Adventures in Insuranceville
Hello all from Insuranceville!! Got a lesson learned story for you today! So I have a close friend that I have done over 10 auto insurance quotes for over the last few years. He and his wife have 2 cars with lien holders (car note) on both. Every time I would run a quote the rate was too high for him to consider switching and that is quoting 15+ carriers! I would always ask what their current coverage was and he would say "full coverage".
FYI the term "full coverage" is not a term a good insurance agent likes to hear because it leaves a lot to be assumed (deductibles, limits, etc). I want to make sure my clients know what they are buying! He did say he thinks he had a $500 deductible (smh). I told him his current rate seemed too low compared to current rates. Guess he was taking it as a complement! I would usually push for him to call and get his current declarations page, which he would put off. I would usually quote him options ranging from a loaded up policy to a basic policy. I could not even get close to his rate even with minimal coverage. I still insisted that he should review his insurance policy with a company rep!
Well I received and call from him for another quote! I asked him if his policy took a rate increase? He said no but that he tried to file a claim because his wife had an accident (she is okay)!!! He found out a car he thought he had "full coverage" had no collision coverage at all!!!!
Although I felt horrible for him it took everything I had to not say I TOLD YOU SO (but I took the high road)!!
He is now having to flip the bill for the repairs out of pocket!! Luckily it was just a fender bender with one of those poles in a drive through and repairs were only a few thousand (lol only). Now I'm not mentioning what company he had but it was a company without any local agencies!!! We also found out he had some other gaps in coverage. This would have been avoided if he had a local agent like me reviewing his account! The silver lining is he learned a lesson and I now have him set up on a new policy at a great rate and now has the best insurance agent in town!! So lesson learned...
B Powell out!!