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  • Report:  #213263

Complaint Review: Nationwide Insurance Co. - Columbus Ohio

Reported By:
- Bryson City, North Carolina,
Submitted:
Updated:

Nationwide Insurance Co.
One Nationwide Plaza Columbus, 43215-2220 Ohio, U.S.A.
Phone:
800-421-3535
Web:
N/A
Categories:
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good? What's this?
On June 15, 2006, an auto registered to a Terry Nathaniel Cline of Bryson City, N.C. ran through my yard fence and kept going. The Highway Patrol found the car abandoned, got the registration from the "glove box".It was insured by Nationwide Insurance Co. The insurance was still in force at the time but after talking to their agent Mr. Blake Allman three times ,was unable to get him to even come look at the fence.

I called Nationwide claim service and was told they couldn't determine who was driving the car. This has been going on for two and one half months and I still do not have my fence fixed. If any insurance company that you pay for insurance will not pay their claims, They are not insuring your car, they are just taking your money. If we are required by law to puchase auto insurance, the same law should require the Insurance Co. to pay their claims. If they don't you are just being ripped off(again).

I have filed a complaint with the N.C. Insurance Commission, but don't expect anything from them either. The only other recourse, is to sue Terry and Nationwide.I'm sure I would end up with nothing, but everyone would know what a sorry bunch they are.

James

Bryson City, North Carolina
U.S.A.


8 Updates & Rebuttals

James

Bryson City,
North Carolina,
U.S.A.
Wrong Again

#2Author of original report

Thu, October 12, 2006

Sorry Mike, I don't think you understand Insurance Co.'s as much as you think you do. I hope the remark about "Hey, he wrecked my fence" doesn't imply I'm trying to do something illegal instead of just trying to get fence fixed. Apparently Nationwide decided they had to pay the damages or they sure wouldn't have. The fact that it took a complaint to the Insurance Commission to get it fixed shows me that they never intended to do anything except wait me out and see if I would just give up and fix it myself. I am sorry you are disappointed that they caved in and paid. I'm sure Terry is too. Up until now he has gotten by with a Hit & Run with almost $1800 property damage, Vandalism, Leaving the scene of an accident and Failing to report the accident. If Nationwide hadn't paid the claim, his insurance costs would have stayed the same, and no one would be hurt by his actions but me. Maybe his rates will go up to the point he will be unable to pay them and will not be able to insure his car again. He needs to be off the highway. My great-grandson had just finished mowing my yard about 30 minutes before this happened. If he had been in the yard, he could have been seriously hurt or killed. Not only by Terry,s car but there was pieces of the fence all over the yard. So if you have someone damage something of your's and runs, the insurance co. will be happy to know that they won't have to worry about paying any claim from you. I don't intend to add any more comments to the Rip-Off report so if you want to write another rebuttal, be my guest. One last piece of "free" advice, if you are going to write a rebuttal to one of these reports, find a subject you know more about. You may think you are helping people but you are not!


Ashley

Bradenton,
Florida,
U.S.A.
Good Points.

#3Consumer Suggestion

Tue, October 10, 2006

First,I am not associated with Nationwide. Second,you make some very good points. 1)Always question any advice you get. 2)Think for yourself. 3)Be persistent. 4)File a claim. 5)Effective complaints get results. My point was,that until you could establish that their insured was responsible,they didn't have to pay your claim.That's why I suggested a small claims case. Although,you have shown that you SHOULD file a claim and ask for payment or an investigation.Be sure to send a written estimate and whatever proof you have to support your claim. Their insured probably realized that you were not going to give up and told Nationwide to pay. ROR works again !


Ashley

Bradenton,
Florida,
U.S.A.
Good Points.

#4Consumer Suggestion

Tue, October 10, 2006

First,I am not associated with Nationwide. Second,you make some very good points. 1)Always question any advice you get. 2)Think for yourself. 3)Be persistent. 4)File a claim. 5)Effective complaints get results. My point was,that until you could establish that their insured was responsible,they didn't have to pay your claim.That's why I suggested a small claims case. Although,you have shown that you SHOULD file a claim and ask for payment or an investigation.Be sure to send a written estimate and whatever proof you have to support your claim. Their insured probably realized that you were not going to give up and told Nationwide to pay. ROR works again !


Ashley

Bradenton,
Florida,
U.S.A.
Good Points.

#5Consumer Suggestion

Tue, October 10, 2006

First,I am not associated with Nationwide. Second,you make some very good points. 1)Always question any advice you get. 2)Think for yourself. 3)Be persistent. 4)File a claim. 5)Effective complaints get results. My point was,that until you could establish that their insured was responsible,they didn't have to pay your claim.That's why I suggested a small claims case. Although,you have shown that you SHOULD file a claim and ask for payment or an investigation.Be sure to send a written estimate and whatever proof you have to support your claim. Their insured probably realized that you were not going to give up and told Nationwide to pay. ROR works again !


