Yes you are right, and I am wrong. You work for a huge company like progressive...you have to be right.

We are not talking about NO-FAULT insurance here. There's been no injuries. We are talking about a simple property damage claim. In a property damage claim, ANY PARTY CAN FILE A CLIAM AGAINST EITHER INSURANCE COMPANY, regardless of who was at Fault. That means the driver who caused the accident could legally file a claim against the person they hit. Doesn't happen very often, but they have the RIGHT to do it.

So...Sabotage, the question is, in Florida, do you agree that any person who is involved in an accident has the right to file a claim against any other party in the accident? If you agree, read on... if you don't, go back to your books.

That is where LAW ends, and business practices begin.

Insurance is a business of RISK. It's like gambling. When you get insurance, you are 'Rated' as to your likelihood of filing a claim. An Actuary actually has a pretty accurate number of your 'Risk' based on your demographics, and this is how they determine your policy premium. This makes sense, right?

Now for the obvious part. The higher the RISK you are, the higher the premium, and the higher the chance they will cancel your policy. IF they cancel your policy, and you have to go elsewhere, what is the first thing most agents ask? Had any claims in the past 3 years? I wonder why that is?
Heck, if the number of claims didn't matter, why would you have been canceled? Why would you even be looking for new insurance? BECAUSE IT DOES MATTER.

Now we get down to claims and YOUR insurance company. How does an Insurance company KNOW you have been in an accident? There are only 3 ways (normally).
#1: You file a claim
#2: The other party files a claim with YOUR insurance company
#3: Your insurance company pulls a random MVR, and you were the party that got the ticket. (less likely)
Think about it. If you file aginst the other parties insurance, and nobody places a claim against yours...YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY NEVER KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED.

A claim, is a RISK, regardless of who is at fault. It costs money for your insurance company to process the paperwork, and to 'go after' the other party...you didn't think it was free, did you? So you've increased your RISK and so now your RATING increases, which 'could' increase your premium. Too many RISKS (CLAIMS) and you could be canceled.

I AM NOT SAYING WHAT YOU DID WAS COMPLETELY WRONG, BUT RATHER IT WAS NOT THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE IT.

So, let me qualify my experiences.
As a consumer:
In 2001, I had a claim against Nationwide that went 'sour'. WITHOUT a lawyer, I worked with the Florida DOI and was able to resolve the issue, but not until the DOI threatened a Market Survey (VERY BAD for an Insurance Company). Part of my claim was paid by Nationwide, while part was paid by my agents E&O carrier due to a valid E&O claim. It took over 6 months, and ALOT of letters and phone calls.

As a Professional:
In 2002, I helped my wife study and pass her test for her 6-20 (State of Florida Adjusters License). She went to work for Nationwide (go figure ).
In 2003, I helped her study and pass her 4-40 (State of Florida Customer
Representative License).
In 2006(CURRENTLY), I am helping her Study for her 2-20 (State of Florida General Lines Agent license)
Since 2004, my wife has been an inside agent for Brown and Brown, and specializes in Commercial insurance now. She is also working on her CPCU designations.

In the past 3 months, I have reviewed and read EVERY possible insurance type from Automotive and PIP to Boiler Coverage. What's worse is, 'm not going to take the test, even though I probably know enough to pass.

Now sabotage, you and I both know that being 'Licensed in 49 states' doesn't make a difference in this matter, because the LAWS are different in every state. I do have a question for you though. As a Progressive employee, do you work in a call center that HAS NO PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with the customer? Working for agencies is different than working in a call center. Independant agents are the ones that work with a customer from the time they sign the policy to the time they get cancled (if that happens), and they know what happens.

So, am I wrong? No arguement here, just intelligent conversation...

ON A SIDE NOTE, AS MENTIONED ABOVE, IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO LET YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY KNOW YOU WERE IN AN ACCIDENT IF YOU LIKE, BUT THE PROPER WAY IS TO CONTACT YOUR AGENT, NOT FILE A CLAIM.

 

^^ Cliffnotes?

