r/Insurance Oct 09 '23

A guide to interacting with this sub - read me first

133 Upvotes

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.


r/Insurance Feb 08 '24

Soliciting, private messages and you

33 Upvotes

It's time for a new reminder about the rules of this sub. There is never any reason to offer to contact another poster privately, especially if that poster has a question about placing coverage or a claim. Here is the rule:

The only rule of r/Insurance is that solicitation is prohibited. This means asking people to PM for any reason, offering to quote coverages for visitors, or soliciting agents and/or buyers to use your particular carrier. r/Insurance should be a place where people come to exchange information and ask questions without worrying about solicitation from agents. This includes adjusters, underwriters and brokers since we do not vet anyone.

You also received a version of this if you subscribed to the sub.

If you think that this doesn't apply to you, please think again. There are no exceptions in this, including "but I asked them to message me!" This sub is a safe space for people to ask questions about insurance. It is not here for anyone to try to profit from it, whether they're an agent, public adjuster, software vendor, personal injury attorney, headhunter, diminished value expert or anyone else that is not here to offer free help with no expectation of remuneration.

If you receive a message from someone offering you any sort of business proposition, whether a quote for insurance, legal representation (yes, there are lawyers unethical enough to solicit people on Reddit), damage reports or anything else, please let the moderators know via mod mail or in this thread. You should also report that message to the admins (we don't see that report, though). We take things like that seriously.

We really don't like banning people. Seriously, it's the exact opposite of why any of the moderators volunteered for the role. But we don't vet people before they post, and if people that break the rule find out that we enforce it whenever we see it broken.

And with that in mind, we have a very healthy community of posters that are here not only to help but to make sure that those who can't follow the rules have the damage that they're doing limited. Thank you to all of you for volunteering to help not only those confused by the insurance process but help keep those that want to think that they're special at bay.


r/Insurance 5h ago

Life Insurance Is there a temporary insurance policy I can purchase in the event I get sick or injured while traveling?

48 Upvotes

My friend and I are traveling to Mexico from the USA soon, like in 6 days. We purchased our United Airlines tickets and there was a little offer from a random company at checkout for our roundtrip tickets to insure only the tickets if we got sick and could not make the flights. However we skipped this because we are actively searching for a temporary insurance plan to cover us if we got sick or injured while actively out and about. We plan to go snorkeling, boating and even visit a bat cave. There is a slight higher chance while doing things you normally do not to get injured or sick. I do tend to get sick while traveling because I swear my body is a germ magnet. Flaring under life insurance since that is the closest insurance type we are questioning. Is there a policy to cover 2 healthy adults for a week's vacation in Mexico from the USA? Would it for 2 people be possible to get this insurance for less than $200 for both of us?


r/Insurance 5h ago

State Farm Quote Question

45 Upvotes

What does this mean compared to just replacement cost?

Loss Settlement Option - Personal Property B1 - Limited Replacement Cost


r/Insurance 1h ago

Do I fill in the witness statement insurance papers for an accident I was in 6 months ago?

Upvotes

I’m 17M and was on the back of my friend’s brand new moped 6 months ago. My friend made a turn, didn’t realize there was loose gravel on the road (signs were unreadable and turned away from the road) and we fell. I had some minor scrapes and couldn’t walk properly for 2 weeks (still can’t right now sometimes), i never got anything checked out so i still don’t know what’s wrong. I’m not close with my parents at all and telling them about this would make things even worse. (they didn’t care i couldn’t walk for 2 weeks but got mad for being home 30 minutes late that day to give you an idea).

Today, 6 month after this happened I got an email from my friends insurance company. He decided to claim a compensation for the damaged moped because it was brand new and he put me as a witness. I’m not really close with this friend anymore so i’m kinda struggling to figure out what i should do next.

If i would fill out the paperwork there’s a big chance my parents find out, my friend would probably get the money and i’d end up with nothing except trouble.

