Financial Advisor

When The Car Insurance Firm Doesn’t Pay

I read an article about something that we all can learn from when dealing with insurers. Someone with comprehensive insurance on their car unfortunately had it vandalized on the street during the night in front of their house. The insurer said that because the car was not broken into, and because they did not know who had done it (!?) the incident would be treated as accidental damage. Because the owner was under 25 years old, there would be an additional £250 charge for any accidental damage. To put it in other words, the insurance company was treating it as though the owner of the automobile had driven into a wall, and charged them as such.

A few things become apparent to me as I read this. Of course, the insurance company does not want to pay money. And they really don’t want to pay any money when they know they won’t get it back by increasing the premiums, and this is likely the case. Comprehensive premiums are generally based on the value of the car, and the geographical region. So we should never be shocked when they don’t want to pay us anything. The second thing to remember however is that they have a great deal of experience in legally avoiding their duty to pay their clients, and the clients generally have no experience whatever in getting them to pay. When we make a claim, it is more often than not the very first time, or at least the first time with this particular insurer. We need to grasp the fact that they always have caveats like this one to put the incident in a special category allowing them to treat it as they please.

Car insurance companies are not the only ones to do this. I had a leak upstairs in a rented house a few years back. This caused a stain which needed repainting downstairs. I called the insurer to make a claim but they asked me to produce the invoice for the original paint job. I asked them why. They explained that I had to prove that I was damaged financially in order for them to pay me anything, and if I had not paid anything to have the house painted initially, then I was not damaged financially. According to their logic, the person who originally painted the room was the one who was damaged, and therefore they did not have to pay me. Talk about convoluted reasoning! They must have had a good laugh when they thought that one up.

What does all of this mean? Basically, that for the most part your insurance policy is of little value. Get over it. Buy insurance to protect yourself against a disaster. This means public liability insurance only, and nothing else (unless required by law) for your car insurance. The purpose of insurance is to foresee the worst. Take the money you save and put it into your savings account. And learn how to get auto insurance quotes comparison onl ine.

About the Author

Greg Peters writes for www.hello-auto-insurance.com where you can find tips and links to help you find the best auto insurance for your needs.

When The Car Insurance Firm Doesn’t Pay by Greg Peters