Affordable Insurance Ripoff, Dishonest, Sold me a binding contract then changed price after the fact Pawtucket Rhode Island
I received a quote from the insurance agent for a 6 month contract for an auto policy. i was completely upfront about my 2 traffic violations, and we activated the policy, and I wrote a check for the down payment.
Nine days later, I receive a cancellation letter in the mail, stating that a have 2 surcharges on my record. (the 2 tickets) Turns out he wrote me up minus the 2 surcharges, and now that I'm bound by a 6 month contract, he is completely unwilling to help me. His quote: "your money is gone now, so you need to decide if you're going to accept the new rate and continue with the policy, or take your business elsewhere."
He refused to admit any fault or mistake, says that I caused all the problems with the contract, and said "I dont NEED to sell you a policy to survive, I have plenty of other clients.. in fact I have a card game scheduled at 7pm, so if you dont mind taking your paperwork.. have a nice day!"
CLIENTS OR VICTIMS?! I feel I was treated totally unfairly, he was very obnoxious and loud (like something you would expect from a scolding father disciplining his son) and completely unbusinesslike, a complete turnaround from the nice guy who sold me insurance for my car not even 2 weeks before!
He is an authorized agent for DAIRYLAND INSURANCE COMPANY, which is who the policy was written up under.. I contacted them directly, looking to now cancel the policy that I am completely disgusted about, and after leaving a down payment that was to cover my first month of insurance, was told that to now cancel only 10 days into my policy, I will actually OWE THEM MONEY!!
I do not want to see this happen to anyone else, and the only way to prevent it is to get the word out! Be warned and aware of this agent as well as this insurance company, they are completely unfair and this type of behavior should not be tolerated.
Derek
Cumberland, Rhode Island
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Mike
Cleveland,Ohio,
U.S.A.
Sorry to here it, but here's a suggestion...
#2Consumer Suggestion
Tue, March 02, 2004
Derek,
Sorry to hear what happened to you. Seems like the agent made an error at best and was using bait and switch at worst. However, it would appear that Dairyland is in no way at fault for what happened. Let me qualify that by stating I am in no way affiliated with Dairyland, in fact I work for a competitor. The agent is independent and in no way affiliated with the company, he is not on their payroll and he only sells their policies, he's just a broker.
However, there are a couple of avenues which you can use to pursue this: First off, I would obtain a copy of the application, receipt, and any documentation which shows that you disclosed to him the driving record blemishes. Secondly, contact your state's insurance commissioner, sometimes this is helpful, sometimes it is not.
Finally, every agent carries errors and ommissions insurance. This insures them against losses for any errors and omissions they make in policy underwriting. I am not sure if this would be covered, but I'm sure you can file a claim and have it looked in to. I'll give you an example:
I had a friend who carried homeowner's insurance on their home and they bought a new house and decided to retain the old one to rent it out. They contacted their agent and asked him to write a new policy for the old house, and keep insurance on the old one because they would be renting it out. The agent did so, or so they thought.
Year later, some tenants move out and the home is left in pitiful shape, that's okay, they have it insured right?
Wrong.
The agent kept collecting it on their original homeowners policy instead of switching it to a landlord's policy. Claim denied.
Advised my friend that this was an agent's error and he should contact the agent to file a claim under the agent's errors and omissions insurance and he did the same. In the end, the claim was paid, as they were able to prove that they were under the impression that the house would be covered because they disclosed to the agent that it would be used as a rental and the agent failed to write the policy accordingly.
I am not sure if you'll be able to pursue this avenue, it may only be available if a claim is denied because of an error on the part of the agent, but it is worth a try, at least.
Sorry to hear what happened but it seems the fault is with the agent, not Dairyland. These days I advise almost everyone I know to buy direct from the carrier rather than through an agent, sometimes the rates may be higher, but there's bound to be less confusion and suprises when you eliminate the middle man.