;
  • Report:  #95339

Complaint Review: Safeway Insurance Company - Alpharetta Georgia

Reported By:
- 30349, Georgia,
Submitted:
Updated:

Safeway Insurance Company
1165 Sanctuary Parkway Sre 200 Alpharetta, 30238-6646 Georgia, U.S.A.
Phone:
678-319-4425
Web:
N/A
Categories:
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good? What's this?
Safeway Insurance Company is a rip off, on april 29, 2004 around 9;15pm me and my 4 year old daughter was hit by a safeway driver, the guy ran the traffic light, the riverdale police came and cited the guy.

this happened on a wednesday night, me and my child both were injured, ( not badly) but we didn't seek medical attention til the next day, but also that thursday i called to file a claim but the officer wrote down a binder# which when they answered the phone 1st question was who was cited so i told her the other person so she connected with some one telling me that they couldn't help me with a binder# i needed a claim # instead so i waited for the police report to be processed, again i called back no help.

so my wife called and told them and ask why do they give out binder# if they can't reference them? that don't make no sense, so then i went to guy house who i had the accident with so he told me the insurance was in his sister name so i got her name and called safeway again, this was now the following tuesday, so the supervisor Pam ext. 113 gave me the claim number and for me to call Latonya ext 118 oh she took the information i faxed her the police report and she fax me the information for me to tell her in my own words what happen, now since this guy was at fault he never called safeway to file a claim at all.

so weeks went by i called only now getting voice mail, then 1 month after the accident, the news show that they don't pay claims give you the run around, act as if your'e not important at all, so i'm frustrated now since it was my only means of transportation i miss days from work my daughter is still nervous about being in a car thinking we will be hit again, so then i called, and called still being calm as possible i spoke to Derico ext 120, still no help.

so then they claim they had to talk to the officer, that another week to 2 weeks so i called back then they said they need to talk to a witness, ( which it wasn't one to begin with )and that it was under an investigation, now so still stalling they had already told me my car was totalled, so i at least thought they would give me kelly blue book (not)they called me today to say they will only pay half of what my car was worth and the half to the other driver as well, since they couldn't decide who was at fault, but the police cited him not me, but they couldn't decide who was at fault.

so then i found this site and all our stories are almost the same, they are rude, always get voice mail, don't return your phone calls, i say we start a class action suit i'm willing to do what ever it takes to bring them down!! even to small claim court, or something they need to be exposed, you pay insurance and if you have a car accident they won't pay, lets' bring them down

Duane

30349, Georgia
U.S.A.


2 Updates & Rebuttals

E

Birmingham,
Alabama,
U.S.A.
Mike is right. Non standard Insurance

#2Consumer Comment

Sun, July 11, 2004

Mike is right. Non standard insurance insures the higher risk driver. And I emphasize "driver" because what ever the state they live in , THAT state is STILL issuing them a license to drive and be on the road AND requiring them to have insurance coverage. Even if their record is SO bad and a non standard co. won't even touch them, states have an "assigned risk" program. If a company is licensed in a particular state, THAT state requires a precentage of business " assigned risk" to be place with them, these are indidviduals that can't even be insured by non standard companies.The company has NO choice but to insure these folks if they want to continue to write ANY business in that state. Seems to me the solution is for the state to KEEP these bad drivers OFF the road instead of forcing companies to insure the uninsurable.


Mike

Cleveland,
Ohio,
U.S.A.
Some advice, They are the slumlords of auto insurance.

#3Consumer Suggestion

Sun, June 20, 2004

Safeway is a non-standard insurance company. They are the slumlords of auto insurance. The drivers they insure usually have caused multiple accidents. They insure the uninsurable. They insure people who have driven without insurance for long periods of time. They write policies for motorists that no standard company will insure. To make matters worse, they attempt to minimize their losses by pushing around claimants on liability claims. It's hard to get a liability claim paid to begin with, it's even harder when the carrier is corrupt. The reason being is that it is your responsibility to prove 100% that the other driver was liable, whereas if it were your own carrier, you can access first party coverages without having this burden. With a normal carrier, you can file a liability claim, and they'll want to get in touch with their insured to get their side of the story. If the other driver admits fault, they'll usually just pay. If there is a dispute, they'll want to independently verify what happened, which is where police reports and witnesses come in. Usually the matter is resolved after things have been verified by an independent source. However this is not the case with Safeway, if their driver disputes liability they will fight it until someone makes them pay. I've worked in the industry for some time and I've seen this time and time again, no carrier is as distinguished as Safeway in the way they handle liability claims. My best advice is to go with a big name carrier, and if you like your car, carry comprehensive and collision and don't rely on someone else's insurance to fix your vehicle. If there is an accident, even if it's not your fault, call both carriers and report it. Even if the other insurance company pays for the damages your carrier can protect your interests. They can tell you how much your car is worth and they can tell you how much they would pay to repair it. They can help you avoid being "low-balled" by the third party carrier. If they don't want to pay, or if things don't add up, let your insurance company repair your car. They will get the money back. They will file claim with the at-fault carrier and if they don't want to pay they will most likely sue them to get it (assuming it's not an insanely small amount of damages) When your company collects, your deductible will be reimbursed, and your premiums shouldn't go up as long as your carrier didn't find you at fault. Let your carrier work for you, that is what you pay them for! This process is called subrogation, and it's very common in the insurance industry. Go with a big name company, I can tell you that I know for a fact that Progressive and State Farm are excellent subrogators. They pay more money to staff attorneys than Safeway ever makes. Don't waste your money on an auto accident attorney, half the time they end up turning on you. They'll put you in treatment with some "doctor" that they send everyone to, who will charge insane amounts of money for your "treatment" 3 times a week. Then they'll file a claim and Safeway will offer you some b.s. offer like $2000.00 for the $10,000.00 of treatment. Your attorney will then say "I think you should take it." At this point you'll decline (understandably) and the attorney will say "well, you declined the offer against my better judgement, so I'm going to drop you now, sorry I can no longer represent you." - This happens time + time again with these "lawyers" who advertise on television. They're handling 150 cases at a time and they're not willing to go to court to get you more money than what the carrier offers you. The sad thing is, they get paid either way, as you still owe $10,000.00 to the "doctor" who is giving your attorney a "referral commission" (or kickback) for referring you to them. It's a scam, protect yourself and insure your car with first party insurance and let them fight your battles for you. It's sad that there are corrupt companies and legal services that will screw you but that's the way it is. I'm sorry that Safeway got to you this time, but hopefully this will help you later on, my best advice, for what it's worth.

Reports & Rebuttal
Respond to this report!
Also a victim?
Repair Your Reputation!
//