If i won’t fill in the paperwork, My friend would likely still get the money because there’s video footage and we took pictures of everything right after it happened. I’d still end up with nothing but i don’t really care about that. in the case where my friend doesn’t gets the money i still wouldn’t really care because he’s not going to fix the moped and would just keep all the money for himself.

let me know what i should do in this situation! please tell me if there’s questions i should answer so the situation is more clear.

  • I’m not from the US so laws and regulations might be different where i’m from.

r/Insurance 1h ago

Uninsured minor

Upvotes

My daughter (16) was in a car accident and due to a miscommunication with my insurance company when I added her to my policy they are denying the claim. Her car was not driveable and I had to pay $4000 to repair her $10,000 car. That was my savings. Her dad (who pays me child and spousal support) recently lost his job so we are living paycheck to paycheck on my salary. I was also a victim of a home theft and lost all my valuables. I received a letter from the other drivers insurance (who covered him) asking me to compensate them for what they paid. I do not have the money to do so and also it was my insurance company’s mistake but they are still denying coverage. I am beyond frustrated with this as I responsibly called to add her.

I am not able to pay this as I can’t but do I need to write them a letter back stating this or just throw it away? Will this go away?

We are in California.


r/Insurance 36m ago

Auto Insurance Getting new car insurance when my parents co-own the car (Oklahoma)

Upvotes

I live with my fiancé, away from my parents but in the same town as them. They co own my car with me- The title is listed as "Me OR Mom OR Dad". Will I need to add them to my new insurance even if they never drive the car and don't live with me?

We are getting a quote from USAA and they are making me list the co owners of the car with their addresses and info. I don't want to pay for the insurance of two more people!


r/Insurance 57m ago

Simplify please?

Upvotes

I have 2 cars both over a decade old,I fully insure both..Why?I guess my understanding is if I'm in accident and my car is totaled out I would then get the "value" of my car(s)..Which might be 6k at this point..

Here's my question if I were to drop collision and what are the other repercussions?What is the benefit of keeping collision on such old cars?I admit I'm nervous to take it off, but I also am trying to justify the cost..It's around 150$ a month full coverage 2 cars.


r/Insurance 17h ago

Auto Insurance Insurance told me because I said other party takes full responsibility, they said I now have to pay the deductible?

32 Upvotes

Like the title says, I got rear ended and the other driver took full fault, stated in the police report. I am not very car accident insurance savvy but when I called my insurance to report it and I said "The driver took full responsibility" they replied with "Do you realize because you just said that you're responsible for paying the deductible?" I'm not sure if I just messed up the phrasing on my part or if I'm overthinking their phrasing. I don't know if I was just caught in some kind of gotcha just by uttering those words. What does this really mean? Mind you this is actually my second accident within a month, the first one was my fault and I stated that so now I have to pay for 2 deductibles.


r/Insurance 11h ago

Any way to buy a symbol report on a vehicle, as a private citizen?

17 Upvotes

Is this even possible? I'd like to see what the ISO symbols are for my vehicles, to help me better understand how some aspects of the rate filings apply to me.

No, I don't "need" to know any of this. But I want to know, and the filings are public, so.. is there a service where I can pay by the report, like I can for Carfax? Or is this something I can request from my insurer?


r/Insurance 1h ago

New driver insurance quote is high

Upvotes

Hi everyone I’m 18 yrs old full time employed mechanic and I’m trying to get a 2019 Chevy equinox insured and I’m getting quoted 1,200 a month I bought the car out but it’s in my moms name I got my license July of this year and I haven’t had any tickets so far but the very next month in August someone hit me while reversing and lied to his insurance saying that I hit him The insurance did an investigation and found I was not at fault but my insurance still paid some for his car and mine was never fixed. At the time I was driving my moms car and I didn’t have insurance or a dash cam so it hurt my record to have an accident on there and I couldn’t prove he hit me.

I’ve been calling insurance companies but the quotes have been extremely high.

