Auto Insurance company goofs

[Chuckanut]

As I wrote in other messages my 2012 Camry was totaled while parked. The other guy’s insurance company made me an offer to pay for the car. After a few days of checking out prices I decided to accept the offer. Their rep explained the payment process to me and I was relieved.

A few minutes later the rep called to withdraw the offer. It seems nobody noticed that the insured’s property damage limit was thousands of dollars less than their offer.

Unbelievable! Nearly Two weeks of fussing with these guys and I now have to file a claim with my own insurance company to get compensated.

 

[REWahoo]

As I wrote in other messages my 2012 Camry was totaled while parked. The other guy’s insurance company made me an offer to pay for the car. After a few days of checking out prices I decided to accept the offer. Their rep explained the payment process to me and I was relieved.

A few minutes later the rep called to withdraw the offer. It seems nobody noticed that the insured’s property damage limit was thousands of dollars less than their offer.

Thousands less? How much was your 2012 Camry worth?

 

[Chuckanut]

Thousands less? How much was your 2012 Camry worth?

The Camry is worth about 13,000 to 14,000 dollars, plus sales tax. So the offer was for about $15,000.

The guy was only insured for a maximum of $10,000.

 

[REWahoo]

A few minutes later the rep called to withdraw the offer. It seems nobody noticed that the insured’s property damage limit was thousands of dollars less than their offer.

Hope that was embarrassing for the rep.

 

[athena53]

Pretty pitiful. I've always thought that the minimum required liability limits in most states were ludicrous but of course higher limits cost more and so raising them is never popular. It probably also results in more drivers dropping coverage. California is the worst- still sticking to $15,000 per person, $30,000 per accident and only $5,000 for property damage liability. Details by state here.

https://www.thebalance.com/understanding-minimum-car-insurance-requirements-2645473

 

[JoeWras]

Pretty pitiful. I've always thought that the minimum required liability limits in most states were ludicrous but of course higher limits cost more and so raising them is never popular. It probably also results in more drivers dropping coverage. California is the worst- still sticking to $15,000 per person, $30,000 per accident and only $5,000 for property damage liability. Details by state here.

https://www.thebalance.com/understanding-minimum-car-insurance-requirements-2645473

WOW! This is terrible! Have these legislators gone out and bought a car lately? Shameful.

This must make underinsured insurance in CA quite costly because there have to be a lot of claims.

 

[starry night]

Try Uninsured/Underinsured benefit

Often these are mandated coverages and bundled together.

“Uninsured motorist coverage protects you if you're in an accident with an at-fault driver who doesn't carry liability insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage, on the other hand, steps in when you're in an accident with an at-fault driver whose liability limits are too low to cover the damage or medical expenses.”

 

[Chuckanut]

Thankfully I have underinsured coverage. But it still may cost me the $1000 deductible. Well at least his insurance. company isn’t my insurance company.

 

[Chuckanut]

Hope that was embarrassing for the rep.

Had they emailed me their original offer, and I had it In writing, I wonder if they would have been required to honor it?

 

[scrabbler1]

Underinsured Motorists (UIM) coverage is a tricky coverage which works in different ways, depending on the state. In many states, it works as a difference-in-limits, or fill-in coverage where you can collect from UIM only the difference between the other driver's BI limit and your own UIMBI limit. That is the least broad type of UIM. In some other states, you can collect from your UIM up to your UIM limit if the other driver's BI limit is not enough to cover your own damages. That is the broadest type of UIM. There is also a third type of UIM which is hybrid of the two types I described.


This doesn't take into account any "stacking" of UM/UIM limits which occurs if you have more than one car on your policy. In "stacking," you can a least double the policy limits by adding together the limits from more than one car.


Because each of these options are independent of each other, this means there are 6 different possibilities each for UM and UIM coverage.


I worked in the actuarial field for 23 years specializing in personal auto insurance before I retired 11 years ago. Developing enough programming options to handle all of the many different types and combinations of UM, UIM, with or without UM/UIMPD, with or without stacking (and there were a few different wrinkles on stacking, too) was a big PITA over the years. Sometimes, a state would enact a law change creating a new combination I hadn't already programmed. Made for good job security after a while!

 

[Bamaman]

Property Damage is the insurance that so many are grossly underinsured. Run into a telephone pole, light pole or fire hydrant and those with the minimal $10K coverage would be SOL.

A neighbor is a contractor and he just finished building a new church. The last building had a tractor trailer run through it. Wonder if they had sufficient property damage insurance.

 

[athena53]

I worked in the actuarial field for 23 years specializing in personal auto insurance before I retired 11 years ago. Developing enough programming options to handle all of the many different types and combinations of UM, UIM, with or without UM/UIMPD, with or without stacking (and there were a few different wrinkles on stacking, too) was a big PITA over the years. Sometimes, a state would enact a law change creating a new combination I hadn't already programmed. Made for good job security after a while!

Ah, stacking UM/UIM. How could I forget that? I also worked in the business and I remember when UM was cheap coverage, presumably because nearly everyone else carried insurance. Not anymore- and I see that some states also require purchase of minimum UM/UIM limits.

OP, your wheeling and dealing with the other driver's company at least established the amount of the claim. Hopefully your own company will accept that and save you time on their end.

 

[JoeWras]

I just got an extreme headache from reading this UM stacking thing. I don't know what you all are talking about, and I hope I never need to know. I got the max UM I could get on my policy and rechecked this year that it was the best Amica offers. Hoping I'm covered properly.

 

[scrabbler1]

Ah, stacking UM/UIM. How could I forget that? I also worked in the business and I remember when UM was cheap coverage, presumably because nearly everyone else carried insurance. Not anymore- and I see that some states also require purchase of minimum UM/UIM limits.

In the 1990s, computer technology made it easier for state DMVs to be notified when someone failed to pay their premiums. We found that electronic linkages between DMV and insurance company cancelation reports was a great way to drive down the uninsured rates. Other measures such as having to show proof of insurance whenever you got stopped by the police (instead of just when you were involved in an accident), or having to show proof of insurance before a car dealer could release a car they sold to you were effective, too, although that one could sometimes be overcome by the buyer. These measures varied widely from state to state, according to a study I saw in the early 1990s.

UM is mandatory in some states, but not too many. Even so, most people bought it anyway. That's for (UM)BI. UMPD was another animal altogether, with rules varying a lot by state.

 

[scrabbler1]

I just got an extreme headache from reading this UM stacking thing. I don't know what you all are talking about, and I hope I never need to know. I got the max UM I could get on my policy and rechecked this year that it was the best Amica offers. Hoping I'm covered properly.

Stacking was a headache to price, too, even with some programs I wrote to make things easier for my actuarial staff. I always liked working on a non-stacking state.