La.’s ‘Last Resort’ Insurer Target of Numerous Complaints

October 24, 2005

  • October 24, 2005 at 3:31 am
    Chris says:
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    It may be just me or do State run insurance companies don’t work? Politics maybe? See what being the low bidder will get you!

  • October 24, 2005 at 3:47 am
    LA Agent says:
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    No chris, this is what you get when an insurance commissioner [imagine that, la] puts a facility up for bid when it was being run by one of the largest insurers in the World; and gives it to a couple of local GA’s to administer as a sweetheart deal; but they would never imagined this would have happended.

  • October 24, 2005 at 4:40 am
    steved says:
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    This IS what you get with any GOVERNMENT
    Program, high costs, poor service. A real
    Insurance is required by law to charge premiums high enough to be solvent even in the event of a huge castrophe. Anyone EVER seen a Government Program that really did work??? Leave it in the private
    sector. Of course it’s high, look at the cost to repair/rebuild. But not as high as they are going to find out when the taxpayers have to bail themselves out of this one!

  • October 25, 2005 at 8:46 am
    Hal says:
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    The long-standing answer to what these government plans have tried to do is Surplus Lines. Lines of insurance that don’t fit the “standard” market can be written with rate and policy form freedom to fit the risk. Competition and loss ratios dictate the rates.
    Self appointed “consumer” do-gooders do damage to the market when they second-guess experienced underwriters, and as we’ve seen with the hurricanes they do damage to consumers.

  • October 31, 2005 at 8:59 am
    Susan says:
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    Right on the contract, Audubon Insurance wrote \”contact your agent.\” When I contact the agent who sold us the policy, they tell me that they can\’t talk to anyone at Audubon Insurance or its mother company AIG. Then they tell me to keep calling the numbers on my own. Is this what I paid the agent for? Am I getting the run around not only from the insurance company but the agency who has sold me policies on my home for 16 1/2 years?

  • October 31, 2005 at 9:30 am
    Hal says:
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    It sounds like they don\’t want to talk to the agents either. When companies aren\’t doing well they often don\’t want to hear from their agents, who are often more steamed than everyone else. When we sell a company it is with the confidence that we are doing something good for the customer. When the company proves us wrong the rage is unimaginable.

  • October 31, 2005 at 10:26 am
    Susan says:
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    You know, I am a teacher. Many of our teachers are homeless, yet, we show up to work every day and work hard for the children. Today was Halloween. Many of us were not in the mood to celebrate, but we made it a great day ending with a LOUD sock hop in the gym. I guess what I am trying to say is that if my agent has damage, too, suck it up and do your job. Don\’t make the policy holder do it on his own. What have you been doing all those years? Just writing up policies and taking the money??? This is the first for thousands of us. That is no excuse not to get in there and work for each and every customer you have. Disaster, yes. I am doing my best to bring our community back to normal. I expect no less than an insurance agent, who I have paid for years during the good times.

  • October 31, 2005 at 3:53 am
    rp says:
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    In our agency, we write several policies through the MS Rural Risk plan that is run by Audubon. August 30, we were in the office working with no power and one phone line. But our insureds were coming in the office and we were taking claims. The only way we had at the time was to fax in a loss notice to Audubon to report a claim. Now, remember, we didn\’t have any power and that means our fax machine didn\’t work. So the first Audubon claim came in and I called their claims department. I was told that they could not take a claim over the phone that I had to fax in a loss notice. When I tried to explain, very patiently, that we were just in the Hurricane and I was sitting in an office without any power – I was still told that they could not take a claim over the phone. I had to call an agent in North MS who took the information and filled out a loss notice and then faxed it in.

    Audubon has been terrible throughout this whole ordeal.

  • October 31, 2005 at 3:54 am
    Gomer Pyle says:
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    Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

    You thinks it\’s bad now just wait a couple of months.

    If this isn\’t enough shenanigans and hijinks for you just wait to the Wilma fallout hits. If they think waiting for gas was bad wait til they have to wait 6 months for a check.

    Nothing like taking the profit out of a business venture to ensure good customer service and responsiveness.

  • October 31, 2005 at 4:40 am
    Susan says:
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    I am happy to hear that some agents have serviced their policy holders. Unfortunately, mine has done ZERO. I filed the claim after several hours/days on the telephone. The first adjuster contacted us, the second adjuster contacted us, the third adjuster finally contacted us and came out to see the house. Now, over two weeks and several unreturned phone calls and promises of return calls with a figure for the damage covered… I am still waiting. We did find out the Audubon transferred the policy to York today. Maybe I misunderstand, this is the first time I\’ve ever made a claim, but I thought after a short period of time the adjuster was supposed to tell us and the insurance company his figures for the damage? Am I wrong? Isn\’t their a time limit or something? My neighbors who have State Farm, Allstate got their amount from their adjuster in a few days or the same day of the visit to their house. Then a check either followed in two weeks or they, too, are waiting. I really don\’t know why I am doing this on my own and am getting no support from my agent/agency. Since I do not know how insurance claims really are supposed to work, I am worried that I am just continuing to get a run around by everyone and that even though the adjuster came out it will be my problem to pay for the repairs.
    Susan



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