I've spent the last several months doing what many of you do every day, battling with insurers who were suppose to pay on claims for two accidents I've been in.
No. I'm not a bad driver. These were two relatively minor accidents, neither of which involved my car. In one case, a car I rented was victimized by a hit and run driver. In the second, while attempting to park a 26 ft. moving truck along a narrow Philadelphia street, I grazed the fender of a parked 1996 Mercury Mystique. In both cases I made sure I was covered by insurance before either vehicle hit the streets. Better safe than sorry, right?
In the 25 years I've been driving, I've never caused an accident and only filed one claim. That was against the insurance company of a drunk driver who violently rear-ended my car. This time I figured things would go much easier, especially since no one was hurt and the damage wasn't major.
Was I wrong. I ended up spending weeks collecting information and faxing dozens of pages of paperwork to the insurers. When I wasn't doing that or making phone calls, I was agonizing over whether these insurers actually would come through or leave me holding the bag due to some technicality. At one point, the insurer for the moving truck said I wasn't covered and would have to pay for damages.
Ultimately, after a lot of pain, both insurers came through and paid the claims. Not that this story has a happy ending.
Both insurers contacted my car insurance company to determine if I had rental coverage that might mitigate their responsibilities. One even threatened to report me to the Ohio BMV for being in an accident if I didn't turn over my insurer information (an odd threat since the police weren't involved and there was no citation). So, now my insurer is aware of the accidents – one of which wasn't my fault and the other involving a one-time rental of a big truck. Once again, I'm agonizing over insurance, this time worrying whether my insurer will drop me, and if it does, what kind of rates I'll be paying to another company. It's like a bad dream with no end in sight.
Of course, I'm one of millions of people with stories like this. Millions more have had worse experiences. Most shops regularly battle insurers to receive payment they believe to be fair. I'm not writing this simply to blast insurers. They provide a valuable service for consumers. They also rake in billions of dollars performing these services.
My complaint is that, as an industry, insurers have created an environment of fear and mistrust. They market their products and services as helping consumers maintain peace of mind, yet it's just that peace they disturb when it's their time to pay. They may have paid both claims, but don't feel like I got the service I paid for. I feel more like I played a card game where the dealer can change the rules when he or she sees fit. And even if I win I lose. Maybe that's the point.
When you deal with insurers and play by their rules, you're always going to lose to some extent. Something to think about as you decide how to conduct your business.
Tim Sramcik
