Any other insurance agents here?

[TSAMP]

It's a pretty simple business model. I had a hail claim in 2019. I'd been insured with them for 10 years with no claims, and the exact payout amount for the damage was within $100 of the total premiums I had paid over those 10 years. I should note it was paid out in 4 different checks as I had to continually go back and fourth to get various items replaced through them. It felt like I was haggling over a used 4 wheeler on Craigslist.

I promptly switched carriers afterwards. I had to increase my deductible to get coverage but costs were essentially the same.

It was an interesting crash course in insurance as I saw various neighbors get half a roof done while folks on either side got their whole house re roofed and sided. It came down to your carrier and how squeaky of a wheel you can be.

 

[Happy Antelope]

So basically the insurance companies are losing their shirts because they have to do their job and pay to repair/replace peoples property after so many years of raking in the dough? And they’re increasing prices to make up for the losses after all the fires and property value increases?
Am I understanding this right?

Yep that's how it works, they want to make a profit by helping facilitate the spread the risk around. Petty hard to run a business if you can't place a price on your exposure/risk for a given year. Imagine if you had to spend your whole life worrying about the exposure of a million dollar car crash, losing a home and a lifetime of work in one night. Lot easier to enjoy life not having that burden to cope with everyday of your life. If there was no insurance tens of thousands of families would be wiped out completely, starve and likely die every year. Would you carry a 50K car note on a friends car with no insurance knowing he doesn't have the savings to pay you if it's totaled? I wouldn't. Ins is what helps people get rich, preserve a standard of living, etc. They are entitled to a profit, their employees are entitled to a paycheck for their risk and work same as you an I. Think of insurance as a tool to use to your advantage, thats what smart people, big business, etc do. Super rich folks don't "NEED" insurance, but they all buy it.

 

[Happy Antelope]

It's a pretty simple business model. I had a hail claim in 2019. I'd been insured with them for 10 years with no claims, and the exact payout amount for the damage was within $100 of the total premiums I had paid over those 10 years. I should note it was paid out in 4 different checks as I had to continually go back and fourth to get various items replaced through them. It felt like I was haggling over a used 4 wheeler on Craigslist.

I promptly switched carriers afterwards. I had to increase my deductible to get coverage but costs were essentially the same.

It was an interesting crash course in insurance as I saw various neighbors get half a roof done while folks on either side got their whole house re roofed and sided. It came down to your carrier and how squeaky of a wheel you can be.

Thats 100% a fact, everything you said.

 

[5MilesBack]

It's just like our health insurance system, including medicare and medicaid. Obamacare mandated the coverage of preexisting conditions and mandated coverage for folks that couldn't afford it. So who pays for that? We all do. It doesn't even matter whether you've ever had a claim or not, we all pay for it. I'd prefer we got rid of insurance companies and government insurance altogether.

 

[Happy Antelope]

It's just like our health insurance system, including medicare and medicaid. Obamacare mandated the coverage of preexisting conditions and mandated coverage for folks that couldn't afford it. So who pays for that? We all do. It doesn't even matter whether you've ever had a claim or not, we all pay for it. I'd prefer we got rid of insurance companies and government insurance altogether.

So what happens if you end up needing millions of dollars of healthcare? The real solution is 25k plus deductibles, etc.

 

[5MilesBack]

So what happens if you end up needing millions of dollars of healthcare?

If I can't afford it, then I can't afford it. Or if I decline care, then I decline it. But if everyone was in the same boat, the market would set the price for healthcare instead of the way it is now. Heck, even with multiple insurance coverages paying 100% I still don't go to the doctor. My wife was just asking who she should make the beneficiary on one of her pensions, and I said "me". She replied "are you kidding......with the risks you take, you'll never outlive me.........I never even know if you're coming home every year from hunting, or dying in the mountains".

 

[bentarrow]

The fat cats at the top should take a pay cut. My trk and home insu both went up as they do every yr. Live in mi. So far it hasn't gotten real bad. Have carried this policy for 35 yrs. Like u say. We all end up payin.
I could cancel any time. All is paid for. Soon as ya do something happens. Sucks.

 

[pacoalcracker]

Look, if insurance companies were not super profitable Warren Buffet wouldn't own the amount of shares in them that he does.......hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars worth.......as do most other large mutual fund and money managers. Who the hell do these insurance companies think they are fooling? Go research the paychecks of the top 10 officers of any insurance company...then its easy to see where the problems is. Same for most agency owners. Insurance is legal thievery. FOLLOW THE MONEY.

 

[sasquatch]

Live in high hurricane zone, south Louisiana.

I can tel you first had why this is happening at least around here! Simply abuse!

Everyone looking to replace their roof and rack up claims when a storm passes. Their 35 year old roof was just perfect before that storm! Ha, yea right! They all put their hands out for payments then turn around and cry a river when premiums go up to cover it.

Nothing is FREE, but that’s a hard concept to understand for most. Our governmental system has turned society into a bunch of welfare recipients who don’t want to own any responsibility for anything.

