Star43
Buckeye
As so Often, a lot depends on the "Adjuster". Most are ok, and some aren't worth a crap. So many times people will judge a whole company on the actions of just a few......
Car insurance story !!!
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Star43
Buckeye
To be fair when talking about driving in the "passing" lane. Yes the far left lane lane is always supposed to be for passing. BUT that depends where you live and your location. For example, if you live in Socal, mainly the LA area, there is no passing lane as everything is bumper to bumper. People can't even move and just try to switch from lane to lane to lane to just move. The same for up north in the Bay Area. Bumper to bumper. There are Way to many cars and Way to many people there. So it depends on the situation and the location. All the big cities in CA. I don't know how they do it. I go there for business reasons occasionally and it stresses me out big time.
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KS25-06
Single-Sixer
When I was a kid, folks had State Farm, so that was what I used until I was married several years. We used to have a lot of pheasants in SW Ks. One year we had seven windshields replaced in our 3 vehicles from rocks coming off uncovered trucks and pheasants. Once, took the wife to the repair shop to pick up her car after replacing the broken windshield from a pheasant commenting suicide, driving back home another one did the same thing. Back to the body shop. We got a nasty letter saying they were going to cancel our insurance if we filed another claim. Called them and reminded them how much they had made from our premiums over the years without filing claims. Had many other problems with them until they told us we could not attach a garage to our double wide. Said they would cancel our insurance. Told them what to do with their insurance and went to Farm Bureau. No problems with them. I wholly agree with the statement that it is the local agent that makes a company very good or very bad!!
I was with Allstate from way back in 1978 until recently---rates were fair until recently and service was good until recently---then the bean counters took over and Allstate hired an "outside company" to set pay-out claims. Of course, the outside company always set the lowest pay out amounts because then Allstate could use their recommended pay outs as an excuse to pay out less! Big surprise right?
Then my wife had a very minor car accident that was deemed her fault and the prices went thru the roof!! I left after all those years and got better coverage for much less...
Then my wife had a very minor car accident that was deemed her fault and the prices went thru the roof!! I left after all those years and got better coverage for much less...
freakindawgen
Single-Sixer
Back in '82 I wasn't ding to good financially. I had a hotrod Mustang that wasn't ins or tagged but put the tag from another car that quit running and ran an errand. Just past my subdivision they just turned on the new overhead signals. I stop and car behind me slammed into my car. She apologized and gave me her ins but begged me to not call police. Sure. Well she became scarse and so I called her ins co. There wasn't a police report so no pmt. Soooo, called up a State Trooper and he met me at the gas station by my house. Asked where my tag was, said I pulled it after the accident. So he filled one out and we shot the breeze for a while, then another Trooper pulled in, with his brand new 6" Colt Python in shiny chrome. We all checked out and said goodbye. After sending report in, got $900.
USAA does not use independent agents as far as I know. Sure wouldn't want Liberty Mutual.
My last insurance experience. Have lived in Iowa all my life and for well over 40 years my wife and me have always had Pekin insurance on both our home and autos. We have had minimal claims on our vehicles and never filed a claim on our home. Then this spring we received notification from them that they were not doing business in the state any longer and we would have to find another insurer. Too many storm related claims in our state evidently.
My mom had Allstate since the 60's (She worked at Sears). Fast forward a few decades (and new agent) where she had three accidents in one year. None of them where remotely her fault (someone made a left turn in front of her, some drunk plowed into the back of her at a red light, Some one pulled out of a side street into her). Allstate raised her rates because she was a "Risk" and said that one more accident would cause them to drop her. My dad told them to go to h*** and promptly dropped them.
protoolman
Service-Sixer
Allstate was my insurance as well as my dad's. Never made a claim in something like 60 years. Then they kept jacking the rates to the point we all dropped them. USAA is usually one of the highest quotes you will get. They cater to military but they never say they're cheaper. It's just like the signs at businesses that say we support our Veterans. It's sounds nice but most don't actually do anything for veterans.
This is NOT true. I worked for one of the major insurance companies and we were told to "look for ways to pay claims". We had a saying "pay what we owe, no more no less". I would have gotten in more trouble paying too little for a claim, than over paying.
Star43
Buckeye
I too have heard that saying before over the years.
Star43
Buckeye
Now to be fair, yes I have heard that term before, but do you want to know how many times I got in a bit of trouble, as an agent, pushing for a claim to be paid ? I have been told straight in the face eye to eye, by a company rep....."Why did you sell that account ? What were you thinking ? I turned beet red and told that jerk .....Do you think I knew that a homeless guy was going to start a fire in the back of the building !!! I just wanted to smack him so bad ....This is what folks don't understand about the business. Yes, they will pay the claim, and yes they will direct an adjuster to do right by the customer, but after claim is paid, I GET a visit by a couple of folks asking me why "I" put the company in that position !!!! It always has to fall back on someone, and that someone especially on the commercial side was ME.....I have had dreams of bad things happening to my clients & I wake up in a cold sweat ....God is my witness. Always over the years, when something did happen, I would just say: "Sheeeet", because of what happened to my client and what was going to happen to me a few months down the line. It is what is called "Loss Ratio"..it keeps a good agent nervous if you can get my drift. So yes you want your clients taken care of, but who is going to hear about it when it is all paid out and done ....the agent is who the company calls....
The independent agent whose customers NEVER filed a claim is likely called a "former agent."
Similarly, a company customer-credit manager's job is to not take any risk when deciding whether to extend credit. Why? Because he's evaluated on customer receivable write-offs. Many such credit managers figured out that the best way to have no write-offs was to extend no credit.
Many "expert" consultants advise that a company can best improve/restore its profitability by cutting its administrative personnel costs. And to an extent, that is good advice. The problem is, one second after that last administrative employee is fired, the company goes out of business. No salesmen = no sales. No independent agents = no insurance premium income for the company.
