I am an insurance agent licensed in Florida. I am licensed for: Auto, Home, Umbrella, Personal Articles aka Inland Marine, Commercial, Airplane, Boat, and some Health. I am in "training," for full Health and Life insurance. This entire thread is making my eye twitch. I completely agree with everything that is quoted. Insurance in the state of Florida is a huge issue right now. Multiple carriers have pulled out of the state for home insurance. Now, multiple carriers are pulling out for auto insurance. Why? Because people file bullshit claims. The number one reason why Insurance companies are pulling out is because of all the fake sinkhole claims. Yes, I understand times are tough, and you NEED money. However, does that really mean you are entitled the full value of your house, because your pool has a crack in it?! Congratulations, you just started a claim epidemic! Gee, and why are you being cancelled? Why did everyone's premiums sky rocket? Hmmm.... Yes, even companies that insure just auto are pulling out. WHY? Because the amount of bullshit personal injury claims! I had a lady file a claim against her policy, because her friend hit her in the head while closing the trunk! Now I have a headache....
Welcome to the land of the litigious. An old friend of the family's who has been our insurance agent for longer than I've been alive explained the difference between North America and Europe pretty simply for us. Consider 2 hypotheticals: a major train derailment in Europe, and one at Grand Central Station. The resulting lawsuits from each would be radically different, he said. In the UK, odds are there wouldn't be that many suits to begin with, and a settlement might be in the 100k pounds ballpark. In the US, just about every case would be in court, and they'd be looking for tens of millions of dollars per settlement. I think that serious tort reform is going to be needed before the problems with the insurance industry gets resolved in any way. People need to be bitch slapped for bringing bullshit suits. I'm no expert in this stuff, though, so what do I know. Do you experts have any ideas on how to fix the mess? For that matter... do you think it's a mess?
It became a mess back in the end of 2008 and the beinning of 2009. When I am talking, I mean about Florida. As we speak there is a bill that is being hashed out in the Senate. It is going to try to take care of the sinkhole claim problem. It is going to limit the time people have to file a claim from the time that the problem started. It is also going to redefine what a sinkhole is. That bill is going to help Florida alot. At the same time, our previous Governor Charlie Christ decided that he wanted to control the insurance industry. He made it a royal cluster fuck. He did not know jack shit about what he was talking about. Now the insurance companies are trying to fix what he fucked up. The Senate is also trying to fix what he fucked up. One of the biggest problems in the insurance industry is the amount of Public Adjusters there are. You know the huge billboards that you see on the road that say, "INVOLVED IN AN AUTO ACCIDENT CALL US!" or the "DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE A SINKHOLE CALL US!", those people are public adjusters. Money hungry bastards. Also, attorneys are our industry's best friend too. The United States is so fucking wrapped up in money it is not even funny. Everyone is concerned about how to make an easy buck. "Oh I just rear ended, my neck hurts... I think I will sue you for $500,000!" Yes, I understand accidents do happen, but at the same time people need to quit trying to make themselves better through insurance. If there could be some way that insurance fraud could be cut down, if there could be some kind of control on filing claims, or greed could vanish, then the problem could be fixed. That will never happen though. I would be so much fucking happier if people would stop filing bullshit claims.
Everyone seems to think this and it's simply not true. Agents don't make that much money. My clients don't write their checks to "Shegirls Vacation Fund" anymore than I pay out of pocket for their claims. It's required by law for good reasons, it's not the carriers fault. It's also very strictly regulated through each state. This applies to rates, policy structure, complaints and claims. There is a reason each state has it's own "Insurance Commissioner" on duty at the state office. They monitor us all closely. As for the tards that drive around uninsured thinking they'll never have an accident and they'll certainly never ever see any payback on their investment over the years I've got news for you, insurance is not an investment, there is no guarantee you'll ever see one penny of the premiums you've paid back but, if you ever need it you'll be god damn glad you have it. Not to mention part of why we all pay high rates is because of these uninsured dipshits. What someone said earlier in the thread is 100% correct, insurance is for catastrophic losses not the small shit. People think lower deductibles are the way to go, barely meeting the laws requirement for liability. This is just stupid but they do it because they want to pay as little out of pocket in the event of small claims rather than doing what Nett does, which is carrying higher than required liability limits and higher deductibles. If you get into an accident, rearend a car pushing it into two others and the one in the middle is a brand new BMW the state minimum for your property damage limit (normally 10-20k) sure as shit will not be enough to repair the other two cars and guess what...you will be sued and could possibly lose everything you've worked so hard to aquire in life. Would that be worth carrying those low deductibles so when you had a break-in and someone swiped your shit you only had to pay 250 bucks or got that windshield replaced for the same? Nope. Now you're fucked in a completely different way, because you were either too stupid or too cheap to listen to your agents recommendations. Generally speaking the buying public has no clue what they have, what it all means, therefore no clear idea on what they are paying for. Look at your shit folks, read it and ask questions, do reviews and listen to your agent. Just because they are saying you need more/better coverage does not mean they are seeing dollar signs when you agree, it might just mean they know their shit and care. It's part of their job. I have to sit through 5 hours of Law&Ethics every two years in order to maintain my license for good reasons. I am not here to scam you in any way, I'm here to help, educate and recommend what I, in my professional opinion, think you need for your particular situation. If you think you're getting screwed call another carrier and get a comparative rate, apple to apples and see if you are or not. I want you to have the best rate and the right coverage. As for renters/home/townhouse/condo and the like, in comparison to auto insurance it's literally pennies on the dollar. Buy that shit. In most cases, when it comes to renters, if you have your car with the same carrier you pick up an additional discount which normally is the premium for the renters policy so why the wouldn't you? Homeowners review your shit with your agent annually making sure you're covered to at least full replacement cost of the home. Alert your agent of any changes such as additional jewelry, business being run out of the home, additional target items you may have acquired or any updating or improvements you've made to the home since the last review. If your agent does not know chances are there is no coverage should a loss occur. Lastly, insurance companies are like banks in that everyone has something bad to say about a company based on their opinions and/or personal interactions with a company. Shop it out, get the right coverage for your situation and get edcuated on what you're paying for. Whew, I think this is the longest post I've ever made.
