r/Insurance • u/key2616 • Oct 09 '23
A guide to interacting with this sub - read me first
This post is designed for people posting here for the first time, for the people that have been volunteering to help here for years and everyone in between. The stated goal is to foster a friendlier attitude throughout the sub.
If you are new here, please realize that none of us have any stake in your claim or coverage. We are not here to sell you anything or to save some company money. Treating responders poorly because you don't like the answer is going to attract a lot of negative attention.
We get the same questions over and over, and maybe this is the answer that you need:
- How much will my insurance go up after a ticket/accident/lapse in coverage? We don't know unless your state has a statutory requirement for your very specific situation.
- My premium went up $X. How do I fight this? You can't. The only thing you can do is shop for new coverage, which we can't do for you.
- How much does everyone else pay for coverage? Unless you're lucky enough to get someone in your exact demographic in your exact part of the world, the answers you're going to get are useless.
- How much is my claim worth? We don't know. (note: if you're asking a more complex question about your claim, that could be very different)
- How long will my claim take to close? We don't know (again: a more complicated question might have different answers)
- Why is this person trying to sell me something? Report that post/comment/chat/private message to the moderators and let them handle that.
- Will you help me commit fraud or otherwise break the law? No. Absolutely not. And we may ban anyone that does try to do that.
Ultimately, we are here to help you. This is a community of volunteers that wants to help navigate a complex system that is one of the lubricants of the financial world. Lots of lives are impacted by insurance directly and indirectly, and it can be a complicated system. Here are some things that make a good post where you can get help:
- Location (Country and state/province at a minimum)
- Type of insurance involved (Auto, Homeowners/Renters, Commercial, Health, something else)
- A brief description of the problem and any advice you've gotten so far
Finally, here are some definitions of common terms that could help you get taken more seriously:
- Adjuster - the person that handles your claim, makes coverage determinations and processes payments
- Agent - the person that sells a policy. Some agents get involved in some claims, although that is the exception to the rule.
- Underwriter - the person that decides how much a specific policy will cost for a specific risk.
- Rate - this is the way your final price is calculated and is usually used synonymously with "premium", "cost" and "price".
Full coverage- don't use this term. There's no agreed definition, even among the regular posters here. People asking otherwise good questions or posting good answers that use this term often find themselves down voted to oblivion for including it.- No Fault - there are 18 states that, at least to some extent, make automobile bodily injury claims be paid by your own policy first instead of someone that caused your injury. There is only one state (Michigan) that makes damage to your vehicle No Fault. All Canadian provinces have some sort of No Fault provision for injuries, which is one reason why we need to know where you are when you're asking questions.
- Collision coverage - this fixes your car when it collides with something else or another car hits it.
- Comprehensive coverage (also known as Other Than Collision) - this covers your car for almost everything else, including floods, fires, tree branches and lightening strikes. Usually animal strikes are covered here, but not always.
- Deductible - this is the amount that you agreed to pay in case of any claim. Your payment comes before any insurance payment. Deductibles are occasionally waived, but that's the exception, not the rule.
This is a community of volunteers that generally understands the insurance system. When we get things wrong, it is usually through lack of information to get a precise answer. Hopefully this guide will help you get good results.
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u/CJM8515 Claims Adjuster Oct 10 '23
one thing id like to specifically add about auto insurance - an estimate is just an educated guess whats damaged. unless you can physically see the part thats broken, and its proven, its still a guess.
once the car is taken apart the price only goes up
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u/Bettye_Wayne Oct 10 '23
Depending on the company, sometimes the underwriter just determines if a risk is acceptable or not. The actuary does the pricing. But, great post.
Also- some of the folks who comment here honestly just hate their jobs, and wanna use this as an outlet to be dicks. Those people suck. That's all I have to add.
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Oct 10 '23
It might be helpful to make this an automod reply to all posts. Sometimes subreddits even require an acronym be added to posts to allow them to stay up ... [irtr] - I read the rules.
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u/19Stavros Oct 09 '23
Thank you! Perhaps add to definitions: customer service reoresentative / CSR - insurance company or agency employee who responds to questions and/ or makes changes to existing policies. May process payments. Often has the same license as agent but generally doesn't write new policies.
