Crooks!
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From: Berkeley
Originally Posted by Will,Nov 25 2006, 10:53 AM
Choicepoint is the name of the company that compiles pretty much all claims info on any given person, and provides that info to any insurance company that asks. It's called a C.L.U.E. report. That report will contain the date of the accident, the coverages that paid out, the ammount, the name of the policyholder at the time, and the driver involved. Depending on the insurance company that reported this info to Choicepoint at the time, they may or may not indicate whether or not you were "at fault". Usually if fault is not displayed on the report, your current company will assume you were "at fault" unless you can provide proof otherwise, which requires either an accident report or a letter from your insurance company's claims department that you were insured by at that time. It can be a hassle but ultimately they have to go by whatever evidence you can provide.
This whole process seems stupid but is necessary to weed out the liars from the good insurance customers. Good luck!!
This whole process seems stupid but is necessary to weed out the liars from the good insurance customers. Good luck!!
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From: Eugene, OR
okay... i stayed up until about 6 am last night writing a letter to GEICO which i fully intend to send to them. i also wrote letters to my senator and my rep. in DC, don't know if they'd even be able to do anything about it, but i figured they'd at least help. I know Sen. Walker cause her hubby works with me at the newspaper and Rep. DeFazio i know from back in high school through student government/youth leadership programs. i understand where you guys are coming from i suppose, i'm reasonable and i expect to be held accountable for my my tickets.... but an "at fault" accident that doesn't exist? its just another way to make money off of me and i know for a fact that GEICO doesn't give a **** whether or not their info was correct, only that they can make money off of it. guys, keep in mind that these are INSURANCE COMPANIES, don't assume that they have always have good intentions and don't be so ****ing COMPLACENT. god, whatever happened to putting it to the man? 
anyway, hear me out... this is what i intend to send them. let me know what you think... beware, it's a long one but i'd appreciate feedback/pointers before i send it off. it even has a "shout out" to all my homies at s2ki. 
To Whom It May Concern;
My name is Crystal Stanford and I am your average, single, 20 year-old girl from Eugene, Oregon. I drive a 2002 Honda S2000; a two-seater, convertible, sports car that also happens to be red. My vehicle has been insured through Unitrin Direct since I purchased it about six months ago in May of 2006.
My policy through Unitrin was set to expire on November 26th, 2006, and being that I work full time and have a busy schedule like most people nowadays, I did not get around to the business of shopping for new insurance until November 22nd. Unitrin had provided me with good service in the past 6 months, but I was paying about $250/month with them and wanted to see if I could get a better deal through another company. I obtained quotes from your company (GEICO), Progressive, All State, Esurance, and AIG. Ultimately, GEICO provided me with the cheapest quote. I was quoted $1010.70 for 6 months, a price which breaks down to roughly $168/month, and was asked for a first payment of $253 based on information I provided, which included the fact that I had received 2 traffic violations in the past 3 years (1 Speeding, and 1
anyway, hear me out... this is what i intend to send them. let me know what you think... beware, it's a long one but i'd appreciate feedback/pointers before i send it off. it even has a "shout out" to all my homies at s2ki. To Whom It May Concern;
My name is Crystal Stanford and I am your average, single, 20 year-old girl from Eugene, Oregon. I drive a 2002 Honda S2000; a two-seater, convertible, sports car that also happens to be red. My vehicle has been insured through Unitrin Direct since I purchased it about six months ago in May of 2006.
My policy through Unitrin was set to expire on November 26th, 2006, and being that I work full time and have a busy schedule like most people nowadays, I did not get around to the business of shopping for new insurance until November 22nd. Unitrin had provided me with good service in the past 6 months, but I was paying about $250/month with them and wanted to see if I could get a better deal through another company. I obtained quotes from your company (GEICO), Progressive, All State, Esurance, and AIG. Ultimately, GEICO provided me with the cheapest quote. I was quoted $1010.70 for 6 months, a price which breaks down to roughly $168/month, and was asked for a first payment of $253 based on information I provided, which included the fact that I had received 2 traffic violations in the past 3 years (1 Speeding, and 1
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From: houston
umm, err, you did use "your company" an awful lot, and subtracting -10 for grammatical errors and -5 for wordiness, i think i'd give you an 85. if you hadda stuck w/the spoon i would've given you a 100 though.
