Who is YOUR insurrance carrier?

[zardoz]

:rage:

  Here I sit.. a few weeks after the power outage here in Nova Scotia. Power is restored, the damages are repaired and all should be well for this disabled veteran and his family as they wait for Xmas.... That's the way it SHOULD be... but alas it is NOT!

  I moved my family from the Trenton Ont. area (my final posting) to our retirement home in rural Nova Scotia, this crusty old cpl brought with him .. his wife... his two children and our two family pets.. 2 Bull Mastiff's. We were 11 days between houses on the move and managed quite well at all hotels we stayed at with the pooch's. Move in day arrives.. all is good.. the inspector for "The Personal Insurance Company" (I'm sure some of you are insured by these people) comes and visits the house, he points out a couple of minor safety infractions with the house... these are repaired.. no more problems.

  Two years ago in an ice storm the power mast was ripped from the side of our house from a limb falling from one of my tree's... $600.00 was the total repair bill for this... I did NOT claim it on my insurance....

  The recent storm that rocked our province and shut down power for allmost a week AGAIN ripped my power mast off the house!!! I wait for 24 hours and come to find out that we will be without power for quite some time to come... the basement is flooding, damages are being done. Being an honest and respectable "premium payer" I decided it was time to put to use what I have been paying for.

  I call the insurance company and advise them that we have a problem and hope that they can help us out... lightning fast they get a generator sent out here and we get fixed up... now comes the INJUSTICE!!!!

  All "peaches and cream" the gal from the insurance company asks my wife "while I have you on the phone, could we take a few minutes to update your files?" .. seemingly simple questions VERY quickly took me from being a valuable customer of over 18 years to being an "un-insurable risk".

  The number one thing that has the insurance company upset is my 8 year old Bully named "Rosebud" , they INSIST that she is of the "Pitt Bull" family and cannot insure us because of this. They also did not like the fact that I do computer repairs to help supplement my disability income! I told them "fine... I will close my computer business.. it never made much more than a thousand or so a year.. it just gave me something to do".

  I'm told that the rep will have to talk to "underwriting" and get back to me.... less than 2 minutes go by and the rep is on the phone allready...(Gee underwriting sure works FAST huh?) "I'm sorry sir, the order for your policy termination has allready been given." It is then suggested to me that the only way I might possibly get my policy back is to have my dog "put down and show a vets certificate that it was done". I can NOT do this.. I WILL NOT DO THIS! It has only been less than two months since we had to put down her cousin "Chewbaca" . He was our male Bully, we lost him to cancer of the lymph nodes.

  I am now faced with the untenable situation where I may NOT be able to get another insurance carrier, this is a VERY BAD thing! Without adequate insurance on our home we are in default of our mortgage agreement, when you are in default of your mortgage agreement "the note becomes due and payable".

  In short.. my family and I have been put in the position of very possibly losing our home "just because we told the truth".

  Merry Christmas!

  zardoz

  Arte et Marte

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

When I remustered from the army to the navy I was given advice from some friends not to go with these guys and went with a competitor who has given us so far stellar service. PM me and I will let you know who I deal with.

 

[aesop081]

must amke note of this as i have been suspicious of these guys for abit now........can anybody recomend a good alternative ? Ex-D ?

 

[1feral1]

SISIP - Coverage After Release. Good policy, I have had this for 10 yrs next month, and at $C23/month (and I am 45 yrs old) for for $200K, we are happy with that.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[pbi]

Zardoz: If you reasonably believed that at the time of the damage you were still covered by the Personal, you may have a case against them. If they had not issued you any warnings or notice to terminate, this may be a route to a court settlement.

In 1981 my father was killed in a motor vehicle accident. He had been found "unensurable" by a medical examination but we had not received any notice of termination of his coverage. My mother took them to court on grounds of a "moral duty to pay" (or something like that...) and they settled out of court.

Most companies, especially ones like the Personal that does alot of military business, do not like to be associated publicly with nasty things like taking away the home of a disabled retired soldier. I would suggest that you immediately approach the Insurance Association or equivalent in your province, along with your MPP, your local media and the Legion.

Good luck in your fight. Cheers.

 

[zardoz]

Zardoz: If you reasonably believed that at the time of the damage you were still covered by the Personal, you may have a case against them. If they had not issued you any warnings or notice to terminate, this may be a route to a court settlement.

In 1981 my father was killed in a motor vehicle accident. He had been found "unensurable" by a medical examination but we had not received any notice of termination of his coverage. My mother took them to court on grounds of a "moral duty to pay" (or something like that...) and they settled out of court.

Most companies, especially ones like the Personal that does alot of military business, do not like to be associated publicly with nasty things like taking away the home of a disabled retired soldier. I would suggest that you immediately approach the Insurance Association or equivalent in your province, along with your MPP, your local media and the Legion.

Good luck in your fight. Cheers.

Yes we were covered at the time of the storm damage, the problem is that now in the aftermath of the equation .. after all is said and done and the insurance company has "made good" all of our damages they are insisting that I am now un-insurable. I will take your advice and speak with the Canadian Insurance Bureau, as well I intend to speak to my local MP (he also happens to be the federal public works minister... I know Scott on a "nodding" personal basis..  he lives down the road from me ). I have a couple of friends with the local media as well as a contact with national news connections.