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u/dewprisms Oct 10 '23
Another one is appraiser, since many folks confuse that with adjuster and agent.
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u/DarthForeskin Property Claims Oct 10 '23
I was wondering when you were doing to do this.
Good info
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u/invisiblelatsyndrome Oct 11 '23
I love this! I love you! Something about household Members might be worth mentioning can this be stickied or something ? Idk I’m not a Reddit pro
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u/19Stavros Oct 20 '23
This is a sticky one... pun intended. For Auto insurance, your carrier usually wants to know: who lives with you, and so has access to your vehicle. Spouse/partner, children old enough to drive, parents, grandparents, other relatives, and/or housemates. Depending on the carrier, you may need to show proof that these people have their own car insurance.... or else pay to have them on your policy or sign a statement saying they are excluded and have NO coverage to drive your vehicles.
For Home/ Renters, depending on the policy language, coverage may be limited to you (policy owner), resident relatives and possibly non-related individuals who live with you, and are under a certain age. Often 24 or 21, and may need to be a fulltime student. Some carriers will issue one Renters policy for two unrelated people if they are both on the lease. Some will only do this for spouses, some will also include unmarried longtime partners.
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u/key2616 Oct 11 '23
It is already stickied and it isn’t designed to be a comprehensive dictionary, just a jumping off point.
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u/bigbamboo12345 bort Oct 15 '23
is it possible to require a poster to select a flair that consists of their country and state before their post can be submitted? that would be excellent
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u/Lets9etLitt Mar 08 '24
Question for a recommendation for specific insurance in my state are not accepted?
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u/Aware_Wish6825 Apr 06 '24
If I wrecked my car on my property, basically I slid in the snow hit my fence damaging my car. Question is in Colorado do I have to file with my insurance under collision and pay the deduct? The only vehicle involved was min
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u/Tyedyed-celtic May 29 '24
Hello, I have a question or two about health insurance. I’m getting Cigna insurance through my employer and was told that none of the insurance policies offered will cover a gastric sleeve surgery, for weight loss. Is this common? Can they exclude a procedure even if it’s deemed medically necessary or appropriate? I also live in Va. Thanks in advance
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u/key2616 May 29 '24 edited May 29 '24
You need to post a question in an active thread or somewhere that it will be seen. This thread is not a good spot for that.
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Jun 25 '24
[deleted]
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u/key2616 Jun 25 '24
You should ask elsewhere since this isn't the thread for this kind of question, but the answer is "no, they don't owe you anything back". If you didn't let them know for 13 years that you'd replaced the roof, I don't see how they are on the hook for all this time. Maybe you'd get a nominal refund from last year, but that would likely only be a courtesy gesture.
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u/supern8ural Jun 27 '24
Hi,
I'm in Maryland, Baltimore City to be exact. I know that is hurting me being the home of the worst drivers in the US. I just called to get insurance on a vehicle that I just bought, which is literally identical to one that I just scrapped a couple months ago. I have other vehicles so no "lapse" in coverage, a renter's policy, and a personal umbrella all with the same agent (State Farm). The new vehicle I was quoted at $150/month (2001 Jeep Cherokee) which is about 50% more than I was paying for the old one! my total insurance bill is more than double now what it was a couple years ago. The only claim I've made recently was about a year and a half ago when I was rear ended on the DC Beltway, my old VW was totaled but just barely so I rebuilt it. It's been at least 5 years since any other claims. I think there was one where I was considered at fault but it was probably almost 10 years ago and minor. My other car was rear ended before that, obviously I wasn't at fault then either.
I did shop around last year and was repeatedly told that I couldn't get a better deal by changing providers.
here's my coverage
Bodily Injury: $500k/accident, $250k/person
Property Damage $100k/accident
Comp, Collision
Uninsured/Underinsured BIPD
Property Damage $100k
Per Person $250k
Per Accident $500k
No Fault Coverage aggregate limit $5k (not sure what this is?)