Mike

Radford,
Virginia,
U.S.A.
Insurance is to protect the person who buys it, not the other guy.

#6Consumer Suggestion

Tue, October 10, 2006

I'm not a Nationwide agent or otherwise in the insurance business. Ashley knows what she is talking about too. Liability insurance is to protect the person who buys it-- from lawsuits by others that suffer harm from something the insured owner or driver does. Insurance companies only pay settlements in cases where it is clear the insured person would lose anyway if it went to court. This is the fundamental principle of how insurance really works--how it is supposed to work. They are not required to pay everyone who comes along saying "Hey, he wrecked my fence!" I'm glad they don't pay everyone who comes along alleging damage that I didn't do. If I were the policy holder I'd be disappointed that they caved in and paid. Instead of the insurance commision, what probably happened to bring about resolution was that Terry eventually admitted that he or someone he had allowed to drive his car did it.


James

Bryson City,
North Carolina,
U.S.A.
Rebuttalsdidn't know what they were talking about!!

#7Author of original report

Tue, October 10, 2006

I filed a report of a rip-off in progress by Nationwide Insurance . That same day, one of them 2hrs later, the other about 4 hrs, I received 2 rebuttals, Apparently from Nationwide Agents. One assumed it was a stolen car. No stolen car report was ever filed to the Highway Patrol, Sheriff's Office or local police( I checked). The other said I had no right to file a claim against Nationwide. Wrong again. After getting the run-around from both their agent, Blake Allman and Nationwide Office, I filed a complaint with the N.C. Insurance Commissor, Jim Long. 5 days later, I received a call from the Nationwide office in Ohio requesting an estimate of the damage. They asked that I fax it to them instead of sending it by mail.(It's faster). I was told as soon as they received the estimate, they would cut me a check. I received a call this morning that all was taken care of and a check was being issued to cover my damages. In other words, if I had paid any attention to the rebuttals, I would be out $1798.00 to repair my fence. So my suggestion to everyone .. If you think you are being ripped off by an Insurance co. Don't listen to people who have no idea of what they are talking about, File a complaint with your insurance commission in your state. If more people would complain to the proper authorities about these rip-offs, something just might be done to stop them. They are taking our money to insure us (or so they say). But if they don't pay for the damages, they are not insuring you, they are just taking your money. The same law that requires us to purchase auto insurance, should require the Insurance Company to pay for the damages os else. Hang in there. See ya.


Ashley

Bradenton,
Florida,
U.S.A.
No right against Nationwide.

#8Consumer Suggestion

Fri, September 29, 2006

You have no right to file a claim against Nationwide. You need to send Terry a certified letter asking for his or her side of the story. Your claim is against the driver of the car and possibly the owner. Once you know the facts, you need to ask the person who is responsible to pay for the damages. The owner of the car is responsible for it's use, to some degree. If terry will not respond, you need to tell him or her that he or she has 30 days to pay for your damages or you will file suit in small claims court. Send them a detailed, itemized bill and ask them to pay. Check with the Police to see if the car was reported stolen. If it wasn't, then Terry should know who was driving. You can also file a police report for vandalism, property damage, hit and run, leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident. You can't identify Terry as the person unless you know he or she did it but you can still file the complaints against the unknown person and ask the police to investigate. If they do not pay in 30 days, file suit in small claims court and have them served by a process server or the Sheriff. Ask the desk clerk at the courthouse about procedures. As to Nationwide: only the insured can file a claim until you get a judgment. If you can't collect the judgment, then you can file a claim against the driver's insurance, which may not be Nationwide. People are insured, not vehicles. You could also file a claim against your homeowner's policy but it is usually not a good idea to do so. Because, the increased premiums will far outweigh the money you would get. Also, go to (((ROR redacted link))) or (((ROR redacted link))) and get a background check on Terry that includes criminal history. Keep good records and make sure all correspondence is sent by certified mail with a return receipt requested. Good Luck. CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.


Mike

Radford,
Virginia,
U.S.A.
Stolen car?

#9Consumer Suggestion

Fri, September 29, 2006

When someone steals a car, the owner and his insurance are not responsible for what he does with it. You'd be glad that's the case if anyone ever steals your car. It comes down to what you can prove, which isn't much in this case. You can't prove that that car was the one that crashed through your fence. You can't prove who was driving the car at the time. If someone was driving the car with the owner's permission, but he later falsely reported it had been stolen, you can't prove that either. If the damage to your fence is extensive, consider filing a claim with your homeowner's insurance. They may get money back from Nationwide or maybe not, either way you get the fence paid for. But you shouldn't make small claims on your homeowner's insurance because they will quickly take it back thru increased rates.

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