INSURANCE

[toti4]

FBIC: FIGHT BAD FAITH INSURANCE COMPANIES
It's the law. You have to have it. It wasn't always that way. Then insurance company lawyers ascended to the high places, including the supreme court. They made buying their cronies products law. But that wasn't enough. The insurance companies wanted more. They didn't want to pay fair claims and set forth on a national campaign called "tort reform". It was intended to set into law a double standard that says you have to buy their products but they don't have to pay fair awards for claims. Human life is priceless. To the insurance companies this means that there is no dollar and sense figure to compensate human loss. Ergo, you are worthless. So now the only power we have is the power not to support frauds and crooks and to only do business with reasonably ethical companies. If you choose wrong you are hurting other people; you are paying for these companies to do their dirty work.

Please do not buy auto insurance because you like a television commercial. They can afford all those commercials by not paying claims. That's how they do it. How many commercials have you seen for companies like AMICA, CHUBB, WAUSAU, TRAVELERS or USAA? Probably none. Yet these are considered the most ethical and best values you can get (at least in Texas). I live in California and can attest, by personal experience, to Amica, as a honest and fair company and Allstate as a den of rotten cheats.

Please do your homework and only support decent companies and boycott the crooks. Please don't wait until you get burned and please stop funding companies who are actively burning people every day. Knowledge is power. Please do just a little research and use that knowledge in a way that makes life better for everyone.

FBIC: FIGHT BAD FAITH INSURANCE COMPANIES
http://www.badfaithinsurance.org/

View the 'good' and 'bad' lists of companies ranked by incidence of bad faith claims filed against them or lack thereof.

Then get a quote from a good company and dump your bad company. Don't wait till you have a bad experience. Don't be a brainwashed TV boob when it comes to auto insurance (or any insurance, for that matter).

If not right now please, at least, consider getting a quote form an ethical company when it comes time to renew your policy.

I'd venture to bet real money that if everyone participated in the poll the vast majority of you pay money to these rotten companies and this because you watch TV ads and do as you are told. Listen people: This is not the place to go looking for good advice or objectiove information.

Now a question ...

Q: Where should we be looking for insurance coverage?
A1: Television ads paid for by the companies themselves... suckers!
A2: A watchdog who monitors claims of bad faith fileings; ranks companies by high and low incidence of such claims and provides the information to the public in the form of lists for free ...

Hmm ... Where is the smart money flowing?

Only a cave man would look to television ads for advice as to insurance coverage.

Is your Insurance provider on the 'good' list or the 'bad' list?
The Hall of Fame or The Hall of Shame?
Who's watching your back?

Click the link below to find out.
FBIC: FIGHT BAD FAITH INSURANCE COMPANIES

[jkilla71]

I honestly cannot believe Allstate is rated in such a manner. I have had nothing but the best experiences with insurance claims from Allstate. I would even boast to my friends how well I was treated and how quickly my claims are settled. I must be the exception

[cooljess76]

Well since Geico was never mentioned exept through a little bit of sarcasm, I voted "not rated". Both my car and motorcycle insurance policies are with Geico. I pay less than 50 bucks a month for both policies. And I'll add that I'm glad that California has taken recent measures to force people to insure their vehicles. Now, if you let your insurance expire, they automatically suspend your registration and it pops up when the law enforcement officials run your plate #. I only subscribe to liability coverage because it's the minimum required by law.

You'ld be suprised how many people drive around with no coverage at all, and if they hit you, you're screwed. Especially if you're not fully covered. I was rearended in my Honda a long time ago by a lady with no insurance. Since I only had liability insurance, my insurance company wouldn't do anything and I had to fix my car out of pocket. It's the uninsured motorists that screw everyone over, not the insurance companies. Everyone should have the right to have liability coverage without worrying about getting hit by an uninsured motorist. I vote raise the fine and penalty for motorist caught driving without insurance.

Where's Geico on your list? They're at the top of mine because they are affordable and yes, it's so easy a caveman can do it. Besides, I happen to like gekkos.

[toti4]

Where is Geico on the list? See the link:
http://www.badfaithinsurance.org/indexdetaillist.html

Geico is listed as #13 on the top 50 worst companies list for claims of bad faith (lower number is worse). They are listed under their parent company, Birkshire Hathaway with (Geico) after.

I just saw an interesting blurb that mentions Geico.
Read Below:

The more traffic violations you have ...
... the more your insurance company can charge you ...

Here's an interesting bit of info I found on a site where a cop is advertising how to help people beat their speeding tickets.

The site reported that last year Geico was giving away state of the art radar equipment to highway policing departments in order to increase revenues, because the tickets means points they can use to justify raising your rates.

