Hello, I’m a new driver so I’m not all that sure how insurance works when it comes to canceling.
My auto insurance was over $300 a month for a 2017 Toyota Yaris. I did some shopping around after having a baby because babies are expensive and found the same type of coverage for less than half the price. I wish I had found this company sooner, but I was in a hurry to get insurance to get the vehicle at the time and they were the only company that could get back to me in time.
In the portal I requested to cancel with their chat bot and it said I have to contact the insurance agency. I did, and they flat out refused to cancel my policy without a handwritten statement mailed to them.
I can understand a handwritten statement of cancellation. But mailed to them? There’s no guarantee it would be delivered since USPS often loses mail. I would understand it being emailed to them with the email address on file as a requirement.
They kept sending me through a loop and gave me an attitude about my request to cancel. They continuously put me on hold while I had a colicky 2 month old crying. They even said it was a simple task to just write it on paper and mail it. I don’t trust it because even if they do receive it, they can claim that they didn’t.
I recorded the call and eventually hung up. I called the actual insurance company (National General) and they had no problem canceling without a handwritten statement. Is there any way this can backfire on me with the insurance agency since I was supposed to cancel through them based off of what the portal says?
Insurance agency refused to cancel my auto insurance
byu/mothmmy inInsurance
Posted by mothmmy
6 Comments
Wanting a written request is to protect the agency from an E&O claim. Its so you can’t come back and say “no, i didn’t tell you that.”
Its not about them trying to drag it out or get you in trouble. They are just protecting themselves.
I mean we need cancellations in writing as proof you requested it but we have our own esignature platform and just send the Acord cancellation form to your email and you can sign there and it’s done and over with in minutes.
The carriers record every call so they have the recording. Smaller agencies are typically not paying to have all their calls recorded which is why we want it in writing.
Basically it’s to prevent you from suing us if you claim you told us to cancel on a different date or say you never told us to cancel because a lapse in insurance can really hurt your rate or make you ineligible for the new policy you bought.
Are you sure the coverage of your previous and new companies is exactly the same?
Less than half the price is remarkable
I don’t know why a hand written statement is needed. We cancel through email, and have clients sign a policy release form. No need to mail anything. Sounds like they’re stuck in dinosaur ages, but they want a written request to protect them.
> There’s no guarantee it would be delivered since USPS often loses mail.
OP this just flat out untrue. USPS processes billions of pieces of mail and rarely just “loses” mail. I can’t think of a single piece of my mail that has ever been “lost”.
Also you can get envelopes with tracking if you’re worried about that.
This is coming across like you want something, but don’t want to lift a finger to make it happen.
>the USPS often loses mail
Source for this claim? In my experience the only mail that gets lost are my clients invoices — but they *always* get the cancellation notice. 🤔
>while I had a colicky 2 month old crying
How is that their fault? Or are you just expecting special treatment because you have a baby?