Without digressing, your name seems to say it all. Statistics and facts support an argument. When people cannot defend their position, they always attack the “messenger”. Those with weak verbal and intellectual skills, revert to kindergarten techniques of “name calling”. Grow up, post like others on the page with facts, statistics, and personal experience. If you are an agent, then obviously, you are the root and cause of the industry problems I outlined, and others on this page, who are reputable agents, are certainly embarrassed by your facile, juvenile attempt to join the conversation. I would suggest you find a job in another industry, so the gentlemen and ladies who have joined me in this discussion, no longer have to be embarrassed.
Because of the ferocity of postings, I made a choice to come back one more time to tell you WHO I am.
1. I am a teacher– undergraduate in Business Administration – University of TN and a Master’s in Education
2. I am married for 24 years (3 children in college) to a man who served 15 years in the military – Special Forces (2 A team detachments) — that’s why we survived and got out of the attic.
3. I am not a trial lawyer — no clue who this person is — but if you spent as much time doing “business” as you did worrying about “WHO” I am — then business might be better.
4. I know this, because we own our own business, make payroll bi-monthly, and PROFITABILITY is not a bad thing. I can say every contract we hold (my husband has his Ph.D. and runs the company) is one that is done with integrity, honesty, and fair-dealings.
5. I am YOU and you should pray daily that you do not ever find yourself or a customer in the same position we found ourselves. Unprepared, No. Uneducated, No. Uninformed, possibly, but at some point, you hope the taxes you pay and the government you support, along with the professionals (i.e. insurance) you have contracted with — give you good information. That is what each of you is out there for — do not let people down. Make it your job to give them information they need and may not want. In our case, I would have gladly paid for flood, if I had known what was involved.
6. I am not a die-hard liberal who depends on others to take care of me. My husband left a teaching position at the United States Military Academy at WestPoint, NY when Bill Clinton was elected, over integrity. How many of you have left a career because you felt it was the right thing to do? I have voted Republican in each election, I graduated from college. I have served on Republican committees within my state. I watched George Bush fly over my house 5 times — a debacle.
Don’t worry about “WHO” I am — I am the person who walks in your office. Do the right thing, and inform me! If I make a wrong decision, let it be through full disclosure, and then you can sleep at night.
My hat is off to you and your husband, I responded and still do to your postings because of our experience in the industry. It seems no matter what we do, the only press we get is how bad our industry is as a whole. We never get credit for the overall good that is brought to the table when disaster strikes and no matter what is delivered, it seems to never be enough or on time. When wonder lawyer Dickie Scruggs is brought to the light of day, no press coverage is spread throughout this nation of his low life dealings in blaming our industry for every wrong in the world it seems. I understand your experience was not pleasant to say the least. I still contend that your mistake was dealing with someone at the end of an 800 number (I guess as USAA doesn’t have local offices last time I checked). I also have a degree (Risk Mangement/Insurance) and like most agents I know strive to better ourselves to help serve our customers. I would hope a local agent who knows his area would have only advised all their customers to buy flood coverage. I would only ask that you not paint our industry with such a broad brush because your company you feel failed you at your time of need.
now, just because a company has an 800#, does not mean they can’t provide the best service. i know that GEICO, had it’s emergency catastrophe team on the ground and moved in once the storm was over. just because places don’t have a local office, that manager of the local office does not necessarily move out of the office. we have adjusters and are on the move — especially when we see a major storm pending. so don’t get hung up that the 800# insurance does not do it’s job. we pride ourselves in handling our policy holders.
Thank you. I appreciate your words of encouragement and I appreciate your honesty. I will hope that Florida does not suffer the devastation that Mississippi did, and it appears from your last posting, you’ll not have an issue looking your customers in the eye, and not flinching! Good luck — my prayers are always with everyone in the coastal areas, this time of year.
Thank you. You said it so much better than I did — my anger did not allow me to be articulate. The emotion of the moment will never leave me, and someone else stated it succinctly — I had put my faith and loyalty in my insurance company for years, and when I needed them, I felt they failed me. Most responses on this site are from agents. Your CUSTOMER is the person who deserves your loyalty — make certain every day that you take care of them. Most are uneducated (with regard to insurance issues) and depend on you. When the system breaks down — because of your position, you’re at GROUND ZERO. Protect yourself and those you write policies for. THANK YOU FOR HONORING THOSE IN MY STATE WHO HAVE PULLED THEMSELVES UP BY THEIR BOOTSTRAPS –People like you all (who posted the first hand experiences) were invaluable after the storm, and your help will always be appreciated.