Better consultant's advice: Replace the management person who authorized the HIRING of unnecessary administrative personnel in the first place. This puts in place the axiom: an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
Companies succeed by delivering a better-than-the-competition product at a fair market price, then delivering better-than-the-competition customer service. "And nothing else matters."
Industrial engineer Edwards Deming developed the principles of total quality management and unsuccessfully attempted to get US companies to adopt those principles. He lost to the Madison Avenue marketing types whose mantra was "sell, sell, sell." So Deming went to post-WW II Japan to preach his philosophy. The Japanese quickly adopted Deming's principles and began kicking US hiney. Shining stars of Deming's philosophy were Honda and Toyota.
Deming's principle was very simple: identify and eliminate ALL non-value-added costs. Product warranty costs are triggered most often by poor-quality product design and poor-quality manufacturing process design. Warranty costs are nothing other than symptoms of product design/manufacturing process design failures.
Our weapons' warranty work are perfect illustrations of this. PO'd at Ruger? S&W? Etc.? Blame the designers/developers and their higher-ups.
Similarly, a company customer-credit manager's job is to not take any risk when deciding whether to extend credit. Why? Because he's evaluated on customer receivable write-offs. Many such credit managers figured out that the best way to have no write-offs was to extend no credit.
Many "expert" consultants advise that a company can best improve/restore its profitability by cutting its administrative personnel costs. And to an extent, that is good advice. The problem is, one second after that last administrative employee is fired, the company goes out of business. No salesmen = no sales. No independent agents = no insurance premium income for the company.
Better consultant's advice: Replace the management person who authorized the HIRING of unnecessary administrative personnel in the first place. This puts in place the axiom: an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
Companies succeed by delivering a better-than-the-competition product at a fair market price, then delivering better-than-the-competition customer service. "And nothing else matters."
Industrial engineer Edwards Deming developed the principles of total quality management and unsuccessfully attempted to get US companies to adopt those principles. He lost to the Madison Avenue marketing types whose mantra was "sell, sell, sell." So Deming went to post-WW II Japan to preach his philosophy. The Japanese quickly adopted Deming's principles and began kicking US hiney. Shining stars of Deming's philosophy were Honda and Toyota.
Deming's principle was very simple: identify and eliminate ALL non-value-added costs. Product warranty costs are triggered most often by poor-quality product design and poor-quality manufacturing process design. Warranty costs are nothing other than symptoms of product design/manufacturing process design failures.
Our weapons' warranty work are perfect illustrations of this. PO'd at Ruger? S&W? Etc.? Blame the designers/developers and their higher-ups.
I've had USAA as my car insurer for almost 60 years, and use them for my home insurance as well. Yes they are somewhat more pricey than other companies, but their service on claims is outstanding. Over the years I have had a few cars totaled in accidents and USAA paid me well above the Kelly Blue Book value for that particular car. Back in 2020 we were hit with an F1 tornado that knocked down 12 trees in my front and back yards. Other than the trees themselves we did not suffer much damage from the downed trees, but USAA, based on photos that I sent them, very generously estimated the damage to my fencing, children's play set, and my camping trailer and paid me far more than I could ever have expected. For example, they estimated the damage to my backyard fence at $500 but all I needed to do was to replace three fence slats which took me all of 5 minutes and about $3 for the slats. USAA is costly but their claims service is second to none.
GasGuzzler
Hunter
Severity is indicated by energy displaced which uses speed as a factor. Also, speed does in fact, matter on some of the original design systems. Not only were they designed to NOT go off under a certain speed, some had a calibrated ball bearing on a calibrated magnet that when unseated, would trigger the bags. Speed does make a difference.
I've never had an air bag deploy. So far all my collisions have been me being rear ended. But I have seen what happens to the folks who hit me.
In every single case the people were belted in. None of the impacts would have resulted in any significant injury. But every single one had significant face trauma from the bag. Two were wearing glasses. One had a very serious eye injury that required surgery and almost resulted in loss of vision in that eye.
There should be a kill switch that the people can use to turn them off if so desired.
In every single case the people were belted in. None of the impacts would have resulted in any significant injury. But every single one had significant face trauma from the bag. Two were wearing glasses. One had a very serious eye injury that required surgery and almost resulted in loss of vision in that eye.
There should be a kill switch that the people can use to turn them off if so desired.
wheelgun1958
Buckeye
I'm waiting to see the results of TX discontinuing annual safety checks.
My insurance on my truck just went up from $900 to $1250 a year. I have never filed a claim and my entire driving offense record for close to 50 years of driving is 1 seatbelt violation.... When I asked about the large increase I was told that they have had to pay out for an increase in auto thefts. I think I am going to check out some other insurance companies and see what they offer.
GypsmJim
Single-Sixer
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2011
- Messages
- 439
After finding out I was eligible I joined USAA. I have an account with them, a password, yada yada. My Dad was a disabled WWII veteran. When I went to get a quote for auto insurance, after filling out all the pertinent info on the car, I was directed to LM. I DID go thru the paperwork and found the rate was crap. That's all I know.
Star43
Buckeye
Check out AAA........my neighbor has it and is happy .....I only do commercial insurance...I use to use Kemper, but they left CA.....a lot of, if not most of everything, is your location. Where I live I have Grange Ins....they were the best rates I found and they treat people right. So you should compare especially with your great record. Ask your company for "Loss Runs"......That will signal to them "big time" that you are unhappy and looking to move...Other companies will want to see your loss runs anyway...If there are any credits available on your account, they will appear magically...Loss runs show your account history with your company. Ask for 5 years loss runs ....they will definitely think you are talking to an agent ....and in a way, right now, you are.
