Worth it to switch insurers?

[Delawaredave5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by utrecht These companies know full well that you don't want to leave. Its a hassle and there's always the fear of the unknown. All of them take advantage of that. Insurance companies, cable, internet, phone. They all do it. If you were a new customer and got a quote from the company you currently have, you can bet your quote would be lower than it is now. This irks me. .

I agree. I've found cable and other utilities will negotiate and price match.

But I've not found insurance companies to budge.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[utrecht]

Are you sure the arsonist woman went to Federal prison? None of those crimes sound like Federal offenses and the Feds dont give time off for good behavior. Also, wouldnt the restitution go to your insurance company?

[Sarah in SC]

Gosh, Skip, what a sad, sad story. You have an amazing perspective on your losses as compared to the man's widow and family. And you are right, you can rebuild a house and replace possessions, but never life itself. Thank you for sharing the story, though it must be painful to recount.

[JoeWras]

Wow, that is a story.

skip: are you available for hire? Man you build a nice house!

On SAFECO, when my dad ran the car through his garage, they paid and fixed everything (car and garage) quickly and with no issues.

We recently changed from Big Company "SF" due to incredible price raises and bad service. Went to Amica. We'll see how that turns out. Been happy so far, but they are a bit pricey. Change from SF wasn't much different in price, but the service has been better. And I just talking service outside of a claim. Not sure how a claim will go but the word is Amica is pretty good.

[skipro33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by utrecht Are you sure the arsonist woman went to Federal prison? None of those crimes sound like Federal offenses and the Feds dont give time off for good behavior. Also, wouldnt the restitution go to your insurance company?

Did I say Federal prison? She went to state prison. The Feds were there as she burned some BLM land as part of the fires. I got a chance to speak with both the Federal and the state deputy district attorneys who were assigned to the case during the civil hearings after the criminal court case was completed.

Vehicular manslaughter can be charged as a misdemeanor (minor crime with a maximum punishment of a year in county jail or only a fine) or a felony (punishable by a term in state prison) depending on the circumstances. Gross negligence or driving a few miles over the speed limit might be charged as a misdemeanor, but drunk driving resulting in a fatality is most likely treated as a felony.

Felony Arson is the crime of willful and malicious burning of property, including buildings, structures, vehicles, or parks, forests and preserves, where the value of the property or the amount of the damage caused is over $500. If less than $500, the offense is a first degree misdemeanor.

In this instance she went to Central California Women's Facility, also known as Chowchilla Prison.

My information comes to me mainly from my court appointed victim's advocate, an employee of the district attorney's office. They tell me where she is, status of her release, where she is living, etc. I have a court order that she not contact me after her husband tried to get me to drop the restitution order. He says I should forgive her as it's the Christian thing to do and that she'll never be able to live a normal life with that high of a restitution order hanging over her. I told him that forgiveness doesn't negate responsibility. It's like this; let's say I fathered a child out of wedlock. God can forgive me for my sin but I'm still responsible to take financial action for the child. So it is with this woman; I can forgive her, so I can move on, but she needs to take responsibility and do what she can, to make at least an effort and show that she's taken the responsibility and try to reverse the damage she caused. In this case, she hasn't at all. Oh, well... I've got a life to live and I'm not going to waste a second of it trying to force her to make right. The last thing I need is a woman who twists this into me taking advantage of her. After all, look what a fine house I have now. Her mind can twist the restitution order into something that she could conceivably resent towards me and maybe get drunk and victimize us again. No, an ex-cop that spent time in prison on my account is not someone I want to ever have to go up against.

[utrecht]

Now that makes more sense. Convicts are given double time for good behavior in state prison. The Feds make you do day for day of your sentence. Of course, Federal prisons are usually a lot nicer than state prisons.

BTW...can I move in with you?

[skipro33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeWras Wow, that is a story. skip: are you available for hire? Man you build a nice house! On SAFECO, when my dad ran the car through his garage, they paid and fixed everything (car and garage) quickly and with no issues.

Thanks for the compliment. I have the plans and given copies to a couple other folks. The hard part about building with logs is the engineering calculations. With dimensional lumber, it's easy to reconcile a load bearing on, say a 8x8 doug fir beam. It's not so easy on a Lodge Pole pine, 12" diameter that has been standing in the forest for 9 years after a fire. (My logs came from a Montana wild land fire where the logs were left to stand for 9 years before harvesting.) I've shown my home to many people over the past few years. Mostly to folks who either are either looking for recommendations for sub-contractors I hired or more importantly, I've volunteered as a advocate and offer to assist people who have lost their homes to fires. I have a photo album I put together and invite them over to take a look see for themselves what an insurance company should be providing as well as help them read their policy and put it into terms they can understand. I won't go into which companies are 'difficult' to process a claim through, but many are not as forthcoming with the policy provisions, making it the homeowner's responsibility to know what they are entitled to.

It's good to hear your dad has equal success with SAFECO too.

[skipro33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by utrecht BTW...can I move in with you?

Ha! After our home was completed, I had one of the young laborers stay here with us. He needed a place to stay and was polite. My sons didn't think so much of the idea. They thought we might be being taken advantage of. So, you'll have to get approval from the boys before I can take you in.

[skipro33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Thank you for sharing the story, though it must be painful to recount.

You are welcome, Sarah. The most painful part was that our dog, a yellow lab named Katie, didn't survive. She was older and the scene was chaotic. All the yellow smoke from the woods and grass fields burning made Katie blend in with her yellow color. She was old and when I yelled, she would go to her 'safe place' under my wife's desk where she had a pillow. There was lots of yelling and I think she sneaked back into the house and the door closed behind her. I realized she wasn't with us and headed back for her. My wife grabbed me and told me she was loosing everything we had together and she wasn't going to loose me too.

My wife was able to grab up our other dog, a pug mix, before driving off. Needless to say, Buttons is one spoiled dog!

[Sarah in SC]

Ok, finally, you made me cry, Skip. So sorry about Katie.

Buttons is adorable, and there is nothing quite like spoiling a little dog. Just ask my "giant Pomeranian" Biscuit, who is rotten, rotten, rotten! She has the same curved tail as Buttons, but just swathed in long black hair!