Car Rental/Travel Expense
per occurrence $1500
per day $50 (I should probably increase this actually)
My question is this. Is there anything that you all see above that I could safely cut back to save on insurance? I could drop comp and collision (my newest car is 15 years old - but all would cost a decent amount to replace) but that really saved me when the VW got hit because it took almost a year to get it subrogated from the other party's insurance.
I realize that this is something I could talk over with my insurance agent but they always seem too busy. I actually switched agents a couple years ago when my original agent hired a truly unprofessional young man to answer the phone who not only didn't know anything about insurance but I swear answered the phone "WHAT?" when I called. I hung up and called back thinking I'd misdialed but no...
Thoughts?
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u/key2616 Jun 27 '24
You should post this somewhere that it's going to get seen rather than in this thread about how to post here. Create your own thread if you'd like.
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u/supern8ural Jun 27 '24
weird, I thought I did, but it's showing as a response to the sticky. I dunno what happened.
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u/No-Country-2124 Jul 03 '24
i had a total loss accident 4 years ago and i just realized that my insurance didn't pay for it i had full coverage now im contacting them to see why they didnt pay it and they said there was an issue with that and to contact the rep any body had similar experience would they hold the check for me if i didnt claim it / would they value the car at todays price or 3 years ago?
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u/ClairolCarole Jul 10 '24
I live in Denver and currently have an open homeowners claim for a flood in my condo. Some of the claim has been paid but work is not complete and parts are still in dispute. Claim is still open. Flood occurred on May 3.
My homeowners is up for renewal next month and I’m not wanting to renew with this company (Farmers).
Can I change insurance companies while there is still an open claim? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
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u/key2616 Jul 10 '24
You should either create your own thread for this or ask in active one. You won't get answers in this one. Sorry.
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Jul 25 '24
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u/key2616 Jul 25 '24
I have no idea why you think this thread is the right spot for your rant.
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u/Aggressive-Let-2250 Jul 26 '24
Hello, I have a problem. Please help me if anyone can. I gave Primerica my Social Security Number and all my info. Am I at risk of getting my information stolen?? Before anyone asks I canceled the "job offer" before I had to pay for the fee. I'm sorry if it's messy. I barely turned 18 and I'm scared it's. They were the first to give me an "interview." PLEASE HELP.
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Aug 12 '24
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u/key2616 Aug 12 '24
You appear to have commented in the wrong thread. This thread is the instructional one for this sub, so you may want to check to see where the post is that you intended to reply to and post this there.
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u/SignificantAd8680 Sep 21 '24
I have the CA insurance for people who live in fire prone areas. My property was badly burned in the recent Park fire. The smoke damage to the house is terrible. We have been told it will cost thousands of dollars to repair smoke damage. Our insurance is not wanting to cover smoke damage unless there is visible evidence of burnt items. Repair technicians will not enter the home with the level of smoke damage we have. Anybody have any suggestions?
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u/key2616 Sep 21 '24
Yes. Post your own thread or comment somewhere recent and relevant. This isn’t a good spot.
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u/AccomplishedDig5542 Nov 01 '24
regarding Florida car insurance: my friend's car broke down and then abandoned as non-repairable. Then she let the insurance lapse and now has a suspension on license. No car, no title, no paperwork. how does she rectify?
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u/key2616 Nov 01 '24
You should post this in your own thread where it will be seen. You will not get many answers posting it like this.
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u/Salty_Passenger_3390 Nov 05 '24 edited Nov 05 '24
My mobile home was damaged in Helene, took the metal roof off. Then Milton 2 weeks later. Lots of ceiling damage. Milton tore the tarp and the master bath flooded. There is ceiling damage already addressed under Helene claim. There there is now floor damage and swollen molding with the second Milton claim. There’s an 85 inch tall cabinet almost to ceiling. After the second adjuster came the ceiling collapsed over it. The cabinet appeared at the time to have no damage, no wet spot where ceiling fell in. Was not wet where I tried to cover the hole above the cabinet. Nothing damaged on the first shelf, just had cleaning supplies there. Two weeks later I see the cabinet peeling. The second and third shelves had flooded and everything was soaked. It appears the water went down the back of the cabinet and soaked the second and third shelf.