He claims that, in the event that you get convicted, you can still save some money by getting a bunch of online quotes, BEFORE going to quart, because your insurance company will know you are getting quotes and they will assume you found a low one. If they raise they are likely to loose you. He says this little known tactic can stop an insurance cost increase, due to a ticket, dead in it's tracks or, at least, put it off for a year or so. That way you save during, at least, one of the three years it's on your record.

... ... Pretty cool info ... wouldn't you say?

http://www.fight-the-speeding-ticket.com/page1.html

[roadrash]

Wow... I guess I'll be doing some insurance shopping soon, eh?

[zboot]

i wish there way to see how these rankings are done. Part of the problem with comparing larger insurance companies with smaller ones is size and scale. Things are just more likely to go wrong with a bigger entity. There are more cracks for people to fall through and more chances for cheats to proliferate. If they had some way of compensating for the really big companies sizes and bureaucracy, then I could feel that the results may reflect actual life. Absent that, the results are pretty much what one should expect. Work with a smaller place, you get more service at perhaps a higher cost. Work with a bigger place, you may get a lower cost and more features, but you stand a higher chance of getting screwed.

Its kinda like a news story a coworker saw today and the conversation that followed. Pretty much, the headline was "Rare birth of quadruplets". He asked, are quadruplets really that rare, I seem to see stories like this all the time. My answer, well, the stories themselves are not rare because compared to the number of days in a year, the amount of quadruplet births is not that small. However, when you look a the overall number of births a year and then the percentage that are quadruplets, THAT is what is rare. Not sure if everyone catches how this is related to my previous paragraph, but that's the distinction I'm trying to make.

[toti4]

Originally Posted by roadrash

Wow... I guess I'll be doing some insurance shopping soon, eh?

Good for you! and Power to the people! Don't forget to check with the 'good' ranked guys first. It can't hurt.

Originally Posted by zboot

i wish there way to see how these rankings are done. Part of the problem with comparing larger insurance companies with smaller ones is size and scale. Things are just more likely to go wrong with a bigger entity. There are more cracks for people to fall through and more chances for cheats to proliferate.

These cracks aren't just there. There is some agency that opens said cracks and someone to sweep you towards the crack that's best suited for you to fall through.

Just explore the site Zboot. They explain how the rankling are arrived at. You can also email someone.

The statistics are proportional; meaning claims of bad faith per capita.
Use your common sense.

Why does Allstate have to run so many ads? Could it be that their clients aren't generating the kind of word of mouth referrals they need? The same goes for Geico. They want more. They don't care about you at all and they only care that your claim will cost them. So they endeavor to make it cost the least they can make it cost them.

FBIC.org: http://www.badfaithinsurance.org/

[cooljess76]

Insurance is part of life. You can't blame them for trying to make a buck, it's the way the world is. I didn't see Geico before on the list, but I found it after you pointed it out to me. And to be perfectly honest, the ratings don't really matter to me.

I paid a little over 4 grand for my car, why the heck would I waste money on full coverage insurance. Liability, the minimum coverage required in California is the only way to go for a starving student. Name a company that will insure my car AND motorcycle for less than 50 bucks a month and I might consider, if it's really a significant savings.

I've never heard of any of the companies on the "good" list, and I'm pretty sure most of the people here haven't either. A few companies that I have heard of are: Mercury, Geico, Progressive, Allstate, USAA and Statefarm.

Could the number of policy holders that a company has possibly have something to do with the number of unpaid claims? Take one company that has a couple thousand members and compare it to a company with a couple hundred thousand members. Of course the larger company will have more unsatisfied customers. They have more subscribers. But the rates will be lower and in most cases if you present your claim correctly with all of the essential details and elements, they will award your claim.

The smaller companies are going to have higher premiums and probably higher deductables. And no, they can't advertise, because they can't afford to. Which goes back to "who are these so called good companies and why haven't we heard of them?"

I'm just curious, I happened to notice that even your posts in other threads have been insurance related. Is there any affiliation?

[lazoh]

Originally Posted by jkilla71

I honestly cannot believe Allstate is rated in such a manner. I have had nothing but the best experiences with insurance claims from Allstate. I would even boast to my friends how well I was treated and how quickly my claims are settled. I must be the exception

You are not the exception, I also have had the best experience with Allstate.

[toti4]

Insurance is a part of life? Just how old are you? Please don't presuppose that you can tell me anything about life. You are 22 years old give or take. I am more than twice that. I've seen more than you have by way of legislation and know more than you do, by virtue of being alive longer. You can reject good advice all you like. I don't really care. Oh and just for your information; the world is what we make of it... But then of course we do have the average Americans who don't make anything.

cooljess76 I'll repeat what I already wrote since you evidently didn't read it or somehow need to be told everything twice.