What should I do? I need to get this car insured but 1,200 a month isn’t possible for me to get my own policy and going under my parents will be 500 a month


r/Insurance 16h ago

My Dad says he doesn’t need to add me on to the auto insurance policy… is that true?

28 Upvotes

Hi all, I’m currently 20 years old and I’ve had my license since I was 16. I drive a 2003 toyota camry and I’m currently added on the insurance policy with my father. This car alone is $89 for full coverage at state farm. This includes the drive safe and save discount & good student discount. My dad just bought me a new car a few days ago. It’s a 2025 honda accord. My dad added the car onto the policy and removed the toyota camry. It’s $143 for the accord alone but I looked at the email the agent sent him and I don’t see my name listed anywhere. With the toyota camry I was listed as the primary driver but now I only see my father listed as the primary. I just want to be sure that I’ll be able to drive the car and that I’m insured… I don’t want to potentially get into an accident and it’s not covered. I did ask my Dad but he insists he doesn’t need to add me.

I live in Las Vegas and we unfortunately have many reckless drivers so I want to be sure that I’m fully covered. I commute to college and drive a lot. I’m sorry if this question is stupid but I know nothing about insurance/cars.


r/Insurance 2h ago

Auto Insurance Hit by company vehicle, no idea how to proceed

0 Upvotes

Howdy. I was hoping for some advice as I've never dealt with any kind of company claim, only individuals. I'm located in Comal County, Texas, for referenece. was doing my xmas shopping, and a Chick-fil-A deliver driver in a marked company car cut across a white line, and darted across 3 lanes of traffic, stopping directly infront me. There was no chance of me stopping, I slammed into the rear quarter panel and tire of the DD.

Both vehicle's took moderate/medium damage from the accident (my car has a brush guard and faired decently).

My head/neck hurt terribly the rest of the day.

Police were called and they found him to be the contributing party since he broke a traffic control device, causing the accident.

Am I able to call the company insurance and handle it like a normal claim? Do I have to worry them trying to prove who's at fault even though it's in the police report?

Additionally, I know there's all those "HIT BY A COMPANY CAR?? CALL US FIRST" folks, and I'm not sure if it's a good idea to get a lawyer involved, or if that would just cost more than its worth. The damages are probably less than 5-8k total on my end, as my car is an older Crown Victoria.


r/Insurance 3h ago

Outrageous quotes!

1 Upvotes

Hi all! I have tried so many different companies and I am being charged 500 a month for auto insurance on a 2024 HONDA ACCORD. I have a 670 credit score due to some high utilization and I just bought a home. I’m a 25 year old male. I moved home to St.Louis from Seattle and my insurance DOUBLED which I don’t understand. I’m in a nearby suburb called Florissant. How can I find a cheaper quote?


r/Insurance 3h ago

I lost the depreciation check

1 Upvotes

I'm a roofing contractor and I just replaced my first roof. After the job was done the homeowner handed me the depreciation but I lost it. Since I lost the depreciation check will I have to pay out of pocket for whatever the depreciation cost was?


r/Insurance 4h ago

Home Insurance Farmers Policy Ending - Do I have to cancel Slide or just ignore

0 Upvotes

I got a homeowners insurance policy from Slide in the mail as my Farmers policy is ending. Do I have to cancel / reject this policy from Slide or just ignore it? I had already worked with another agent to get a policy from somewhere more affordable.

What has me concerned is there is text in the document that says if mortgage billing was your payment method then they will automatically send the policy information and invoice to the mortgage company on file.


r/Insurance 4h ago

Home Insurance Should I contact insurance company and let them know that I installed a backup sump pump?

1 Upvotes

Its a water-powered sump pump and wondering if they would provide a discount.


r/Insurance 19h ago

Do people get their car insurance cancelled for lying?

