Going Round for Round and Toe To Toe with Your Insurance Company Is Permissible but Don’t Expect To Win Any of the Rounds and You Might Lose a Few Toes

 

In October of 2018 my car creped forward at a stop light and made gentle contact with the Lexus in front of me. My car has a tendency to creep because the brakes bleed off. (This issue had already been reported to my dealership service department but they said they had never heard of that happening. I let it drop because I am still sharp enough that I can tell when my dealership service department thinks I am not as sharp as I once was.) The movement was so slow that it was hard to even notice that it was happening. The contact with the Lexus was so gentle that I falsely assumed that it was a gentle bumper tap but I was wrong. The contact made 2 small marks on the Lexus that really jumped out at you if you got about 2 feet away and stared real hard with your magnifying reading glasses on. The lady who was driving the Lexus was hysterical. The facial expression on the face of the police officer indicated to me he thought she was over-the-top hysterical. The damage to my car was never repaired because I would have had trouble getting the body shop write up guy to see where it needed to be repaired. I was not ticketed.

In March of 2019 my wife was backing out of a parking spot at the Post Office to go find a better parking spot and her rear bumper made gentle contact with another car that was backing out from the adjoining spot. He got there first, so it was determined that she hit him. She did not know she had hit the other car. She got into her new spot and went into the Post Office and stood in line. The driver of the car she had “collided” with followed her into the Post Office and told her she had hit his car. She thought he was kidding. My wife was not ticketed.

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As a result of these accidents our Insurance Rates started shooting up. We have been told that we will be under this Collision Cloud for 3 years...

Below are my car’s 6 month percentage increases since my “accident”:

Ø +40%

Ø +74%

Ø +5%

Ø +10%

Ø +14%
Total percentage increase is 119%.

Below are my wife’s 6 month percentage increases since her “accident”:

Ø +67%

Ø +7%

Ø +10%

Ø +21%
Total percentage increase is 138%

My Insurance Company tells me that at the end of 3 Years without any further accidents we will see a substantial reduction in our rates. Below I will peck out why I question their use of the word “Substantial”.

I just finished humbly crawling to my Insurance Company over the telephone. During the call we tried to work out a way to adjust coverage to save me some money. We came up with raising the Deductibles for Collision from $500 to $1,000. I was told was the highest deductible I could get.

After we finished our search for lower premiums, I asked, “How much money have I saved?”

My crack insurance representative did not blink an eye (I could tell her eye did not blink over the phone) when she told me, “The 6 month premium will go down $2.93.”

I was waiting for her to say, “$2.93 may not seem like a lot but remember that is for a 6 Month Premium. Really you are saving, $5.86 on an annual basis.”

So my Insurance Company considers $2.93 over 6 months a big deal. Remember my use of the word ‘substantial” above. I now have misgivings about the Substantial Reduction they are telling me I can look forward to after 3 years without an accident. Will they say to me without blinking an eye, “Hey, Fella, your premiums went up 119% and 138% respectively when you and your wife were so careless that each of you had 2 miniscule collisions. We are pleased to tell you that if you and your wife can drive for 3 years without an accident your rates will come down 11% and 12% respectively! If that does not get your attention, nothing will!

We got to that decrease the fairest way we know how. We added 119 and 138 across!”

Would I kid u?

Smartfella

Lagniappe: A couple of days after talking to the $2.93 Representative I contacted my insurance company and found out that the saving was more than $2.93. It is actually $20.99. I told them . I’m back to 500 Deductible. I can afford the $20.99. It’s the rest of my Car Insurance Premiums I can’t afford.