This kind of comment is what got BDJS5 in trouble. For every premium dollar paid to the insurance industry, about .66 goes back to policyholders directly in the way of paid claim dollars. The other .34 pays the expenses of the insurer. In my state each contract and associated rate can only be made available to the public after approval by our elected insurance commissioner. Every endorsement, every option, every form, policy language, all of it has to be approved by the commissioner before we can offer it to the public. You lived in your home multiple years – you had a far more reasonable opportunity to evaluate your need than did ANYONE ELSE EVER COULD, including your insurer. I don’t do business in that part of the country but I believe the contract states, specifically for wind/water disputes, that in the event of water damage, there is no wind coverage. As an engineer I understand that. Absent that caveat each and every claim, hundreds of thousands, would have to be litigated in an almost impossible effort to calculate percentages of damage and loss. The rate you paid never accounted for paying wind damage in the presence of water damage. I am guessing you had USAA (military husband). They NEVER anticipated paying for wind if water was also included. You may not like those terms, but the contract there represents years of legal evolution, just like everywhere else. Its been tested before, like its being tested now.
I had a teacher who picked her nose. Therefore all teachers pick their noses.
All teachers bad!
I am so sick of the commentary that New Orleans people want a hand-out and do not appreciate people painting a whole city with a broad brush. Hello! We did not receive help for SEVERAL DAYS. Like someone said, until you live through it what would YOU know?
I am a licensed agent with USAA and I feel the need to defend myself and my company.
I care for every customer that I come in contact with and I discuss flood coverage on every Homeowners Policy that I issue/review/etc. I explain that our policy does not cover flood but that the NFIP does and we have Flood agents that can quote and/or issue a Flood Policy. I explain that you don’t need to live near water to have an exposure to flood and that not being in a high risk flood zone can result in a big break in flood premium. I do everything I can to educate our members on their contracts but like someone before me posted, you can lead a horse to water…
While I have sympathy for every victim of natural disaster, you have to understand that I cannot give you coverage that you don’t have. When you do not pay a premium for the coverage, I cannot provide it to you for free. That would be like covering a fire that happened to a home that has been uninsured. Any reasonable person would never expect to get paid for a loss when they weren’t paying for a policy and what it boils down to is that many people opted not to pay for flood coverage and were left in the predicament that BDJS5 has found herself in.
Ms. Jackson, if your lender told you that you didn’t need flood insurance, shame on them. But I don’t understand how USAA Insurance comes to bear the brunt of your anger. I understand that you are a long term member and want you to know that as a long term employee I can only regret that your relationship with USAA has come to this point. The reputation of USAA as an insurer for the military is one that we work hard for every day. I’m sorry for your situation and I truly hope that you come to look at things differently in the future. I’m not here to lecture you or to insult you, I’m posting this message because I truly wish that there had been a better outcome for you. I was not unaffected by Katrina because I was in San Antonio, I cried with my customers and I did everything I could to help them through such a horrible time. I want you to know this because I don’t want you to think that we are uncaring robots that just answer the (800) phone. I have established long term relationships with many of my customers and have the same rapport that a face to face agent has with their “local” customers. I know when Annie is getting married and when Payton is having her baby and at the same time, I answer all of their questions to the best of my ability. I don’t have to be in an office across the street from you to understand you and your needs. Ms. Jackson, I don’t know if you are still insured with USAA but I hope that you conduct annual reviews of all of your policies wherever you are.
It’s a shame that all that we ever hear about are the unhappy customers and never enough about the happy ones.
Don’t throw stones about the ferocity of the posts when yours are just as bad. You WERE unprepared. Uneducated, no – agreed. Uninformed, perhaps, but then none of the other people here were with you to listen to what was said. Maybe you were uninformed by choice. Also, you never did answer any of my questions:
Bdjs5, How do you know the admiral had flood coverage? How do you know you are overinsured? How do you know insurance is required to buy a house? How do you know the insurance industry left you unprepared? How do you know that was your last post?