I have repeatedly asked "The Personal" if there was a way that I could pay a slightly higher premium and be retained as a customer, they insist that this is NOT possible.

  I told them that I could not afford to fight them in a court of law.. but I certainly could put them under the public microscope when a disabled soldier and his wife and their 14 and 10 year old children lose their family home as a Christmas present. I told them that I fully realize that the insurance industry in Canada has been "demonized" and that THIS particular case will only further tarnish an allready rather "brassy" complexion. I also informed them that given that the greater majority of their business is  "military personnel" this sort of publicity would NOT be good for their image nor their business.

  They are firm in their stance and will offer no "opportunity of remedy".

  I feel CHEATED and betrayed! I have faithfully paid this company roughly 750 dollars every single year for 18 years.. now by my math that equates out to $13,500.00 that I have paid to these THIEVES!

  BTW: it looks like my "storm claim" was worth a womping total of approximately $1500.00 ... so that's effectively 12,000.00 dollars down the drain

  zardoz.... NEVER quits ANYTHING!

 

[MikeM]

Good luck in your fight! Thats a terrible thing to hear, especially around Christmas time.

 

[NMPeters]

Zardoz: I left the Personal about 10 years ago because of similar antics by them. They didn't deem me uninsurable but trying to get a legitimate claim out of them was like pulling teeth and their premiums were a good 20-25% higher than elsewhere.

I suggest you call around. In fact, my house is now insured through PC Finanacial and because I applied online, I got a 5% discount on my first year's premium. It's just something to look at and you're going to have to call around to other insurance companies and explain the situation and see if they will cover you. The major banks, TD, CIBC, all offer insurance as well. Here's the number for PC Financial: 1-866-660-9035. This is the link for TD Canada Trust Insurance: http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/tdinsurance/home/quote.jsp And here's the link for the CIBC insurance: http://www.cibc.com/ca/other-insurance/property-ins.html

So there are 3 different companies you can try. Hope it all works out for you. Cheers!

 

[Acorn]

I've been with The Personal for almost 20 years, though I've never had a household claim with them. I have had auto claims with them, and the only time I was really annoyed was when I had the misfortune of having a windshield chip a few months after a previous one, and about 6 months after a "deer strike." They had a "three claims in a year" rule that meant I could either pay a higher premium or get a higher deductable (the latter worked out most economical). I was still annoyed that they were effectively making me pay for bad luck.

However, while I was overseas for a few years I maintained limited coverage with them (house insurance and a stored car with just fire and theft). They covered my house even though it was rented (a bit of paperwork). As a result I didn't have the pain of some people when I returned to Canada. You may have heard the horror stories of people having to insure as new drivers, with $4000 premiums, because they were overseas and didn't have Canadian insurance. Also, on posting out West, I discovered that they provided coverage for about 20% less than anything quoted to me by local Edmonton brokers. Of course that's for an over 40, married man with no claims in 6 years and a four-door sedan.

All that being said, while I'm satisfied with what they've provided, I haven't had to make a claim, so who knows what would happen if I had to make a claim. I would guess most, if not all, insurance companies are pretty adversarial once a claim is made.

Acorn

 

[1feral1]

Zardoz, what a pack of wankers this company is!

I wish you the best of luck. I guess next time tell the next insurer, things on a need to know basis. Imagine, wanting to know what type ofdog you have, and to get a certificate of death for a loved family pet that has to be 'put down'. Thats a dirty great big giant crock of warm, steaming, fresh, and yes, soft BS .

Shame on this company for treating a dedicated longtime customer this way.

They have showed theirt true colours, and I CHALLENGE anyone out there who reads this, and that belongs to The Personal, to shop around for an new insurer, and once a new insurer is found, then to notify The Personal in writing why you are leaving.

If I was insured with them I truly would.

I hope they are proud of themselves!

Hang in there, and take no prisioners in this matter.


Regards,

Wes

 

[GUNS]

Vehicle Insurance for military personnel.

Presently, the vehicle insurance company my family is with and this goes for most vehicle insurance company's.  Allow you thirty(30) days out of province coverage, outside that thirty(30) days, you have to obtain vehicle insurance from the province you will be in.

Reg. or Res. personnel, on occasions, have to leave their province of residence for training(take vehicle) which could last longer than thirty(30) days.  According to the vehicle insurance policy, the insurance company is not responsibility for cost of damages due to an accident beyond the thirty(30) day period.

There should be a special nationwide policy among the insurance companies for military personnel, to cover such an occasion. It's very confusing having to cancel your vehicle insurance from your province of residence and open a new vehicle insurance policy in the province you are training in. Then to cancel the vehicle insurance from the province you are training in back to your province of residence.

The vehicle insurance goes hand in hand with having to register your vehicle in the province you are training in.

Is there a better solution? I know the obvious one. Don't take your vehicle, but when you are training in the next province for 3 to 6 months.

Just seems unfair.  Anyone aware of " military friendly " insurance compinies?