Complaint Review: Bob Bader Insurance Company - Indianapolis Indiana

Being an employee of A-American Self Storage, i am aware of the Bob Bader Insurance. It does have this loop hole and if the policy isn't read correctly, a consumer will not be aware of it. personally i avoided selling the insurance to customers and tried to tip them off at my location, but as company policy dictates, they want everyone to be insured. They made me force it on a lot of customers and in one instance where there was a water damaged unit, they fought with this tenant for 5 months before she gave up on the amount she was truly entitled and took half of what it was worth in the real world. Personally i would never purchase this insurance and i always felt it was wrong to sell it in the first place when we were told not to give specifics because we were not insurance agents and that if customers needed more details we were to direct them to Bob. I would like to give an apology to you but it really doesn't help at ths point. All A-american was concerned about was getting there cut of the premium. Most of the managers were required to push it because of the owners, and we had to sell so many policies to appease them in order to keep our jobs......

I am a manager at a self storage company. Our company offers Bob Bader insurance as well. One of the most important things about offering the insurance which Bob Bader offers, is to be completely familiar with all the terms and conditions of the policy and its coverage. Understanding what is covered, is NOT the same as advocating and explaining the coverage to the customer. Bob Bader also offers additional pamphlets and documentation for individuals who purchase their coverage. Our company uses their added marketing materials to aid the consumer in making the choice on selecting to purchase coverage or not. The self storage operator is NOT an insurance agent, and we are NOT allowed to discuss how and what is covered. By discussing how and what the coverage is for we would become liable, as we are acting as an insurance agent (which we are not). This is where the added marketing materials comes in handy for the consumer to read or look over if they have questions. Quote from Bob Bader Form 802.01-0901 - Q. What is the difference between burglary and theft? A. Burglary means stealing property by means of forcible entry into a securely locked storage space, provided there are marks of forcible on the exterior of the storage space. Theft does not require forcible entry. Theft and Mysterious Disappearance are not covered under this policy. There are severals ways to get into a locked storage unit, only the most common will be listed below for security purposes. Bob Bader does not intentionally defraud policy holders. There are specifics and definitions to what is covered and what is not covered. These are all spelled out in the policy. Since, the type of theft mentioned below was not covered under the Bob Bader policy, no claim or payment could be made. Hence, no loophole exists for something which was never covered in the first place. Someone cut my lock off and replaced it with a new lock. I am not saying that this scenario is not possible, but, in my years of this business I don't know many thieves which choose to replace your lock for free, or leave a clue behind. I have only run across two incidences where the lock was cut/removed and replaced with a different lock. On both occassions, it ended up being a person the customers knew or was an acquaintance of theirs. As a self storage operator, we also taken additional precautions to aid against this very thing. We have company stickers which are placed on all of our customers locks. Since we daily look over the physical condition of the units, we will easily spot a lock that does not have our bright shiny sticker on it. When we come across this, we know the customer has either replaced their lock or something is wrong. Either way a simple phone call to the customer easily explains which has happened. Unfortunately, in society today, many individuals do not take personal responsibility for looking over fully and asking questions about what they are purchasing, signing or being asked to purchase. It is the personal responsibility of the consumer to fully read and clarify any questions they may have. If you are unsure about something then simply ask for clarification on the item you don't understand. We advocate to all of our customers, that we would like them to purchase a disc lock. While no lock is 100% secure, the disc lock does have benefits over regular padlocks. The #1 benefit being it cannot be cut with bolt cutters. #2 the disc lock key cannot be removed unless the disc lock is locked (did I lock my lock or not? If you have the key, your lock has been locked.) This forces the thief to either do 1 of 3 options. Option #1 Forcibly grind the lock off with a grinder, Option #2 cut or destroy another portion of the door to enter the unit (Hasp/Latch, Hinges, Option #3 leave the unit alone and move on to another unit which doesn't have a disk lock and just bolt cut the padlock off. If a thief selects options 1 or 2, there will always be some signs/marks of forced entry on the exterior of the storage space. Why there must be signs of forced entry - at least 5+ times a week I come across a storage unit where the padlock was left unlocked (can't happen with disc lock), laying on the ground, the latch/hasp has been locked in the open position. All of these conditions allow for anyone who is near the unit to access it freely without forcible entry. I have clients that even after notifying them of this condition, let their units remain unsecured for months on end. Many potential customers are under the initial impression that all self storage is the same, and that only price is important. As a potential mis-informed customer, in some of their minds they think that a unit is a unit is a unit. This cannot be more further from the truth. The actual unit itself is only a small portion of how a self storage operator earns the privilege and responsibility of protecting their customers items. As the consumer addage has been repeatedly stated "You get what you pay for" is completely true when it comes to protecting your items while in storage. Recommendation - Next time you need a lock for any purpose, buy a disc lock...

Hate to tell you this but ALL Insurance Companies use the same definition for Burglary-- Must be signs of forced entry. Read your policy, it's all in there.

Hate to tell you this but ALL Insurance Companies use the same definition for Burglary-- Must be signs of forced entry. Read your policy, it's all in there.

Hate to tell you this but ALL Insurance Companies use the same definition for Burglary-- Must be signs of forced entry. Read your policy, it's all in there.

Hate to tell you this but ALL Insurance Companies use the same definition for Burglary-- Must be signs of forced entry. Read your policy, it's all in there.

It is very frustrating to pay for insurance and to have the carrier deny your claim. However, in this fact pattern, any self storage insurance carrier would have denied this type of claim. The theory is that the insured is responsible to secure the access to their space, just like an auto insurance carrier expects the insured to lock their vehicle or to not leave the keys in the ignition. In other words, the insured has responsiblilties to act in a reasonable manner. Insurance carriers word their policies to exclude claims where there are no visible signs of forced entry because absent this language, insured customers would file false claims. thereby increasing premiums for everyone. What is the best way to prevent the thief from cutting your lock and replacing it with theirs? Use a large, beefy, discus style lock that is hard to cut. As an expert in the industry, I have seen consumers use small luggage locks, pieces of wire, cheap padlocks purchased from convenience stores, etc. Insurance carriers will often lower insurance premiums if consumers install alarms systems, use clubs on their steering columns, install cameras, etc. The best way to insure that your loss will be paid is to force the thief to make visible signs of forced entry by using strong security measures. I know the owner of the Bader Insurance Company very well and can assure consumers that their policy is to settle claims fairly, quickly and honestly. Bob Bader is well known in the industry, as it is a small industry, and Bob could not stay in business if his company routinely ripped consumers off. While this loss is regretable, it is standard in the self storage industry as well as in the insurance industry overall to exclude certain losses.