Got my policy with amica yesterday, can't thank you enough, $660/year for full coverage FTW! EVEN WITH A SPEEDING TICKET!

Lucky225

xkevin

Traveler18

Lucky225

Snarkysnake

Insurance can seem overpriced, but how do you think $10,000 claims are paid out?

0x12is18

When we signed up, we disclosed the accident that "changed our policy" to the rep. I am not sure what he "fixed" in our plan, but it sure screwed everything up.

So today Ana got a phone call from Geico. They claim that there was a confusion and that the disclosed accident was not one I was at fault and there was another one a month later that I was at fault. Number one, why would that change anything? I would still only be at fault for one accident. Number two, I was not involved with two accidents in the timeframe they claim there was a confusion about. Just the one.

The whole thing is a mess. Yes, this is dealing with insurance companies, but we did pay for our plan that first day, just to find out weeks later that we not only never had coverage that whole time and our insurance cards that THEY MAILED US were apparently fake, but that our insurance was well over $100 a month more than the original quote that we signed up for.

Oh, and for reference, insurance in South Florida (if not all of Florida) is incredibly expensive. And it is a no-fault state. And they require personal injury protection as well.

Oh happy days.

Thank you for posting this. We still have hopes of working this out.

Dan

redcorsair

Don't know about other states, but here in NJ if you want to switch insurance companies, you sign up with a new company, cancel the old one, and get a pro-rated refund. If the OP felt ripped off, she should have found a new company and punted GEICO.

BTW, I've been pleased with GEICO's claims service. Had a couple of comprehensive claims which were handled online within 10 min. Both were windshield claims and GEICO arranged the repair (at my home, at a time of my choosing) and done professionally within a day or two.

Maezels

However, if GEICO cashed the check, or accepted cash, or otherwise debited the enrollee's bank account, the enrollee was covered. Then, when GEICO discovered the fraud, they terminated the contract and so notified the OP.

In Georgia, when I bought a new car, I was covered the instant my verbal agreement with the third-party agent occurred. It was subject to later underwriting, but until and unless the terms needed modification, I was covered.

Folks, it's the agents like this turd who cost us all. In my opinion, we sheep who willingly go along when we know, or should know, we are gaming the system, are every bit as culpable. I make no specific representation as to the OP. But I have seen countless instances where "adults" accept more change than they are due, or otherwise take advantage. These fools are no better than any Countrywide or ENRON officer. Think about it.

Trojan69

I have heard good things about USAA too, if you are eligible.

highmodulus

Maybe you and I just got good agents? I don't know how typical the ease is.

Buran

I've had a couple of claims through state farm and I've been nothing but pleased with my experiences. All I did was tell them where I would be getting my car fixed and they took care of the rest. Granted, in all of my accidents, I was not the guilty party so I never paid out of pocket and never saw my rates go up.

myasir

NO insurance quote is firm until you have undergone underwriting. Home, renter's, auto, health, life - ALL of them go through a process called "underwriting" and that does NOT happen overnight. 48-72 hours sounds about right.

The Geico rep should have informed Ana that the rate quote was preliminary, non-binding, and contingent on underwriting (although they are not required to say that.)

What chaps my ass is that stuff like this isn't taught in schools. EVERYONE has to buy insurance at some point in their life. It's not fun, it's not easy, but it's universal - and you need to know what you're doing.

Would Ana have bought a big HDTV without first finding out about connections, formats, and display types? Probably not. However, people wing through an insurance contract (an expensive, long-term contract!) like they're buying a pizza! Insane.

I know, I know, the Geico commercials have a lot to do with that - all talking about easy instant quotes, etc.

Regardless, Geico actually did nothing wrong here, and I'm amazed that so many people are flabbergasted at the newfangled concept of underwriting an insurance contract.

Consumerist, Ana and her husband did not sign a contract. They got a quote, put down a deposit, and the insurance company actually initiated coverage before a contract was signed out of good faith. They'll do that.

Here's another brainblower for you guys, but take it to heart. Even after the policy is underwritten and a contract signed, you're not out of the woods yet.

Insurance companies have a 60 day grace period from contract initiation, in most states (and this is part of the contract), in which they can cancel you for any reason. It's rare, but it does happen.

So, the prudent thing to do with car insurance actually is to buy your new policy, wait 60 days, then cancel the other policy retroactively. (Yes, you can do that too.)

You'll pay double for 2 months, but you'll get the double-coverage premiums from the old company back (it's the law) and you won't risk being uninsured after an administrative cancellation, which can screw you even further.

tcp100

silentnight913

And frankly, I'd be happy if my insurance company made most of their mistakes on the claims of people who are claiming against me. ;)

BeThisWay

Ana and her husband signed a contract for one rate and then got charged another.