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Without digressing, your name seems to say it all. Statistics and facts support an argument. When people cannot defend their position, they always attack the “messenger”. Those with weak verbal and intellectual skills, revert to kindergarten techniques of “name calling”. Grow up, post like others on the page with facts, statistics, and personal experience. If you are an agent, then obviously, you are the root and cause of the industry problems I outlined, and others on this page, who are reputable agents, are certainly embarrassed by your facile, juvenile attempt to join the conversation. I would suggest you find a job in another industry, so the gentlemen and ladies who have joined me in this discussion, no longer have to be embarrassed.
Because of the ferocity of postings, I made a choice to come back one more time to tell you WHO I am.
1. I am a teacher– undergraduate in Business Administration – University of TN and a Master’s in Education
2. I am married for 24 years (3 children in college) to a man who served 15 years in the military – Special Forces (2 A team detachments) — that’s why we survived and got out of the attic.
3. I am not a trial lawyer — no clue who this person is — but if you spent as much time doing “business” as you did worrying about “WHO” I am — then business might be better.
4. I know this, because we own our own business, make payroll bi-monthly, and PROFITABILITY is not a bad thing. I can say every contract we hold (my husband has his Ph.D. and runs the company) is one that is done with integrity, honesty, and fair-dealings.
5. I am YOU and you should pray daily that you do not ever find yourself or a customer in the same position we found ourselves. Unprepared, No. Uneducated, No. Uninformed, possibly, but at some point, you hope the taxes you pay and the government you support, along with the professionals (i.e. insurance) you have contracted with — give you good information. That is what each of you is out there for — do not let people down. Make it your job to give them information they need and may not want. In our case, I would have gladly paid for flood, if I had known what was involved.
6. I am not a die-hard liberal who depends on others to take care of me. My husband left a teaching position at the United States Military Academy at WestPoint, NY when Bill Clinton was elected, over integrity. How many of you have left a career because you felt it was the right thing to do? I have voted Republican in each election, I graduated from college. I have served on Republican committees within my state. I watched George Bush fly over my house 5 times — a debacle.
Don’t worry about “WHO” I am — I am the person who walks in your office. Do the right thing, and inform me! If I make a wrong decision, let it be through full disclosure, and then you can sleep at night.
My hat is off to you and your husband, I responded and still do to your postings because of our experience in the industry. It seems no matter what we do, the only press we get is how bad our industry is as a whole. We never get credit for the overall good that is brought to the table when disaster strikes and no matter what is delivered, it seems to never be enough or on time. When wonder lawyer Dickie Scruggs is brought to the light of day, no press coverage is spread throughout this nation of his low life dealings in blaming our industry for every wrong in the world it seems. I understand your experience was not pleasant to say the least. I still contend that your mistake was dealing with someone at the end of an 800 number (I guess as USAA doesn’t have local offices last time I checked). I also have a degree (Risk Mangement/Insurance) and like most agents I know strive to better ourselves to help serve our customers. I would hope a local agent who knows his area would have only advised all their customers to buy flood coverage. I would only ask that you not paint our industry with such a broad brush because your company you feel failed you at your time of need.
now, just because a company has an 800#, does not mean they can’t provide the best service. i know that GEICO, had it’s emergency catastrophe team on the ground and moved in once the storm was over. just because places don’t have a local office, that manager of the local office does not necessarily move out of the office. we have adjusters and are on the move — especially when we see a major storm pending. so don’t get hung up that the 800# insurance does not do it’s job. we pride ourselves in handling our policy holders.
Thank you. I appreciate your words of encouragement and I appreciate your honesty. I will hope that Florida does not suffer the devastation that Mississippi did, and it appears from your last posting, you’ll not have an issue looking your customers in the eye, and not flinching! Good luck — my prayers are always with everyone in the coastal areas, this time of year.
Thank you. You said it so much better than I did — my anger did not allow me to be articulate. The emotion of the moment will never leave me, and someone else stated it succinctly — I had put my faith and loyalty in my insurance company for years, and when I needed them, I felt they failed me. Most responses on this site are from agents. Your CUSTOMER is the person who deserves your loyalty — make certain every day that you take care of them. Most are uneducated (with regard to insurance issues) and depend on you. When the system breaks down — because of your position, you’re at GROUND ZERO. Protect yourself and those you write policies for. THANK YOU FOR HONORING THOSE IN MY STATE WHO HAVE PULLED THEMSELVES UP BY THEIR BOOTSTRAPS –People like you all (who posted the first hand experiences) were invaluable after the storm, and your help will always be appreciated.
reap huge rewards, with little payout.’