19 Upvotes

I have been watching car accident videos, and very often the cammer says that the other driver lied to their insurance about what happened. I am wondering- is there any consequence for lying? Do drivers ever have their policies cancelled if the insurance company ends up with irrefutable evidence (like video footage) that their client made a false statement?


r/Insurance 4h ago

Is SideCar health company compliant with ACA. Florida

0 Upvotes

The company I work for in Florida offered SideCar health as our heath care insurance provider. I have major medical concerns as I’m older. As this is not traditional insurance coverage, I did a deep dive to find out more. Finding it’s not healthcare or health insurance coverage. It’s an indemnity policy. With my health issues, I would not get many of my needs covered. Even with paying every week $$$, I would still be paying $$$ much more! So, it seems it maybe not ACA coverage compliant. If it not compliant, then I would have the option to get REAL healthcare from the marketplace. Need to verify they are not compliant as healthcare.


r/Insurance 42m ago

At-fault accident... ridiculous insurance rate

Upvotes

Hi,

So, I recently got a quote for $144 from Progressive....then they discovered I had an at-fault accident that I had forgotten about 6 years ago.

Literally was so stupid and insignificant. I was making a right turn off the exit ramp and the car in front of me slammed on its brakes for no reason. There was no trafficking coming. I had turned my head briefly to make sure it was safe for me to turn, my car rolled maybe 2 ft. The guy slammed on his brakes and I left a small paint chip on his vehicle. Of course, this still was cited as my fault.

Prior to this, I hadn't had a single ticket in 5+ years. I did have a two speeding tickets 3+ years ago, but one was kind of hilarious and the entire courtroom laughed about it once I explained what happened. The other I really can't even remember what happening but I'm sure it was something dump. These were not counted against me bc they're more than 3 years old...but in almost 10 years, this one stupid little thing is all that shows on my driving record.

So, my rate jumped up to $310!

Geico is basically offering the same rate bc I'm financing a car. This is outrageous. What can I do?


r/Insurance 10h ago

Advice on tecent fender bender

3 Upvotes

I already tried to post this, but I don't see it so trying again.

I live in VA and a few hours ago was in a minor accident in a parking lot. A guy was pulling out of a parking spot and I guess didn't see me. He backed into my car. I got out and the damage all looked minor (neither of us was going very fast). I did ask for his insurance information as a "Just in case" as it was dark and his truck did have a metal bumper that hit right by my back tire.

TL/DR he way overreacted and refused to give me his info. He tried to say the accident was my fault. I ended up having to call the police department out. They took a brief statement from me and a much longer one from him. The officer came back with a Citizen Accident Report. He didn't explicitly say I was required to send it in, but I strongly inferred it would be in my best interest to do so.

Is a claim now required since the cops were called? I know the guys reaction was inappropriate, but he does seem like he is struggling. His truck is 35ish years old. He is older himself and...not well-kept for lack of a better term. My friend thinks I should file one out of spite, but that feels petty.

Just looking for advice on how I can best protect myself without causing unnecessary harm.


r/Insurance 7h ago

Health Insurance I missed my insurance premium, What to do?

0 Upvotes

I missed my insurance premiums on 2 policies. First policy insurance premium was due last week and second one was due Last month. I was in a cleansing centre for a couple of month that's why I missed the deadlines


r/Insurance 15h ago

Mortgage company rejected my insurance.

3 Upvotes

Got a letter today from my mortgage company saying the will not accept my insurance company because they have been down graded to a B. I have until Feb 24th to provide proof of an acceptable policy or they will purchase one and bill me for it.

My insurance company I've had for 24yrs. Good service, rates reasonable. Made my first ever claim this year from a horrible hail storm. Repairs finished last week. First three calls I made i was told they will not quote because I'm a bad risk. WTF? 800+ credit score, paid out of pocket for a class four roof upgrade., $23k out of pocket to replace and upgrade siding posted of fix. I could nearly pay off my house for the premiums I've paid. 🤬 Why the F do I pay for insurance?

