We all have our moments – some to build us up and others to tear us down. I felt like I was on a high just a week ago, planning trips across the country to visit friends after a spontaneous splurge [#AYCJ] and preparing for a week long adventure in Black Rock City. And then I was at an all-time low, wondering and worrying about an investment I’d made years ago. Money wasn’t the main concern because I had what I needed to make the proper payments. It was everything else – the stress of figuring out who to call, what the situation was, and where I’d gone wrong since taking care of the problem was not as easy as it should have been. It’s really a tale of two insurance companies, one that I will be working with in the future and the other that I would very much rather be done with.
It all started with a fire. Without the fire, I wouldn’t have come to the realization that I would even need to consider a different insurance agent. I was under the impression that the woman responsible for the policy was doing her job. For the past few years, we’ve had the same insurance agent on the property. We paid our bills through her, and this year was not anything different. My father called her up with a credit card number and went on vacation, assuming that she’d do her job and take care of the bill. I only found out a few days ago that the bill hadn’t been paid, we’d supposedly been sent cancellation notices [none of which were received], and therefore, were not covered by any policy. The bizarre part of all this was that in calling the agent to tell her about the fire for the first time, she recognized my father’s voice, asked what our policy number was, and then said she would get back to me. I ended up calling her again because having tried to file a claim online, I noticed that the policy was no longer active. She knew nothing about it and supposedly had to go investigate what the issue was. She claimed that we’d received payment notices, cancellation notices, and termination notices on varying dates from May through July. So why hadn’t she called us to ask what the deal was? Why hadn’t she checked in to see if we were choosing not to renew our policy with them? That’s lost commission there, isn’t it? Also if there was a cancellation notice, it would have been sent to the bank as well. There were no voiced concerns from the bank, as far as I know!
Over the course of the several years of business with her, we’ve asked for name changes and address changes. It took her a very long time to change the address, and she never changed the name or added a name to the policy. Any bills that would’ve been received at the house would have been addressed to my father, rather than to me. If I’d known about the bills and notices that were supposedly sent [or had the chance to register with the company online], payments would have been made, and none of this would have been as big of a headache. To make matters worse, she would keep diverting from the problem – putting me off, telling me to file a claim even though it probably wouldn’t even make a difference. It was a waste of my time.
Luckily, through all this, there have been a few positives:
First would be Advanced Construction, a random company I picked off Yelp. They were super kind and supportive, offering to take a look at the house on their break because I couldn’t really get to it from San Francisco. They gave me an estimate, described the damages to me, and gave me their expert opinion. I would’ve used their services had none of the insurance companies covered any of the costs. I wrote a review of them on Yelp: here.
Second would be the other insurance company involved. As part of a homeowners’ association, we are required to purchase a separate policy to cover everything else. And thankfully, the damages were outside of the house and fit into the description of what the other policy covered. In other words, *phew* – it was such good news when I spoke to the adjuster yesterday. I am in the process of getting another policy with them.
Third would be RV. While he couldn’t exactly solve the problem at hand, he was there with me while I was fuming about the insurance agent and the situation. He was there while I was crying out of frustration and annoyance. It wasn’t easy discussing the situation over the phone without wanting to break down into tears. I’m a little overemotional/sensitive like that. And also the other friends I’ve spouted off about the situation with. It helps to talk about it to figure out how best to go about it.
So yeah, I am done with them, at least through that particular agent. I have a one-star Yelp review ready, but I’m waiting until the repairs are done to post it. When I called the insurance company directly, everyone seemed open and willing to listen to the situation. There really wasn’t a solution that could be offered since the policy was no longer active. The adjuster that I finally ended up speaking to was very helpful though. He said that there was only one possibility at this point, and he said he’d be willing to help me get through it if I wanted to. It would involve investigating the error of the agent and would involve management level decisions on coverage. I told him that I’d let him know if the other insurance company wouldn’t cover the costs. I’m just happy to know that not everyone is as incompetent as the agent I had!
You are truly your own worst enemy. Convincing oneself of anything else seems impossible. 
