Complaint Review: Burke Insurance Service

 Kevin, as I said yesterday there is no bigger fraudster than you in the insurance world. If you truly want to disprove your lack of integrity, why don't you write me a proper refund check now. Ethics and integrity are two words that doesn't define you and/or your insurance business. Now that you have brazenly come to the delusional conclusion that you acted rightly, I have decided to report you to the CSLB and Cal Department of Insurance. Your narrative surely suggests an unrepentant Ponzi schemer and scammer who only target new entrant contractors to sell the the kind of insurance they don't need and inflate the cost. As of today my coverage for $2 million general and professional liability with one million auto, $200k office content, and $3 million umbrella in Los Angeles Orange County is sill slighly less than $5,000. Even with finance charges added. I still have all the documents associated with your scam, you lied Kevin. The 30 days cancellation policy is very mute on who can initiate the policy cancellation. Nowhere in the document was the 30 cancellation limited to cancellation by the insurance company. According to your allusions, if you know this claim comes from Los Angeles County, including the details you provided in your inconsistent haphazard rebuttal, you know my name. The fact that you called me a nameless person adds more credence to your dishonest practices and fraudulent intents when you knowingly scanned back in 2010. I bet the fact that I called your fraud and brazen thievery out in the public fora prevents you from mentioning my name.

New contractors be warned! Kevin Burkes will ripp you off. He did it to me shamelessly, he has no conscience! He will inflate prices and tell you there is no cancellation. In my experience, whenever you cancel your insurance you get refund unused premium, not with Kevin Burkes and his crooked finance organization that will sell marginal liability insurance for over $10k in premium without shame. Kevin why don't address why you waited for four years till the statute of limitation has passed before posting a rebuttal. Kevin Burkes Insurance is the Ponzi of insurance world, buyers, especially newly licensed contractor beware, run as far away from Kevin Burkes and his razor friends as is possible. Kevin is not a straight forward business man, he will con you in and rash you with crazy and illegitimate statement. Kevin if you had seriously  wanted to resolve this issue you could have done that long ago, you as shamelss a con as I have ever met in my lifetime. You think this statement is not true, sue me. You know who this is, don't pretend! Except, off course you've ripped off so many unsuspecting well meaning people that you can't even remember which is which and who is who!

I take full responsibility for every aspect of this business rather than hide behind a shield of less competent staff and online anonymity where personal accountability disappears behind a veil cowardly and cheap nonsense.

Above all, I strenuously object to a forum where the nameless have the opportunity to disparage anyone else, but have to come to grips with the fact these allegations must be addressed.

As with all business owners, I operate with pride in delivering what I suggest.

It should be understood that our Core Competency “ Old Fashioned Service” is built around the unusual, and old fashioned, understanding that personal service means you do not hand off your responsibilities to someone else.

The short program today includes the following responses from my clients: “Thanks again for all your help and support” received 10/28/15; “As always it is a pleasure doing business with you.  Once again you did an awesome job and got it done!” received August 12, 2015; “Thank you, it's always such a pleasure working with you because you are diligently efficient and always so kind” received March 29, 2015.

For the long program, we can take this as a training exercise in “how not to” where you decide which party should not have.

The privacy of my clients is sacrosanct and the contracts we draw are privileged so I will address this complaint in pure generalities…hypotheticals, if you will.

Also of note: this is the only complaint filed against Kevin Burke or Burke Insurance Services(California Department of Insurance License 0B71850) anywhere.  The California Department of Insurance enforcement action page(http://www20.insurance.ca.gov/cyberdocs/Libraries/DOCS_WEB/Users/guest/tcSearchDsp.asp?__ADVSEARCH=N&altentry=Y&__FrmID=LEGAL) and the Better Business Bureau( https://www.bbb.org/search/?type=name&input=burke+insurance+services&location=8297+rural+estates+lane&tobid=&filter=business&radius=&country=USA%2CCAN&language=en&codeType=YPPA) list no issues of any sort after nearly twenty years licensed and over ten year in business. Not surprisingly, the “insurance litigation friend” made no move to support the allegation in the Rip Off Report either.