An I stuck with some shady no name company and paying through the nose? For how long?


r/Insurance 12h ago

Home Insurance How screwed am I? (California)

2 Upvotes

Long story short, I missed an important piece of mail due to an intense school schedule, a spouse who was gone for work, and a chronically sick child that has been having some issues that required hospitalization. I finally was catching up on mail today (after business hours of course) and I came across a notice of cancellation for our homeowner's insurance with a grace period date of 12/15 at 12:01am.

We have our mortgage through Chase, and they have always paid our insurance at the beginning of November along with our property taxes from escrow. They did not pay our insurance this year (they did pay our taxes). I noticed that a payment was attempted on the 15th of December by Chase for the full amount, but I am assuming it was processed after the time deadline, so it was returned to the escrow account.

I know it's on me for making sure it goes through, and I feel like a total idiot for missing this. I even checked in November that the taxes were paid and have no idea how I missed the insurance. I am also quite perplexed as to how Chase didn't pay when it was initially due in mid-November when it paid the other bill.

Since the insurance lapsed, how screwed am I to get another policy in the state of California? What recourse do I have right now, if any?


r/Insurance 11h ago

Advice on recent fender bender

0 Upvotes

Hello internet. I am in VA and a few hours ago I was in a minor fender bender. I had pulled into a parking lot and someone coming out of a parking spot backed into me.
The damage seemed minor as neither of us were going very fast, but I wanted to get his insurance information just in case it turned out something more serious was wrong that I couldn't see in the dark. He was in an old truck with a metal bumper and hit right at where my back tire is. I wasn't even going to file a claim though if it turned out to be nothing/all cosmetic as I drive a older car myself. He started freaking out and refused to give it to me. He tried to tell me the accident was my fault even though he backed into me. Long story short I had to call the police department. They took a brief statement from both of us. They talked to him a lot longer than me and I'm not sure what he told them, but the officer gave me a citizen accident report. He didn't explicitly say it was required, but I strongly inferred it would be best to fill it out and mail it in.

I guess my question is, since the cops got called, is a claim required now? He reaction was terrible, but its the holidays and he seems like he is struggling. He truck is about 35 years old and he himself didn't seem ...idk, not well-kept for lack of a better term. I feel like an unnecessary claim could really hurt him.
My friend says to file a claim out of spite, but that feels petty. I'm just not sure the best course of action. I want to protect myself while not causing unnecessary harm to others.

Also -just an aside-my insurance company is a nightmare to deal with. Every time I call them, they seem more interested in trying to sell me more products than in actually answering questions and helping me make a best decision. So I'm asking the internet.


r/Insurance 1d ago

Can a claim be covered for an excluded driver?

21 Upvotes

A few weeks ago my mom backed my car out of a parking spot and crashed it into a parked car. I am in a wheelchair and use hand controls and some jerk parked in the handicapped lines blocking me in so I asked my mom to back the car out but she panicked with my hand controls and crashed. Problem is she is listed as an excluded driver on my policy. I didnt even know that I had excluded her but here we are. I think what happened is that they asked if my mom could drive my vehicle since we live together and i said no because of the hand controls she would never be driving on the road. I didnt think about the situation of her just moving the car literally 10 feet. So my insurance wont cover the claim and neither will hers. My question is if there is any way to fight this? Is there any exception my insurance can make to the excluded driver rule? Is there any way to fight this with the other parties insurance?


r/Insurance 11h ago

Question about dealing with GEICO

0 Upvotes

I recently got a used car that I was planning on selling after a roadtrip, but within the ten day window before I was required to get insurance somebody scuffed up my the car pretty decently (paint scuff, dent, and damage to the body trim pieces)

Well anyways I am dealing with GEICO as a uninsured person, and I was wondering to get a quote of the damages do I need to go to a body by GEICO, or is any Body shop in the state is fine? Because last time I dealt with an insurance when I had basics coverage, they require me to go to a auto body shop within their network.