I want to hear from somebody who doesn't have health insurance, and I know that you are out there. What are your reasons for not covering yourself even with the most minimal policy? For me, car, home, health, and professional liability insurance, all with pretty good coverage. I do have a slightly higher deductible than normal because I would rather pay $1,000 for a new bumper out of pocket than deal with making a claim to my insurance company. My last dealings with my insurance company were pretty painless (the instance where I drove my car into my house - not one of my prouder moments). They had a tow truck out there within an hour (although that may have been to the credit of Infiniti), I got to take it to a body shop recommended by the dealership, I got a rental car for a couple of weeks. I think I just made an initial phone call and they handled the rest. To be honest, I wouldn't have blamed them for dropping my ass, but they didn't .
Bullshit law-suits are the way some people make a living and its fucking disgusting. About 5 years ago, my dad got t-boned at an intersection by a Haitian guy. (race irrelevant) Practically totaled my dad's car because it wasn't worth that much, but had it fixed anyhow. Damage was in the neighborhood of 4 grand. The other guy's car wasn't too badly damaged, but his insurance was inadequate to cover all the damage to his and dad's car. So we had to go through our insurance because suing the guy for damages would have drained months out of our lives and he wouldn't have been able to pay anyway. Skip ahead 6 months later and we are slapped with a law-suit for 32 grand through our insurance company from the Haitian guy for medical expenses after the collision HE caused! After some investigation, we discovered that his medical conditions were chronic stemming back years before the crash. Fuck him. He was trying to get money from us, just to get money. We also discovered that he had several collisions in his history, that were also his fault, in which he filed suit against the injured party for the very same medical conditions. The really shitastic thing is that the insurance companies end up settling with him just to shut him up and get rid of the suit. Evidently, its cheaper to pay him off than to go to court and fight. So they gave him $4500 and he went away. I hope he's dead. This was in South Florida too.
This may sound crazy, but I pick my insurance by the agent, not the premiums. I met with a few of them, and found one that I got a good vibe from. Then I asked for a couple of references from him, including a guy who had to file a big and complex claim. Sure, it took me a few days, but in the end I want to be able to trust the guy/girl with my quality of life. Because I have to. If something seriously shits the bed, and I'm not covered properly, that's a BIG deal, and could impact me seriously for years. I want to know that that person will be there for me and fight for me and see me whole again, starting with ensuring that I have the coverage that I'll need. Some people may scoff, but I don't even give a shit about competing premiums. Don't know what they are, don't care. I just write the cheque every year, but with the confidence that I'm all good. I just did the math and it's been 12 years now that I've used the same agent. And he knows my name when I see him, funnily enough. One thing I learned a long time ago is that business is way more about the people than anything else. Get good people involved, and good things happen.
I'm not picking on you, I promise, but this is an attitude that has always pissed me off. You can sue for whatever amount you want to put on the piece of paper. You can sue for a billion dollars for a hangnail. Just because you say it, doesn't make it so. If people quit trying to make themselves better through insurance will insurance do what it is supposed to do and put me back in the position I was before I was hurt or my house burned down, or some other problem? You know, like the contract we signed with you says you are required to do?
Want to know what pisses me off? Them not getting knocked the fuck out for wasting everyone's time and clogging up the courts with such a bullshit claim.
Shockingly, Louisiana is fairly progressive on this issue. It is a violation of The Code of Civil Procedure to put a specific monetary demand in your petition when you file it. It's worked pretty well.
Yep. This is very true. They'd rather give up a small amount than go to court and cost far more for all the costs associated with a situation such as this. It's not so much shut up money as it is go the fuck away money and it normally works. When I was smacked by a lady someone had waved through two lanes of traffic I dealt with GEICO and have to say they were great up until it came time to settle on the value of my car. I was in a rental in less than 24 hours but, I was in that rental for 33 days because they dicked me around on the offered amount and I'm an agent so I knew what I was doing. They ended up paying more for the rental days then they did to satisfy me and accept the offer. And, when I was hit, I was doing 35. She made a left right in front of me, there was very little time to brake. Contact was made to the pass side fender of her car to the entire front end of mine. Because of the honkin' engine under the hood and longer nose of my Mustang (RIP Kitty) I spun her completely around and the car hopped the curb facing the direction I had been traveling. It was a hard hit. Other than a sore knee and massive seatbelt bruise across my right boob, I was fine and made no medical claim against them and my car was totaled. Don't be a pussy but also take care of yourself and if you have legit symptoms or injuries definitely seek care.