Naturally, we should all be wary of those with what we call a “frequency problem”.

On the Rip Off Report, paragraph two suggests the yearly premium of $10,745(which would include all premium, tax and fees) is 826% percent than “the $1,300 for the same level of coverage that I requested of the same provider(Navigator Insurance)”.  Please seek $5,000,000 or more in general liability coverage for a general contractor doing business in Los Angeles or Orange County.

Burke Insurance Services can write a small contactor at typical limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence, and $2,000,000 each for the General Aggregate and Products/Completed Operations limits and does so every week.

The $1,300 suggestion entirely overlooks the scale of the operation – more business, more risk, more premium - so let’s, hypothetically, say you need to satisfy the insurance requirements of a large municipality on a small project that calls for an employee  field payroll greater than $20,000 to supervise and sub-contracted costs of over $149,000 AND needs limits exceeding $5,000,000 as well as strong endorsement forms for your client…today’s indication with a capable company on a strong form the municipalities call for is about $5,000(including all taxes and fees) for limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence, and $2,000,000 each for the General Aggregate and Products/Completed Operations limits…not to mention millions of dollars in excess coverage to reach the requisite limits of $5,000,000 or more.

The real issue in the Rip Off Report is that anyone was misled…a genuine and legitimate concern that has a well deserved reputation.

Since we opened in 2005, our proposals have been longer that any I have seen before or since for a similar client base.

Every single client is asked to sign and initial al least once on the following items:

Minimum Earned Premium. In 2011, it read like this “If your policy cancels prematurely for reasons other than by insurance company cancellation, all fees and twenty-five percent of the annual premium as well as any applicable taxes will be forfeited at least. This is a twenty-five percent minimum earned policy.  INITIAL _____________”. Since then, many of the carriers have done away with minimum earned premiums. If the figures in the Rip Off Report of $10,745 are applied, the conservative figure for a minimum earned premium is over $2,500…higher when you consider that the such a policy includes fess of greater that $700 that are not prorated in any fashion after the carrier has bound coverage. That is, even if the policy is in force for one day. The Rip Off Report states that “the automobile insurance carrier (Progressive insurance) was really very honest and play fairly, Progressive  properly refunded me about 90% of the initial insurance premium”.  Unlike construction liability policies, auto coverage has no minimum earned premium per California Law.

The reference to the 30 day cancellation in the Rip Off Report is when the carrier cancels.  The clause in the Common Policy Conditions typically goes on to state(Section A. Cancellation, Paragragh 5.) “ If the named insured cancels, the refund may be less than pro rata.”

Fees for Service. “It is understood that all broker fees as well as fees and charges to you insurance company or their managing agent are non-refundable if the insurance company to which you are applying for coverage does not decline you application.  We will file for collection against you bond or take collection action if coverage is provided, and you do not deliver the initial payment for your coverage. INITIAL                     “.

In addition, the premium finance agreement from Imperial Premium Financing Specialists(IPFS) contains very specific breakdowns of premiums, fees, taxes(if any), interest rates and projected interest in dollars and cents, installments, and terms. These are included with all general liability proposals except those where the applicant or insured(in the case of a renewal) specifically seeks to avoid interest charges and/or the headache of making the monthly installments.

The Rip Off Report includes the statement “For the start up of the insurance coverage, I paid an initial start up premium of $2,249 to IPFS, and $500 dollars to Kevin Burke for Broker fee.”  Not true…the initial payment includes the Broker Fee, and is payable to Burke Insurance.  I forward funds from the initial payment to the carriers and all other interested parties.

My perspective on this complaint is that we had a new contractor who thought he or she had a sweet contract in the bag, had us deliver millions of dollars in coverage, then tried to bail when they lost the contract.

Business doesn’t work that way.

It’s safe to say from the Rip Off Report that there may be a literacy problem as well.

I can be reached at (916)405-0333 if there are any questions, and welcome the opportunity to discuss this in fine detail if the complainant comes forward with the documents.

Kevin Burke