and both parties agreed to go through their own insurance carrier. Simple enough, right?

When she got home, she was shocked to see a voicemail from her insurance company - apparently, the other party had called and said it was her fault! She explained the situation, and ultimately, the company did not pay out to the other party, but they did pay to repair her vehicle.

Fast forward to her renewal and the company removed her ‘claims free’ discount - resulting in a small increase in premium. She was annoyed that they had done so, so she responded to an online ad and ended up buying new insurance, even though the price was only marginally less expensive.

Look, we’ve all been there. We’re angry at something that happened and we react without thinking it through. It’s only human - we get it. But if she had discussed it with us first, we could have gotten her other quotes and had a frank discussion about the pros and cons of changing carriers. She didn’t and what happened next underscores the benefit of having an agent.

She was involved in another accident. Except this one was her fault. And it happened in the first 60 days of her new policy.

For those of you that don’t know - in Florida, the first 60 days an insurance company can cancel you for any reason. Typically, when there is a claim in that period, a company will choose to get off the risk, as this one did. They issued a cancellation.

Now, she called us.

The problem she was now facing is that she had two claims - one at-fault - and a carrier that cancelled her. For many insurance companies, that places you in a ‘high-risk’ category.

To add insult to injury, although she had signed up with a reputable insurance carrier, the online agent she went through was in California! Three times zones and 2000 miles away. Let’s just say that he was less than helpful.

The moral of this story is talk with your insurance agent and don’t make rash or emotional decisions. They can cost you in the long run!