She is completely right. I would rep her, but it says I can't. Your check is not going to pay for my new purse. Agents get a very small percentage off of that premium. The average person does not understand shit about what their policy means. For those of you that call and say, "Just give me what I have to have." You should be slapped. How about you actually have a conversation with your agent, and find out what you are or are not covered for. Do not be afraid to ask questions. We are not used car sales men/women. We are actually concerned about or clients. We do not want to receive the phone call from you squawking that you are under insured. Also, I cannot state this enough: buy comp and coll coverage. If you can afford it, fucking buy it. What's that? Your car got totaled, but you can't afford to replace it? I guess you should have purchased that coverage huh? As for homeowner's insurance..... Unless you have a inland marine policy... You know that wedding ring that you bought from Tiffany's for wife? Most policy's only cover for $2500 for jewelry. If you have a $1000 deductible..... You are only getting $1500 for that $5000 ring, that your wifey lost a rock out of. This also goes for fire arms. You might be able to support a small army with your collection, but only a VERY small part is covered under your insurance. Also, your great-great-great-great grandfather's clock, that you say is worth $25,000? Yeah try again....... Better get a policy for it... Becareful about what company you get your policy from. They might be the cheapest, but are they also the best quality? Are they going to help you get through a claim? Are they even going to pay out on your claim? Will they do it in a timely fashion? You get what you pay for. Also, please purchase life insurance. It is extremely important for numerous reasons.
That what insurance is supposed to do. It is called the Principle of Indemnity. It is to put you back where you started NOT $500,000 ahead.
I understand that. But, don't get upset because some toothless jackleg asks for $500,000 for his sore neck. You know, I know, plainitiff's counsel knows, defense counsel knows, and the Court knows his claim isn't worth that much. The only person that doesn't is the toothless jackleg. And he'll learn the hard way if he gets his back up and demands to sit in front of a jury and demand 500K for a soft tissue injury. At the same time, don't treat the guy with two blown out cervical discs the same as the toothless jackleg. And yes, juries do wacky things sometimes, people are people and do stupid things, but, for the most part, juries get it right. When they don't Courts have remititturs or, in extreme cases, Motions for New Trial.
You are telling me I shouldn't be upset about it? Okay, then don't you be upset when your premiums getting raised. By the toothless jackass dragging everyone to court, wasting time, and legal fees, your premiums get effected by bullshit like that. The keyword is BULLSHIT. I have said nothing about the guy that uses his insurance when he NEEDS it.
Lets not forget about the majority of personal injury legal advertisements. They don't discriminate the people with legit claims versus the unemployed toothless rednecks who need some money to make it till next week. What do they always say? "Were you injured in a car accident?" "You need money!" "We will get you every dollar." They don't mention fault whatsoever. They don't specify because they know every potential client will at least get a small settlement regardless of the validity of their claim. All they need to do is sue for more than a reasonable amount. They know its unreasonable, but think of the show pawn stars as an example. The person coming in the store asks for more than they are really willing to accept on an item. Big Hoss makes a counter offer and the person usually accepts. Once the go-away money is settled, the attorney gets 1/3. Take on a bunch of these frivolous cases and you have yourself a nice little practice. Also, suing for damages and expenses is fine. It supposed to make you whole, as best as can be. Not put you ahead into a new tax bracket.
I'm a single person with no dependents, and I have a simple policy I get through work for 50k so in the event that I do knock off early those who will be responsible for handling my affairs won't have to dig into their wallets to do it. Not to be flippant, what why would I need anything else?
What happens when you lose your job? Do you even know the terms that the policy would pay out? Does it pay out only if you do at work? Is it accidental only? It is term or whole? What happens when you retire? Or if you get a life threatening disease that makes you UNinsurable in the future, when you are not single, and do have dependents?
All great points and correctly asked. Life insurance is the hardest sell to anyone that hasn't had to watch the aftermath of someone passing away that didn't have any. Especially if they had a wife and kids, or none. You're far better off getting it when you're young and healthy and keeping it. You'll be grandfathered in should any changes take place and the rates are really low. I think it was Noland that said he's got juvenile riders on his policies for his kids and that's because it's so cheap to do there's no reason not to. And just like all other forms of insurance, get yourself educated on what you have and/or are paying for. Most group policies provided through employers are squat and when you leave, you leave the policy behind too.
If I lose my job I have the option to continue paying for the policy out of my own pocket, but realistically I probably wouldn't. Obviously if I get married and/or have kids I would re-evaluate my situation. It's just the way you said it made it seem that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, should have life insurance, and as I said as a single person with no dependents I don't see why I would need it. Edit: Just to clarify, I'm not being dismissive of life insurance, it's just never occurred to me that someone my age and in my situation would ever need it.