I repeat: The statistics are proportional; meaning claims of bad faith per capita. If you don't know what that means you should go back to school.
If you don't understand the rating method read up on it from the site and/or email someone at FBIC. They can explain it to you.

Folks it doesn't matter who you've heard of. My insurer has been in business for 100 years and a full third of its cliental has been with them for 20 years. They don't need to advertise on TV. Allstate has to, as does Geico. Once they burn you they can just get a replacement from TV advertising. It's all numbers. Just wait till you need to make a serious claim. You'll see.

jkilla71 and lazoh As regards Allstate:
In a very practical dollar and cents way, the manner in which you are treated by any insurance company after paying 12-20 years of premiums approximates a kind of reciprocal loyalty. This has no bearing on those who have only been insured for just a few years. Even so, should you make a significant claim (be come significantly injured) you are likely to run up against the limits of their loyalty.

Allstate will fight you should you make a claim of whiplash. They desire to pay nothing for such injuries. I can tell you from first hand experience with a whiplash injury from my 20's. It's nothing to make light of, especialy 20 years later, when the increased wear on your discs make themselves apearent, long after you settle for a few grand in medical bills. Allstate turned on me when I made a valid claim for a real injury and I was their customer.

By contrast I have been treated by Amica as if I have been with them my whole life and this from the very start. They paid my fault fender bender ($1000.), my wife's fault fender bender ($2000.). They also paid for an uninsured motorist claim I made and paid me the list and $200 more than what I paid for one of my Toyota Pickups (salvaged $3500.00) and let me keep the truck for no charge (a free truck with only 70k miles on it). So, in total, thus far, they have paid out $6300.00 without ever raising our rates for reason of claims (we did get an increase for moving to another area).

I've been with Amica since 1998. Currently we pay around $850 for 2 people and 4 vehicles per year for liability, med pay and uninsured motorist coverage in the San Francisco bay area of California. Where you live it's probably a lot cheaper. Two years ago I got a competitive quote from USAA (excellent company if you can 'get in'). USAA was slightly less but not enough to compel me to switch. Do the math. Most of the time we had two vehicles and paid around $600 per year.

I don't have to pay Amica for years and years to get decent treatment because we policy holders own Amica Mutual and the dividends I get is in fair claims handling.

Dump Allstate for better Karma. Learn about how they are doing business and what happened to folks like you when the time came that a serious claim was filed. Just because they haven't burned you yet doesn't mean they wont. They will and in your case it will be when you really need them. They are ranked in the top two worst companies for a reason. Do your homework now, before it's too late.

You have only cultivated the habit of supporting crooks because you are a number who paid for years. You feel secure because they want you to. They like those 17 years of premiums. That's their money and you best never try and collect it back.

How much have you paid and how much have you collected? You will never appreciate the ratio I enjoy with Amica. Allstate will burry you as soon as you approach a threat to the established profit threshold you have established. I guarantee you it will happen and if you don't believe me look for what other long term customers have to say as regards how Allstate turned on them when they really needed their insurance, after being long term customers. The stories I have read are many and are out there. You can talk to these folks yourself. Go find them.

How much have you paid and collected over the years?

You are investing in a bad risk that won't pay off when you really need it to. They are rated as scumbags for a reason. Why lay down with them?

ALLSTATE INSURANCE SUCKS: http://www.allstateinsurancesucks.com/

[toti4]

Texas is the worst state to live in for the "insured." Insurance companies can take your money and cheat you with impunity these days. Currently, the state insurance commissioner, down there, is in the pocket of insurance companies, much like the days of Quackenbush in California, who took bribes and was never prosecuted.

Here is a list of 'good' and 'bad' insurance companies rankings from a Texas law firm. I was pleased to find my insurer listed as the number 1 'good' company in that state. It makes me feel good to know that I support a company that is fair to my fellow citizens. In a way, I'm directly supporting the well being of my countrymen and women. Were I supporting a bad company I'd be advocating for the power of great wealth to cheat my fellow middle class Americans.
That's just wrong.

Here is the Texas ranking.

TEXAS RANKED BEST AND WORST
(see link off page - click link below)
http://www.street-and-ragsdale.com/l...companies.html

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by toti4

Insurance is a part of life? Just how old are you? Please don't presuppose that you can tell me anything about life. You are 22 years old give or take. I am more than twice that. I've seen more than you have by way of legislation and know more than you do, by virtue of being alive longer. You can reject good advice all you like. I don't really care. Oh and just for your information; the world is what we make of it... But then of course we do have the average Americans who don't make anything.
cooljess76 I'll repeat what I already wrote since you evidently didn't read it or somehow need to be told everything twice.
I repeat:The statistics are proportional; meaning claims of bad faith per capita. If you don't know what that means you should go back to school.
If you don't understand the rating method read up on it from the site and/or email someone at FBIC. They can explain it to you.

