Insurance -

Been reading and learning some here from you folks.

My take is auto insurance is off the chart due to many uninsured drivers.
No tickets or claims filed in 50 years and mine is high on a 11 year old Jeep with 30K miles.

I have some experience with home owners insurance.
After Hugo Allstate wanted to just pay off the car, not repair but I persisted.
Roots from a tree falling lifted up and destroyed my walk way. They refused to pay.
Roof wind damage (some shingles) was judged not covered.

Not long ago my home and all I had was lost in fire. I got out with a Clemson tee shirt and shorts, no shoes, so everything was lost. There nothing like even some Hurricane victims have to maybe recover a photo or a? Loosing not just your home but all things as to your life is depressing.

I had lived there for 22 years. The house was round, so cost more to build.
Investigators said it was caused by rodents nibbling on electric wires.

I had State Farm Insurance. The rep was a nice guy. He said something like "you and I are going to become best friends, you are going to see me a lot". Nope. He was soon hard to reach. No matter as he little power other than being friendly. You have to deal with faceless people. They gave me a quick check of $10k which I did not need, but some might. That was good if you have nothing, no clothes no food, no place to sleep.

The job of insurance is of course to pay as little as possible. I understand that.
Their job was to pay less, mine to demand more. Normal folks don't understand insurance until they must.

Hauling off the remains of my house was $57K. My insurance paid $10K, so something to think on. Clearing off a disaster costs more than you might believe.

There was not enough to replace my home, but enough to build a smaller one. I guess that is on me for not updating the policy. On the flip, folks my age tend to downsize.
Keep in mind I had no mortgage, it would be hard to rebuild if you have a mortgage.

I again have a home on my old lot. I am doing great!

State Farm refused to write a new policy in my name.

PACIFIC BEACH TIGER®

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Re: Insurance -

Oct 7, 2024, 8:41 PM

Insurance is one of those things that seems straightforward until you actually need it, and then you find out just how complicated it can be. Your experience highlights exactly why some level of regulation is necessary, especially when dealing with large companies. While it's true that insurers are businesses and want to make a profit, their job is also to make sure that people are protected when something goes wrong. But, as you've seen, they can fall short of that, leaving homeowners and drivers struggling to pick up the pieces.

One of the key reasons regulations exist is to protect consumers from being taken advantage of. Companies like Allstate or State Farm are huge corporations with a lot of power, and without rules in place, they can deny claims, underpay, or make the process of getting reimbursed incredibly difficult. Your story of Allstate refusing to repair the damage from a tree or only paying a fraction of your haul-off costs is exactly the kind of situation regulations are supposed to help with. Insurance companies are in the business of minimizing their payouts, but regulations make sure they don't go too far and leave people high and dry after a disaster.

Another reason for regulation is to make sure that insurance companies follow standardized practices. That means ensuring that everyone has access to a basic level of protection, and that companies can't just write policies with hidden terms or tricky exclusions that make it impossible to get what you're owed. Without some oversight, it’s easy for these companies to create loopholes that work in their favor rather than yours. Regulations are there to force transparency and accountability, so people know exactly what they’re signing up for, and aren’t caught off guard in the worst moments of their lives.

There’s plenty of evidence showing that after major disasters, like hurricanes or fires, insurance companies often drag their feet or try to reduce what they pay out. We saw that after Hurricane Ian in Florida, where many homeowners found themselves denied or severely underpaid for claims they thought were covered. Regulations are meant to prevent these situations, holding insurers accountable to their policyholders, especially when the stakes are so high.

In the end, while no one wants to deal with too much red tape, the rules that exist around insurance are there to protect people from being left with nothing when disaster strikes. If there weren't any regulations, companies would have even more leeway to avoid paying claims or offering adequate coverage, leaving people like you to fight an uphill battle just to rebuild their lives.

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The rise in premiums have more to do with the ridiculous cost of vehicles,

Insurance is great ..

Like a shady neighbor, State Farm isnt quite there.***

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Re: Insurance - sirius kweschun for the bored:

Re: Insurance - sirius kweschun for the bored:

My Dad & some friends never filed a car damage claim

Re: Insurance - sirius kweschun for the bored:

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