Warehouse stores sell more than just huge sacks of flour, vats of ketchup, and enough toilet paper to clean an army. You can also use a membership at places like Costco or BJ’s to buy everything from auto insurance to credit cards to home mortgages. But should you? [More]
Should I Also Be Picking Up Insurance And Mortgages When I Shop At Costco Or BJ’s?
By June 18, 2013
UPS Doesn’t Offer “Insurance,” Even If An Employee Tells You It Does
By June 12, 2013
The term “insurance” carries with it a boatload of connotations, so if you go into a UPS branch to ship a package and someone offers you “insurance” for a few extra dollars, you might think that you’ll be covered in case your shipment gets mangled along the way, but UPS employees are mis-using the term in order to upsell an add-on that doesn’t offer anywhere near the level of coverage one might expect. [More]
Verizon And Asurion Cast Me Into Smartphone Replacement Purgatory
By May 28, 2013
Smartphone replacement purgatory is a dreary and tragic state. When the tiny and fragile creatures called smartphones are defective, people who have come to depend on the pocket-sized computers and who are trapped in data plans are stuck. Their warranty or phone insurance plan might provide them with a replacement, and sometimes that replacement works fine. Other times, that replacement is just as their original phone, throwing the customer into a cycle of replacements that never ends. This is what happened to reader B. when she got a Motorola Droid less than two years ago. [More]
Before House Fire Flames Are Out, Contractors And Adjusters Drum Up Business
By May 20, 2013
When a house catches fire, there can be more than one type of first responder. There are the life-saving fire department and emergency medical services…and then there are the businesspeople selling repair and cleanup services, who sometimes arrive at the scene at the same time as the official first responders. Instead of hoses, axes, and ladders, these crews carry clipboards, contracts, and business cards. [More]
UPDATE: Travel Insurer Decides To Listen To Customer’s Doctor After Public Shaming
By May 3, 2013
Last month, we told you about a California woman whose travel insurance claim was denied because the insurance company posed her doctor a single yes/no question rather than let him explain his patient’s condition. After being shamed in public, the insurer is changing its tune — at least for this case. [More]
If You’re Not The GEICO Pig, You Should Probably Have Your Paper Insurance Card Handy
By April 2, 2013
Unless you’re like me and the sight of the GEICO pig on your TV has you instantly lunging for the mute button, you may have seen the ads where the porcine insurance shill blabs on about the convenience of having his insurance card on his smartphone. That’s nice and all, but it won’t currently fly in most states. [More]
USPS Hasn’t Paid Insurance Claim After 14 Months, Says “Investigations Take Time”
By February 27, 2013
It can take months or years of investigation to bring a criminal matter to trial, and complicated insurance matters can often drag on for extended periods of time without resolution. But does the U.S. Postal Service really need more than a year to pay a $30 insurance claim? [More]
Radio Shack Kiosk Worker Screws Up, Gets Our Phone Insurance Canceled
By January 24, 2013
What happens when you do the responsible thing and buy insurance for your shiny and expensive new smartphone, but the insurance gets canceled because of an error that wasn’t yours? Well…Bill and his girlfriend aren’t sure. When the employee at a Radio Shack kiosk at their local Target billed a Mastercard gift card instead of their credit card or phone bill, the insurance got canceled early on. Three months in. Then, of course, his girlfriend dropped the phone. [More]
MetLife Caught Penalizing Drivers Who Weren’t At Fault In Accidents
By January 15, 2013
This story isn’t just about possible malfeasance by MetLife insurance in Massachusetts. It’s also a good example for why screwed-over consumers should file complaints with regulatory agencies. [More]
More Than 1/3 Of Americans Paid More For Insurance In 2012
By January 14, 2013
If the amount of money you paid for insurance last year went up, you are not alone. According to a new survey, 37% of Americans paid more for home, health, auto, or life insurance in 2012, while only 7% of people saw their insurance bill shrink. [More]
Former Asurion Staffer Shares Insider Tips On Making Cellphone Insurance Claims
By December 17, 2012
Anyone who has seen our numerous stories about readers dealing with Asurion, the insurance provider for an awful lot of wireless companies, knows that it might not always be the most pleasant experience. Now, a former front-line customer service rep at Asurion has written in to shed some light on what CSRs can and can’t do, and the best (and worst) ways to file your claim. [More]
Illness Forces Woman To Cancel Cruise, But She’s Not Ill Enough To Make Travel Insurance Claim
By December 4, 2012
UPDATE: TripMate has provided Consumerist with a statement, which has been added to the bottom of the post. [More]
To Save Homeowners On Insurance Deductibles Governors Insist Sandy Wasn’t A Hurricane
By November 1, 2012
Hurricane? What hurricane? Oh, Sandy? She was just a superstorm, say governors in states impacted by Sandy earlier this week. See, if she was a hurricane, homeowners would have to pay out anywhere from 1% to 5% of their homes’ values before insurance coverage would kick in. But if she wasn’t, as the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are saying, that deductible doesn’t have to be met. That will likely result in huge savings for homeowners. Nice. [More]
Safeco Waits 57 Days To Inspect House Under Fungus Attack, Only Pays 5% Of Repair Costs
By November 1, 2012
When your house is being devoured by a rare fungus, the last thing you want is for the insurance company to drag its feet in checking the problem out. Actually, that’s second-to-last. The last thing you want is for the insurance company to pay you pennies on the dollar for the repairs. [More]
Man’s Insurance Won’t Pay For Prosthetic Legs, He Turns To Selling Doughnuts To Raise Funds
By November 1, 2012
What do you do if you need new legs and your insurance company won’t cover the cost? One man’s solution to such a quandary has led him to try and raise a whopping $120,000 for prosthetic legs by selling Krispe Kreme doughnuts in front of local stores in his South Carolina neighborhood. That’s a lot of doughnuts. [More]
Will Hurricane Sandy Leave Higher Insurance Rates In Its Path?
By October 30, 2012
People from the DC area to New England woke up this morning and began to check around their homes and property to see if they made it through Hurricane Sandy without being pummeled. But even if you’re not one of the ones wondering how your patio grill ended up in your attic, you might still be paying the price in higher insurance premiums. [More]
Pharmacists Confirm Pressure From Management To Refill Prescriptions Automatically
By October 25, 2012
Since we began following the stories of CVS pharmacists who appear to have been pressured into automatically refilling customers’ prescriptions, regardless of whether or not a refill has been requested, we’ve received enough e-mails from from both customers and pharmacists at a number of companies who say these are not isolated incidents. [More]
Verizon Uses Warranty-Voiding Photo To Sell Protection Plan
By October 25, 2012
The Verizon/Asurion Total Equipment Coverage Plan looks neat sitting there on the shelf, with its pretty photo of a smartphone making a splash in a cool bin of water. As tipster and photo-taker Eric points out, though, why are they showing the phone plunging into a bin of water when the protection plan doesn’t cover water damage? We’ve heard from some people who know the plan well and who have pointed out that the plan has separate components: the Verizon part doesn’t cover liquid damage, but the insurance component from Asurion does. . However, intentionally throwing your phone in water in order to take a picture is still a bad idea. [More]