I'm 30, not that it matters and you might want to change your tone. I'd say that you don't know a thing about me or where I've been and leave it at that. I'm a Navy Veteran of 10 years. I've been around the world a few times and didn't I mention that I'm a college student? I can already tell that you won't last here if you continue with these type of attacks and insults towards senior members.

Originally Posted by toti4

Folks it doesn't matter who you've heard of. My insurer has been in business for 100 years and a full third of its cliental has been with them for 20 years. They don't need to advertise on TV.

Really, what were they selling back in 1907? How do they advertise then? Let me guess, they're so great that they don't need to advertise. Ohhh, that's what you're here for

Originally Posted by toti4

Blah
Blah
Blaaahhhhhh......

Originally Posted by toti4

Two years ago I got a competitive quote from USAA (excellent company if you can 'get in').

USAA is #22 on your bad list

Originally Posted by toti4

Dump Allstate for better Karma.

Why, because you told us to? Because you truly care about us? I'm sure you're passing on this helpful information because it's just in your good nature.

Originally Posted by toti4

You have only cultivated the habit of supporting crooks because you are a number who paid for years. You feel secure because they want you to. They like those 17 years of premiums. That's their money and you best never try and collect it back.

Who's paying you for this garbage, you never did answer that. You gave us a link to a site requesting donations, why don't you make a donation and become a site supporter here?

Originally Posted by toti4

It makes me feel good to know that I support a company that is fair to my fellow citizens. In a way, I'm directly supporting the well being of my countrymen and women.

Please...
You're supporting your own best interest. Who do you work for?

Originally Posted by toti4

How much have you paid and how much have you collected? You will never appreciate the ratio I enjoy with Amica.
How much have you paid and collected over the years?
You are investing in a bad risk that won't pay off when you really need it to.

Do you honestly expect to break even? Insurance is a service that provides comfort in knowing that you will be taken care of in the event of an accident. And for that service, you pay a fee. You're not supposed to get the money you've spent on premiums back. If that's what you're after, perhaps you should invest in a mutual fund or an IRA. Personally I try to avoid accidents by practicing safe driving habits, instead of filing claims to get the money I've spent on premiums back. And finally, If Amica was such a damn good insurance company, why are you negotiating with Geico? Shouldn't your insurance company be doing that for you?

IMHO, this thread is SPAM. FWIW, you'll get more sales if you refrain from badmouthing competitors and insulting potential customers. Let's hope your 15th post is a little more respectful and less biased.

[Will'sBimmer]

I support someone on the bad list and I am proud. Seems to me that everyone on the bad list are all the companies I have heard of and the good list is full of ones I have never heard of. it's a spam attack get down!

[cooljess76]

Funny, this ad was at the bottom of this page

[toti4]

"If Amica was such a damn good insurance company, why are you negotiating with Geico? Shouldn't your insurance company be doing that for you?"

This shows either that you are either ignorant or not reading what has already been written. It's the second time you have asked for a repeat of information already given. After this post I will ignore you.

I only have liability, med pay and uninsured moterest. I don't carry collision or comprehensive. Therefore I have to handle it myself, because its not a liability matter. The other party is at fault. Just so you know. In cases like this, one has to handle negotiations oneself, but I have no deductible either.

I'm 30. I'm a Navy Veteran of 10 years.

That explains it. You have been conditioned to follow orders and not ask questions. I still have about 20 years on you and it does matter. If you don't think so, wait 20 years for a guy, 20 years your junior to come along and claim he knows anything about anything, particulary insurance indurstry developments over the past 25 years. Before you were born, I was paying premiums, before it was required by law.

Anyhow you can cry spam or believe what ever you want. I'm just a guy who's pissed about whats happening to this country and what insurance companies, including Amica are doing through lobbists. Yet there is a distinction to be made. There are ethical companies and there are those who are not.

I never said I expected to get back what I spent in premiums. I'm just opposed to those companies who refuse payment in the event you have significant damages. They can't expect not to pay those premeiums back and more if required. They are supposed to invest your money and "make a buck" that way; not by cheating honest claiments through bad faith claims handeling.

This is my advice, but it's only for you. You can take it or leave it. Stick with Allstate.

P.S. USAA is rated well on the Texas rating [see prior post]. I don't have all the listings memorized. It's very strange (or maybe it's not) that it would be listed on a good list in Texas (number 5 spot) and number 22 on "bad" national ranking. I mentioned USAA because I had just read that Texas page. Maybe I'll email both FBIC and the Texas law firm and inquire as to why. It's probably not so unusaual that the rankings differ between a state and national ranking. These are statistics after all and things can look different depending upon what frame they are in. Besides in the national ranking 22 is starting to aproach the grey land. The real differances are at the top of the national ranking lists. I've had experience with both types of companies.