 

i just dont agree w/the part where you said what he did was wrong or not the best way to handle it. i understand where you're coming, lets not tell our insurance company and hope they never find out. but thats not the right way. its an insurance company, they're going to find out. theres something called a CLUE report, Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. this is how all the insurance companies share thier info. so, if you get into an accident and someone from comany A hits you and you have comany B and you decide to contact company A instead of your own company. well, you know what, not only is it in your contract to inform your own company B you were involved in a loss but they're going to find out anyways when renewal comes around and the CLUE report was run. not saying its going to count against you, if filed correectly it'll not show you're at fault and not affect your policy anyways. but say for example something happens later and you ask company B for some sorta forgiveness on something. well, guess what, company B sees that you didnt report your loss with them and decides not to grant any special treatment since you didnt. even if youre not at fault in an accident you need to let your company know. at least report the claim to them and get your side of the story told to your company before the other party does. here's another reason why, i've seen it a million times where the policy holder was not at fault so they didnt report the claim to the company. for example the claimant backed into the insured. well, in the mean time, the other party (clamiant) decided to change thier story and call your insurance company and report it. well now guess what, the initial claim loss taken by your own insurance company now since you didnt report it like you were supposed to is from the other party and it says your rearended them. if you just reported it to them in the first place, you wouldve been fine, they wouldnve confirmed with the other party that it was thier fault and they're liable before they had time to do anything sneaky and they would just close out your claim w/your insurance company w/out payment and youd go thru the claimants insurance

 

^^all true statements!!

very well put...

 

As i mentioned before:

ON A SIDE NOTE, AS MENTIONED ABOVE, IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO LET YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY KNOW YOU WERE IN AN ACCIDENT IF YOU LIKE, BUT THE PROPER WAY IS TO CONTACT YOUR AGENT, NOT FILE A CLAIM.

I had 3 claims within 3 years, and Nationwide tried to cancel me. I was 'Not at fault' on all 3. In fact, I didn't even collect any $$$ on the 3rd claim, becuase I didn't want it to effect my insurance. That's when I learned my lesson.

As I mentioned before, this is where LAW ends and Business Practices begin. Maybe Progressive doesn't do it, but NATIONWIDE and STATE FARM sure as hell do.

 

the right way to report a claim is to go through your agent? usually the agents dont know what happened, do not give a shit, or dont feel like wasting their time reporting the claim.

why is having your agent report the claim the "RIGHT" way as opposed to letting your insurance company know???

 

We are talking about 2 things here. Notifing your agent that you were in an accident and filing a CLAIM are 2 seperate things. If your agent doesn't 'give a shit', it's becuase you probably don't have one...you probably went through Progressive Direct, or Geico. I know my agent, and he knows me. This is why I stay away from 'Call-Center' agencies, and stick to independent agents.

 

+1 exactly.
the agents have nothing to do with reporting claims or claims at all. whenever an agent calls to file a claim we want to talk to the insured. why would we want to talk to the agent? they merely dial the phone for the insured and thats all. you can do that from the comfort of your own home.
and no, progressive doesnt drop people for claims or tickets. i know what you're talking about ricerocket and where you're coming from with other companies like state farm. i had state farm and they dropped me for too many claims too, i dont think its right but they chose who they want to insure and thats how they weed people out.

 

actually, i work at an insurance company that only does bussiness through independent agencies.

explain why notifing your agency is the right thing to do.

are you trying to say that you should contact your agent for any questions pertaining to the claim before you file a claim with your insurance company?

im still trying to understand your point...

 

Hypothetical:
If I am in an accident, and it is not my fault, I should contact my agent to inform them that I have been in an accident. This would be considered 'informing' your insurance company of an incident. I would then proceed to file a claim against the person at fault (against there policy). I shouldn't have to open a claim with my insurance company for a property damage only claim where I am not at fault. I'm not saying you can't, I'm saying you shouldn't have to.

ever since I became 'enlightened' on insurance company 'business practices' (mind you, this was back in 2001), I have done it the way I have explained (sometimes not even notifing my insurance company at all). I have been paid on all claims, in a timely manner, but the others insurance company. My carrier has not tried once to cancel me since.

I'm still with Nationwide btw.

And yes, I do get rear-ended that often.