As mentioned above, high deductibles are the answer. Yet, I don’t like that I raised my deductible above a new roof cost and barley got but a few hundred dollar break in premium. I’m very close to self insuring


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[SWOHTR]

Interesting to read. We have a claim with USAA homeowners. Filed it in Jan 23 for water damage in the kitchen. Quotes and repairs don’t even come close to what USAA has paid out, and that’s with us hiring an independent to help our case. Not sure what to do next. Never had a claim with them before this and have been using them for years.

 

[nowicki2005]

It's a pretty simple business model. I had a hail claim in 2019. I'd been insured with them for 10 years with no claims, and the exact payout amount for the damage was within $100 of the total premiums I had paid over those 10 years. I should note it was paid out in 4 different checks as I had to continually go back and fourth to get various items replaced through them. It felt like I was haggling over a used 4 wheeler on Craigslist.

I promptly switched carriers afterwards. I had to increase my deductible to get coverage but costs were essentially the same.

It was an interesting crash course in insurance as I saw various neighbors get half a roof done while folks on either side got their whole house re roofed and sided. It came down to your carrier and how squeaky of a wheel you can be.

That's a very uneducated take. First off, 90% of adjusters and roofets don't know what actual hail damage is. The amount of profit a roofing company makes is insane, it's over 50%.


Do you know what insurance is for? If insurance paid for undamaged slopes or all elevations of siding every time one was damage premiums would be 4 times as high. It is not a maintenance policy but that is how it is used.

The reason for differences in replacement people forget to factor in are many. One, haul size, roof slope, slope direction. storm direction, age of the shingle, kind of shingle, sunny all day shingle or shaded, many factors go into what damage will occur to a roof. Also, some ins companies don't have the funds to have adjusters view it and will just pay whatever. Contractors take advantage of this and either blatantly lie or don't actually know what they're talking about because they're actually just salesmen who hire migrants to do a roof in a day while paying them $50 a day.

 

[TSAMP]

That's a very uneducated take. First off, 90% of adjusters and roofets don't know what actual hail damage is. The amount of profit a roofing company makes is insane, it's over 50%.


Do you know what insurance is for? If insurance paid for undamaged slopes or all elevations of siding every time one was damage premiums would be 4 times as high. It is not a maintenance policy but that is how it is used.

The reason for differences in replacement people forget to factor in are many. One, haul size, roof slope, slope direction. storm direction, age of the shingle, kind of shingle, sunny all day shingle or shaded, many factors go into what damage will occur to a roof. Also, some ins companies don't have the funds to have adjusters view it and will just pay whatever. Contractors take advantage of this and either blatantly lie or don't actually know what they're talking about because they're actually just salesmen who hire migrants to do a roof in a day while paying them $50 a day.

Perhaps it was over simplified, but not uneducated. Thanks for your invaluable contribution.

 

[Happy Antelope]

Interesting to read. We have a claim with USAA homeowners. Filed it in Jan 23 for water damage in the kitchen. Quotes and repairs don’t even come close to what USAA has paid out, and that’s with us hiring an independent to help our case. Not sure what to do next. Never had a claim with them before this and have been using them for years.

They are a great carrier, as long as you can justify the work they should simply amend the claim total and cut you a check. Are they refusing?

 

[SWOHTR]

They are a great carrier, as long as you can justify the work they should simply amend the claim total and cut you a check. Are they refusing?

Short answer is yes. Trying to negotiate and they just stopped responding.

 

[browning2480]

Short answer is yes. Trying to negotiate and they just stopped responding.

I have only used them once a couple years ago for a bedroom that had a roof leak. They took care of everything no issues. Might be because I just used the company they suggested and that was it.

 

[ttpoz]

Retired and sold my agency a few years ago. I'm glad I got out when I did altho there is still money to be made. Consumers are really taking it on the chin. It would be tough to go to work each day knowing you'll have to justify huge premium increases every time the phone rings.

 

[5MilesBack]

It would be tough to go to work each day knowing you'll have to justify huge premium increases every time the phone rings.

Ah, that's the easy part. You just explain to them that it's all of the actuary's fault. Well that, and all the claims that have been paid out over the last several years. That's the problem here......we have damaging hail storms almost every week through the summer. That and just a few really large expensive fires in the last 11 years.

 

[Happy Antelope]

Short answer is yes. Trying to negotiate and they just stopped responding.

File a complaint with the division of insurance, they will respond I promise.

 

[180ls1]

Broker, not an agent. Group Health/Ancillary + Retirement/401K plans.

Honestly, I'll probably stay in the business until I die. My dad has been doing it for 40+ years now. He still has a great book, time off whenever he chooses, and has excellent pay. I am on the same trajectory.

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

You won't find many people who are sympathetic to insurers or those in the insurance business. I have never encountered a person who hasn't had a negative experience when they needed an insurer to hold up their end of the deal. If the insured engages in dishonesty or deceit to maximize a claim, that's insurance fraud. If an insurer engages in dishonesty or deceit to maximize their profit, well that's just part of the business.

Take SWOHTRs case for example. If in the end, the insurer performs on the policy, they stood NOTHING to lose by stalling, delaying and stringing him out in hopes that he'd eventually just let it go. It's time consuming and mentally exhausting dealing with an insurer that does that, and the insurer suffers no consequences.