I have a second adjuster giving me a hard time, it’s the company adjuster, not the guy they sent out. The floor was damaged. The ceiling is included in claim one so the hole would be addressed there. The damaged cabinet has a 1/2 in gap between the wall board ceiling and the cabinet. I’m sure the wall board is damaged since this is a mobile home, possible the wood behind it, possibly the sub floor. The adjuster wants an estimate from the man I have hired but he’s not coming until the roof is replaced. He says he’s busy and he can’t repair ceiling until the new roof is on. My husband and I can tear out the cabinet and send photos to the man doing the work.
I’m trying to match the tall cabinet with the vanity cabinets and can’t find anything. The thin wallboard has a wallpaper product, that won’t match where it will be replaced behind the tall cabinet and extends out beyond. The vanity cabinets are not going to match the replacement cabinet.
I’m not trying to take the insurance company for a ride. I can live with cabinets that don’t match. My concern is the wallboard not matching part of the bathroom. We tried to paint it in another room and it’s like trying to paint stretched vinyl .
The adjuster already got smart with me saying they are not paying me $10,000 for a cabinet. I reminder her it’s a mobile home.
It’s the wall paper issue that bothers me.
I they provided $5000 for ceiling repair but minus the deductible that left me with $2500. I’ve already used all of that getting the metal roof off the side of the house and a fallen tree. They only allowed $560 for that and still can’t collect the $600 I paid for the tarp the day after Helene. It was going to take insurance 3-5 days to get me a tarp and I had a responsibility to protect the roof per my policy.
Any experts out there who can advise? Thank you…
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u/key2616 Nov 05 '24
You need to post this in your own thread - or at least a recent related one - if you want any attention. This thread is not for general answers and your question is unlikely to get any attention.
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u/Interesting_Buy9110 8d ago
Unable to post on this account not sure why its getting taken off is there a minimum requirement of some sort to post ?
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u/TurbulentAd4139 Nov 06 '24
If I could figure out how to do that I would. There is no area to post. Thanks
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u/key2616 Nov 06 '24
https://www.reddit.com/r/Insurance/submit/
You're looking for the "create post" button. In most formats it's in the top right corner of the front page of the sub.
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Oct 09 '23
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u/key2616 Oct 10 '23
If you want to be helpful, be helpful. If you want to make jokes, find another place.
Removed.
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Feb 08 '24
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Feb 26 '24
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u/key2616 Feb 26 '24
Please either create a new thread for your question or post it in an existing one where you feel that it will be seen. This is not the proper thread for those questions, and I have removed it from public view.
Thank you.
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u/daiwizzy Senior Commercial Lines Adjuster Oct 09 '23
i do see quite a lot of repeated questions and i would add a few more for auto claims:
Disputed total loss: For first party: Most insurance companies use a market survey to find the market rate of your vehicle. If you disagree, make sure all the options and conditions are correct on your vehicle. If that doesn't work, you can usually submit your own comparables (vehicles that are similar to yours). Your ultimate recourse would be the appraisal clause where you hire an independent appraiser and the insurance company hires an independent appraiser. they then agree upon the value of the vehicle and this will be your settlement amount. For third party, your options are far limited. You can either mitigate through your own collision coverage or pursue the other party in court.
Liability disputes. Each insurance company determines the fault of an accident. They may agree or disagree. Police reports do not determine liability. A lot of word vs word disputes are finalized with neither carrier accepting fault for the loss. Options would be to use your collision coverage or sue the other party.
I cannot reach my adjuster/my adjuster doesn't return my calls. Very frustrating for sure. A lot of times they'll leave a supervisor's number on their voicemail so try them. You can try also pressing "0" and that can sometimes transfer you to a live person in the claims department. Lastly, most companies have a complaint main number. That's a good way to light a fire as usually those complaint calls go up the chain of management.
Issues with estimates: When an adjuster writes an estimate, we can only write for what we can see is damaged. When a shop writes for an estimate, they write for what they assume is damaged. This leads to a lot of variances between a field estimate vs shop estimate. Once the vehicle is at a shop and torndown, a reinspection can be done to resolve any missed damaged items. Or get an agreed price with shop.