Online Car Insurance

[Fly2e]

http://agent.allstate.com/DavidTuohy/Welcome/

 :P  ;D

[Hagar]

[quote]http://agent.allstate.com/DavidTuohy/Welcome/

[Fly2e]

Doug I was wondering,

Here in the USA insurance companies are looked on 2 ways by people.

1. They are blood sucking companies that take my money.
2. I am happy to invest as I know that in the event of a loss, I will be made whole again.

How are they viewed on your side of the pond?


This is why I ask.....
Our landlord, his name is Robin and is from England has had a few conversations about this. When we 1st wanted to rent our building space from him in this shopping center, he said that an insurance company would not be good for his reputation in his shopping center because all insurance people are liars and swindlers and are out to take your money. He got this view because he said that is how they are looked on over in England. It was not until he realized that Allstate is one of the biggest insurers in the country and that we have an agency in almost every zip code across America. After a few discussions with him and explaining that the insurance companies here in America are respected, that he decided to rent this space to us.

* When your car is totalled or in an accident and you need it as it is your livelihood, who is going to replace it?

* When your biggest investment, your home, catches fire and burns to the ground, who is there to rebuild it again?

* When hurricanes like the ones we saw batter the southern coast this year destroy everything that you have, who is sending catastrophe teams down to these areas and reaching out to those communities with answers?

* When your husband passes away suddenly and you are left with 2 children, a mortgage, car payments and bills, who is going to cut you a check for 1 million because you had a life insurance policy?

I have learned that being in this business is not about "how much can you save me on my auto insurance?", but rather it is about making sure that the over 4,000 people that I insure will have the money, assurance and support that both Allstate & I will give them in their most desperate times of need......

Ironically after seeing what type of agency we run here, Robin, our landlord, switched his Auto, 2 homes, life insurance and financial portfolio over to our agency

[Hagar]

Doug I was wondering,

Here in the USA insurance companies are looked on 2 ways by people.

1. They are blood sucking companies that take my money.
2. I am happy to invest as I know that in the event of a loss, I will be made whole again.

How are they viewed on your side of the pond?


This is why I ask.....
Our landlord, his name is Robin and is from England has had a few conversations about this. When we 1st wanted to rent our building space from him in this shopping center, he said that an insurance company would not be good for his reputation in his shopping center because all insurance people are liars and swindlers and are out to take your money. He got this view because he said that is how they are looked on over in England.

Well Dave, basically that's how we, or to be more specific, I see it. A lot of vultures. What one of my best friends who is employed by one of the biggest insurance companies in the country tells me simply confirms my suspicions, no matter how unfair they might be.

PS. I mean no offence to any lawyers or solicitors present but we tend to feel the same way about the legal profession.

[Fly2e]

Lawyers here in America are definitely looked on as vultures as the minimum people sue for is 1 million.
You can sue for anything over here!
You can be a burglar breaking into some-body's home, cut yourself on their glass window as you are breaking in and sue them because of this!!
How crazy is that?

Well Dave, basically that's how we, or to be more specific, I see it. A lot of vultures. What one of my best friends who is employed by one of the biggest insurance companies in the country tells me simply confirms my suspicions,

I would tend to think then that the insurance companies are run very different than how they are run here in America.
Why do you have this view, does the insurance company not pay when there is a claim?

Dave

[eno]

The perception of Insurance companies over here in the UK is that they will take the dosh and then refuse to pay out,  after quoting some obscure bit of small print. They investigate every claim as if it's a fraud and generally piss the genuine claiment off. They promice the earth and will then refuse to pay out on it because its the wrong type of earth.

Get the Idea.

[Hagar]

I would tend to think then that the insurance companies are run very different than how they are run here in America.
Why do you have this view, does the insurance company not pay when there is a claim?

I wouldn't have thought the way insurance companies do business is much different in any country. Many of the big insurance companies here are international & some might even be based in the US. From a lifetime of experience dealing with these people they charge as much as they think they can get away with & will use any excuse not to pay up. The latest con I discovered is charging first-time customers far less in premiums than old established customers who have been with them for years. This is apparently normal practice now. So much for loyalty.

PS. If my friend's experience is anything to go by the way they treat their employees is disgraceful. As he's almost 60 & unlikely to find other employment they can change his contract of employment or tear it up knowing full well there's nothing he can do about it.

[C]

I think it was summed up by a large insurers recent survey of insurance risk (may have been the one with the nodding dog and the same name as Winston S.)

Who had the lowest premiums...

...Insurance workers

The perception of Insurance companies over here in the UK is that they will take the dosh and then refuse to pay out,  after quoting some obscure bit of small print. They investigate every claim as if it's a fraud and generally piss the genuine claiment off. They promice the earth and will then refuse to pay out on it because its the wrong type of earth.  

The girlfriend of one of my old university colleagues spends all day doing that...