I wish the Consumerist's writers knew what they were talking about.

ecwis

fizzyg

EyeHeartPie

The last time I did some comparison shopping, the major companies (Geico Progressive, Allstate) couldn't come close enough to matching the price with the multi-policy discount applied. The only company that could was one I had never heard of before, and their price was still higher than the additional Safe Driver Discounts State Farm applied to my policy.

MercuryPDX

That was back when I was 18, now at 25 I'm paying about $700 a year, but that's also because my car is so old I don't carry collision.

theblackdog

A friend of my husband's sister hit my husband's parked car. They had State Farm and it was a mess trying to get them to actually get the work done. They even ended up putting down that the accident was my husband's fault (yeah, if parking your car legally means that it's your fault when someone hits it). I don't know how they treat their own customers, but they were very unprofessional about taking care of getting our car fixed. Because of that dealing with them, we won't ever be giving them our money.

samurailynn

verucalise

verucalise

Well of course customers that switch pay less, otherwise they wouldn't switch to you! But that has no bearing on the experience that the person watching the commercial will have.

redragon104

So Geico isn't prehistoric, they're ahead of their time.

TechnoDestructo

chl

I dealt with them ONCE.

Walked into a Geico office in Moreno Valley, Ca. A woman tossed some paperwork toward me and said "here, fill this out". I walked out instead and will never do business with them, even if they manage the best rate which is HIGHLY doubtful.

I went to Progressive, who insures my Motorcycle, they showed a better rate at another company so I went with that company for my car insurance. Of course Geico wasn't on the list at all. No other company has beat their rate for my motorcycle though at under $100 a year.

framitz

It's State Farm Mutual so policy holders are part owners. I've gotten back a check each year for about $50 labeled "dividends."

Side plug for personal property insurance - I insure my five computers this way for about $30 per year - no deductible. Who needs Best Buy's extended warranty?

Xerloq

I'm pretty sure that contract indicated that the price is subject to verification ie: MVR, Claims Loss History, Homeonwership, et al.

toddkravos

...that they need to figure out together how to reply to you. More than likely the best time to figure that out is in the middle of the front nine during the Wednesday Nassau down at the Club. Things get serious on the back nine and neither the Insurance Commissioner nor the Executive VP of your insurance want to be bothered by some silly work issue.

Ausoleil

When you goto to geico and ask for a "quote", they quote you based on a customer who has an "average risk". The money you are paying upfront is not directed towards a specific policy or rate, but your account in general.

Insurance companies know people don't want to wait for insurance cards(due to impulse car buying) so the insurance companys give you you a policy based on a quote and reserve the right to change that once they have a better history on the driver. HECK, they can change your rates at any point and for any reason. In a court, all they have to say is the customer's "risk" changed. I'm sure they could easily proove that in a court of law.

Now the original CSR should of made that clear to you upfront, but that is bad customer service. Unless geico said "this is your insurance rate, and it will never change" (which I doubt) then the OP is just an ignorant of how bad insurance companies are, but they are well with in their legal right.

PrestonBerryworth

All in all, this is why you should go through an agent. Many times they can be more knowledable about what may impact a premium than the reps who intially create the policy directly with the company, as the Agent sees the writing of the policy as well what can happen after it is written.

AlteredBeast

JohnMc

jpx72x

A week later my Allstate rate was magically cut in half.

Also as an aside, Geico was the most expensive of all of the insurance options I checked. More than double my current rate and I've never had an auto claim or poor credit.

mexmexmex2000

mexmexmex2000

Of course, we'll see what happens next year when my oldest daughter starts driving...(the thought alone makes me shutter).

MPHinPgh

I have a feeling their is more to this story that she is telling us. Buying insurance is not like buying goods in a store. Insurance companies are providing protection for themselves and you in case something happens. No insurance broker would give you a quote withought doing a background check on claims you have made. All phone claims are estimates based on the information you provide them but when they do a background check if they find something else then the quote is invalid and they reserver the right to give you a new quote.

THIS IS THE CASE WITH ALL INSURANCE COMPANIES INCLUDING PROGRESSIVE ETC....

My guess is she did not provide all the information on the 2005 accident and underwritting discovered more. A $400 (every 6 months) increase in premium for a parking lot nitch is EXCESSIVE!! So obviously there is more to this story than is being told.

dmartinez

I was an insurance agent for many years and I hated it when I made a mistake on a rate. It didn't happen often, but it did happen occasionally. Not only is it not law that insurers have to meet the rate quoted, if there's an error it's against the law for them to do so. Insurance rates are filed with the state, and insurers are not at liberty to give someone a lower rate because of an error. I always explained the reason for the error (sometimes theirs, sometimes mine) so it was fully understood. Sometimes the person took the higher-rated policy, and sometimes they didn't want to and then I helped them get their old policy back (why I ALWAYS told people not to cancel their old policy until the new one was issued), or I did what I could to help them find coverage elsewhere.