This kind of comment is what got BDJS5 in trouble. For every premium dollar paid to the insurance industry, about .66 goes back to policyholders directly in the way of paid claim dollars. The other .34 pays the expenses of the insurer. In my state each contract and associated rate can only be made available to the public after approval by our elected insurance commissioner. Every endorsement, every option, every form, policy language, all of it has to be approved by the commissioner before we can offer it to the public. You lived in your home multiple years – you had a far more reasonable opportunity to evaluate your need than did ANYONE ELSE EVER COULD, including your insurer. I don’t do business in that part of the country but I believe the contract states, specifically for wind/water disputes, that in the event of water damage, there is no wind coverage. As an engineer I understand that. Absent that caveat each and every claim, hundreds of thousands, would have to be litigated in an almost impossible effort to calculate percentages of damage and loss. The rate you paid never accounted for paying wind damage in the presence of water damage. I am guessing you had USAA (military husband). They NEVER anticipated paying for wind if water was also included. You may not like those terms, but the contract there represents years of legal evolution, just like everywhere else. Its been tested before, like its being tested now.
I had a teacher who picked her nose. Therefore all teachers pick their noses.
All teachers bad!
I am so sick of the commentary that New Orleans people want a hand-out and do not appreciate people painting a whole city with a broad brush. Hello! We did not receive help for SEVERAL DAYS. Like someone said, until you live through it what would YOU know?
I am a licensed agent with USAA and I feel the need to defend myself and my company.
I care for every customer that I come in contact with and I discuss flood coverage on every Homeowners Policy that I issue/review/etc. I explain that our policy does not cover flood but that the NFIP does and we have Flood agents that can quote and/or issue a Flood Policy. I explain that you don’t need to live near water to have an exposure to flood and that not being in a high risk flood zone can result in a big break in flood premium. I do everything I can to educate our members on their contracts but like someone before me posted, you can lead a horse to water…
While I have sympathy for every victim of natural disaster, you have to understand that I cannot give you coverage that you don’t have. When you do not pay a premium for the coverage, I cannot provide it to you for free. That would be like covering a fire that happened to a home that has been uninsured. Any reasonable person would never expect to get paid for a loss when they weren’t paying for a policy and what it boils down to is that many people opted not to pay for flood coverage and were left in the predicament that BDJS5 has found herself in.
Ms. Jackson, if your lender told you that you didn’t need flood insurance, shame on them. But I don’t understand how USAA Insurance comes to bear the brunt of your anger. I understand that you are a long term member and want you to know that as a long term employee I can only regret that your relationship with USAA has come to this point. The reputation of USAA as an insurer for the military is one that we work hard for every day. I’m sorry for your situation and I truly hope that you come to look at things differently in the future. I’m not here to lecture you or to insult you, I’m posting this message because I truly wish that there had been a better outcome for you. I was not unaffected by Katrina because I was in San Antonio, I cried with my customers and I did everything I could to help them through such a horrible time. I want you to know this because I don’t want you to think that we are uncaring robots that just answer the (800) phone. I have established long term relationships with many of my customers and have the same rapport that a face to face agent has with their “local” customers. I know when Annie is getting married and when Payton is having her baby and at the same time, I answer all of their questions to the best of my ability. I don’t have to be in an office across the street from you to understand you and your needs. Ms. Jackson, I don’t know if you are still insured with USAA but I hope that you conduct annual reviews of all of your policies wherever you are.
It’s a shame that all that we ever hear about are the unhappy customers and never enough about the happy ones.
Don’t throw stones about the ferocity of the posts when yours are just as bad. You WERE unprepared. Uneducated, no – agreed. Uninformed, perhaps, but then none of the other people here were with you to listen to what was said. Maybe you were uninformed by choice. Also, you never did answer any of my questions:
Bdjs5, How do you know the admiral had flood coverage? How do you know you are overinsured? How do you know insurance is required to buy a house? How do you know the insurance industry left you unprepared? How do you know that was your last post?