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From: Albuquerque, NM
[QUOTE=C_Unit,Nov 26 2006, 04:23 PM] guys, keep in mind that these are INSURANCE COMPANIES, don't assume that they have always have good intentions and don't be so ****ing COMPLACENT.
.... please send some to me too... 
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From: Berkeley
Originally Posted by curiouz_G,Nov 27 2006, 06:24 AM
if it makes you feel better, im paying 5500 a year driving a 2003 Honda Civic EX Coupe 
you can buy a brand new civic ex coupe after 2.5-3 years of the insurance rate you're paying!!
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From: Eugene, OR
Originally Posted by Will,Nov 26 2006, 10:02 PM
Whoa, I don't think anyone was being complacent... there is a procedure for correcting errors like this and I had described it above. I'm sure everyone reading this understands why you are upset but your anger probably won't do anything to resolve the problem (even though sending this letter may make you feel better).
I'm going to take a risk and assume that when the accident occured, Unitrin Direct provided coverage to repair your vehicle (because they are able to do this very quickly, as opposed to USAA's 3rd party liability, which takes longer to pay out) and then when USAA accepted full liability, they paid back Unitrin Direct through subrogation. This means that even though USAA ultimately paid for the damages, the initial claim through Unitrin Direct means that there is probably a record on your C.L.U.E. report (mentioned above) that states how much Unitrin initially paid out under your collision coverage (later reimbursed by USAA)... and this is where it probably hurt you... Unitrin probably didn't list "at fault" or "not at fault". So, basically, you'd still be happy with Geico's prices if Unitrin Direct had done their job right and reported this info accurately to Choicepoint.
I am an insurance agent so I have a unique perspective to this matter. Yes, you may think I am biased toward insurance companies but we agents have to buy insurance just like anyone else, and we're subject to the same bureaucratic nonsense that you are having to deal with right now. So i'm on your side but just thought I could help by explaining more about the process... i'm sure your anger was fueled doubly by not having a human to talk to. Online direct companies are great for price but poor (in my experience) if you ever need personal service.
If you really want to complain, you would probably make more progress complaining to your state insurance commissioner than your state representatives.
Your enthusiasm is admirable and I wish you luck... but you need a lot of leverage to turn the wheels of such a big machine. Geico operates in accordance with insurance laws in every state they do business in, though they will interpret them as literally as possible to keep their COSTS as low as possible. They pay a lot of lawers a lot of money to make sure they can't be told they're doing anything "wrong". Maybe they're morally wrong but not legally.
I'm going to take a risk and assume that when the accident occured, Unitrin Direct provided coverage to repair your vehicle (because they are able to do this very quickly, as opposed to USAA's 3rd party liability, which takes longer to pay out) and then when USAA accepted full liability, they paid back Unitrin Direct through subrogation. This means that even though USAA ultimately paid for the damages, the initial claim through Unitrin Direct means that there is probably a record on your C.L.U.E. report (mentioned above) that states how much Unitrin initially paid out under your collision coverage (later reimbursed by USAA)... and this is where it probably hurt you... Unitrin probably didn't list "at fault" or "not at fault". So, basically, you'd still be happy with Geico's prices if Unitrin Direct had done their job right and reported this info accurately to Choicepoint.
I am an insurance agent so I have a unique perspective to this matter. Yes, you may think I am biased toward insurance companies but we agents have to buy insurance just like anyone else, and we're subject to the same bureaucratic nonsense that you are having to deal with right now. So i'm on your side but just thought I could help by explaining more about the process... i'm sure your anger was fueled doubly by not having a human to talk to. Online direct companies are great for price but poor (in my experience) if you ever need personal service.
If you really want to complain, you would probably make more progress complaining to your state insurance commissioner than your state representatives.
Your enthusiasm is admirable and I wish you luck... but you need a lot of leverage to turn the wheels of such a big machine. Geico operates in accordance with insurance laws in every state they do business in, though they will interpret them as literally as possible to keep their COSTS as low as possible. They pay a lot of lawers a lot of money to make sure they can't be told they're doing anything "wrong". Maybe they're morally wrong but not legally.
actually, USAA sent a check directly to me and then i paid the body shop of my choice to do the work.
and i'll be sure to send one to my state insurance commissioner too. i'm going to go find out who that is... haha, thanks for the advice. i just really think it's unfair that GEICO never gave me a number where i could reach a live customer service rep. it's just RUDE...