Because Geico's business is run only over the phone and computer you see many more not-well-trained agents. I always recommend insuring with a company that has local agents, where there's more accountability and you can create relationships.

Remember that rates come in lower than quoted, too. You don't hear about it because no one writes to Consumerist to complain. And that happens a lot, too.

BeThisWay

bufftbone

Munsoned

scoosdad

They have given us superior service.

loganmo

pepe the king prawn

HighontheHill

prehaps the op had derogatory information on her credit history. geico wants your credit history to determine your "true" policy risk (at least that's what geico said).

so basically i was told that you can have a perfect driving record, but some minor problems in your credit file & they just (seemingly) arbitrarily jack up your rates.

pepe the king prawn

BalknChain

@PeteCarrollInACage: "You'd" also think I would check comments on a site before clicking submit, but you'd be wrong there.

PeteCarrollInACage

Geico insisted I was a "preferred customer," but would only lower the rate about $200/year, still more than 3X what I was paying before. I paid for 1 month, just long enough to find another company, but for mysterious reasons, Geico took my money and immediately canceled my insurance without telling me. Now I have non-Geico insurance.

I've been thinking about this lately, and it seems whenever Warren Buffett/ Berkshire Hathaway get their mitts on a company, it turns to greed and high prices and less service--there was a time several years ago when Geico was great to do business with. See's Candy has had the same sorts of problems, although they only doubled, not tripled their prices. I just heard on the news this a.m. that Buffett is after Wrigley (candy).

ChuckECheese

For those of your with any sort of assets, really think about an umbrella policy. Not much money for a lot of protection.

highmodulus

dwarf74

PeteCarrollInACage

I'd call, talk to a manager, and insist they honor the original quote. Threaten to take it to the department of insurance. If they don't comply, do so.

They will only have to honor their misquote for one policy term, so you may want to shop around otherwise.

I work for an insurance company, and was formerly a licensed agent. The law is pretty definite on this sort of thing.

I, personally, would never go through an insurance company where I don't have a real agent. I'm with the Farm, and have been very happy. I work for another company, and our agents do a good job, too.

dwarf74

snoop-blog

myasir

APFPilot

What does the "I fixed it" part mean? Did he make the accident suddenly disappear?

graffiksguru

aphexbr

Me

statnut

I stopped selling car insurance years ago ;)

I am going to add my voice to the chorus and switch to progressive. I doubt that AAA-Midatlantic (my current insurance co), exists in your area but there may be a Florida equivalent.

sleze69

Sir Winston Thriller

pjcurry

@Lucky225: And progressive isn't a hell of a lot better. I'd recommend Amica. Their rates are about 1/4 of progressive and geico for me.

I had a six month policy with basic coverage with geico and progressive on my single car. When I switched to Amica following the advice of a coworker, I was able to get full coverage on my car, my fiancee's car, and on a twelve month policy for about half the price of geico and progressive.

workingonyourinvoice

Geekybiker

smartmuffin

1) State insurance commissioner.
2) State Attorney General.

File a complaint with either or both; this is exactly the sort of thing those offices are around for.

JiminyChristmas

Lucky225

Now the agent already gave you the cheaper rate and doesnt know what to do, so he lied to you and gave you the higher rate (with the higher down payment I might add).

Then what is sounds like he did is in a REALLY bad way of attempting to correct his mistake he post-dated your policy a month. The only reason would be that possibly your accident would then be 3 years old and no longer a factor in the rate. but he got caught with that as well.

if this was Geico direct you should be able to get them to honor the quote, if it was an agent then you will have a tougher battle. Technically whatever the agent offers the company has to follow through with because of the agent's "apparent authority" even if he just made a number up off the top of his head, but that can be very difficult resolve.

You do have the ability to go through the agents E & O insurance (errors and Omissions) for any screw up he made.

SteveZim1017

Lucky225

joeblevins

The initial CSR is not an underwriter. Yes they make a quote and sign you up. But sometimes poor risks like the complainer are not going to get a great rate. The complainer could have had a pretty serious accident or citation for the 'minor parking lot incident' ,but the MVR came back bad, or the insurance history report shows a huge pay out. Heck, it could be recorded completly different.
Looks like the insurance is trying to work with you. You can go sign up for insurance anywhere you want, but they still need to charge a resonable premium for the increased risk.

joeblevins

Glad you didn't get in trouble. Driving a car without insurance is ILLEGAL in many states, including mine (MO).

Buran

Buran

SteveZim1017

If you paid, that makes it a valid contract.
Sue them for the difference, lawyer fees, and to have the original contract reinstated.
Maybe just a well written letter from a lawyer is all you need.

r081984

CuriousO

mgy