UNEXPECTED PREMIUM INCREASE

by Guest » Fri Dec 10, 2010 11:32 am
Guest

I make insurance payments through automatic bank withdrawls. I noticed that my last withdrawl was exceptionally high. I phoned my American Family Agent to ask about this and was told that since my adult daughter is now living with me she must be assigned to one of my vehicles as a drive and that this caused my premiums to rise. Not only was I not notified about this, it was done without my knowledge or consent. I explained that my daughter had her own vehicle and her own insurance policy through another company. I was told that this did not matter. My only options were to "exlude" her from my policy which means that she would not even be covered in my vehicles as a passenger, have her submit a letter saying that she no longer lives with me (this would be a lie) or pay the higher premiums. I came up with a couple of other options. I contacted the WA State Insurance Commissioner and was told that American Family could have informed me of their intent and that my daugher could have provided a declaration stating that she had her own vehicle and her own coverage which would have remedied this situation. Since they did not my conclusion is that this Agent is deceptive and unethical. I have since filed a formal complaint with the WA State Insurance Commissioner asking them to look into this. By the way, they knew my daugher lived with me because she used to have insurance through them and became so dissatisfied that she moved her business. Guess they had to make up the lost business some how!

Total Comments: 2

Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 12:24 am Post Subject:

My only options were to "exlude" her from my policy which means that she would not even be covered in my vehicles as a passenger,



When you exclude your daughter, it is an exclusion as a covered DRIVER only. It has nothing to do with her as a PASSENGER in one of your vehicles.

Although they should have extended the courtesy of notifying you in advance and giving you the option of covering or excluding your daughter, it may be that your contract permits them to add you daughter without prior notice. You'll have to read your contract to know for sure. If the language is not there, then your complaint to the WA DOI should be upheld.

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 12:53 am Post Subject: debit

That's a good reason why it's not always a good idea to allow an automatic debit for some things. For car ins. I know what date it's due so I just log in and pay it..I see the amount and that's all they get..

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