[Fly2e]

Well I would have to say that it is different.

I have taken thousands of claims on Auto & Homes since I have been with Allstate.

I see the claim from the moment the claim is opened, to the moment it is closed and I will say that 98% of the claims are paid and settled within 30 days.

There is no "he said,  she said".


I think the reason for this attitude is how the systems are set up.
Here, the insured is made whole almost immediately. The insurance company will pay the claim for the repair of the auto, home or whatever needs to be fixed. There is no asking for it to be fixed. It comes in and moves through the proper channels. This is all regulated by the state and there are heavy fines and penalties if the rules and regulations are not adhered to!

Then after the insured has been made whole again, the insurance companies go to subrogation against each other to determined what percentage was at fault.

The insured sees none of this thus their claim is handled quickly.


Are you saying that when you have a claim that you need to "collect" or constantly ask the insurance company to pay your claim?

[Hagar]

Are you saying that when you have a claim that you need to "collect" or constantly ask the insurance company to pay your claim?

Fortunately I haven't had to claim for many years but I can give you an example. I was sitting eating breakfast in my local greasy spoon one morning when I heard a noise outside & saw an accident happening in front of my eyes. Two cars had collided head-on right in front of the cafe & unfortunately one of the cars skidded sideways, straight into one of the cafe employees cars. I rushed outside to help but by that time everything was under control. I had my digital camera with me so took a few shots of the scene in case they would be useful for evidence.

When the lady whose car had been damaged while parked claimed on her insurance they wouldn't pay up until the case was settled. As the person who had actually caused it by pulling out without looking was injured & claimed memory loss they couldn't settle the claim. They eventually paid up after several months & only then after questioning me (I hadn't actually witnessed the whole thing). I like to think my photos helped her get the claim settled & without them she might not have been paid at all. In fact her car was a write-off so she lost out through no fault of her own. I don't think her experience is unusual.

[MWISimmer]

Here in the USA insurance companies are looked on 2 ways by people.

1. They are blood sucking companies that take my money.
2. I am happy to invest as I know that in the event of a loss, I will be made whole again.

In the UK car insurance is a legal requirement so might i add...
3. I have to have insurance... it's the law.

Now don't get me on to Pet insurance... >:(  >:(  >:(
Rob.

[Fly2e]

That explains the difference right there Doug,

When the lady whose car had been damaged while parked claimed on her insurance they wouldn't pay up until the case was settled.

Like I said, here the two insurance companies would pay for their insureds repairs immediately and have each person fixed and on their way.
Since the corporate insurance companies are the ones with the money, they now try to collect from each other or "subrogation" as it is called here.

There is no insurance guy in some office trying to not pay out because he wants the money to himself...

I guess it is this way and thus why corporate America just cuts checks to each other like they are nothing..

Dave

[Fly2e]

In the UK car insurance is a legal requirement so might i add...
3. I have to have insurance... it's the law.

It is mandatory here to have auto insurance or there are stiff fines...

Now don't get me on to Pet insurance...

Rob, what is Pet Insurance?

Dave

[Hagar]

That explains the difference right there Doug,

Like I said, here the two insurance companies would pay for their insureds repairs immediately and have each person fixed and on their way.
Since the corporate insurance companies are the ones with the money, they now try to collect from each other or "subrogation" as it is called here.

There is no insurance guy in some office trying to not pay out because he wants the money to himself...

I guess it is this way and thus why corporate America just cuts checks to each other like they are nothing..

As I understand it that's how it's done here too. In this case they couldn't agree it between themselves, hence she didn't get paid. She even had to bear the cost of a hire car herself while they were sorting it all out. The loophole was the person everyone knew had caused it claiming loss of memory. I suspect he was scared of losing his job as he was driving a company vehicle. I saw him directly after the incident & although he was shocked he only injured his leg & could actually walk although he was taken to hosptal as a matter of routine. The lady that collided with him was far more severely injured as she'd hit her head on the windscreen. She couldn't have been doing more than 30 mph & he was almost stationary when it happened. Unfortunately I didn't witness it all myself & one of the important witnesses was on holiday in Australia when the investigation was going on.

PS. I'm not sure on my facts but believe if the police are called to a accident involving personal injuries it can lead to prosecution & possible loss of the guilty party's drivers licence.

[C]

It is mandatory here to have auto insurance or there are stiff fines...

Rob, what is Pet Insurance?

Dave

It means you can take you dog to the vet and if it needs (expensive) treatment the insurance will cover it. I suppose there's a line somewhere but you here some animals having quite complex operations (cat open heart surgery for example was on the TV the other night)...

I don't think any of our cats were ever insured, but the dog certainly was, and when he had a problem he was operated on a couple of times, whereas I expect had he not been insured, the ops would have been prohibitively expensive and he would have been put down...