An Actual Insurance Broker
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Post by An Actual Insurance Broker on Sept 9, 2003 21:13:33 GMT -5
Lady from Barriere on BCTV, fenceing burnt, house saved, no insurance? They thought it covered in policy, sometimes I think they look for a way out. Just because the insured "thought" it was covered certainly doesn't mean the insurance company is looking for a loophole. The way insurers deal with fences that are not part of what's deemed the "residence premises" is practically standard in all home insurance policies and has been for years. The lady on BCTV, if she had a broker worth his spit, would have been offered coverage by special extension to cover non-residence premises fencing if it was valuable enough. However, it's rarely worth the annual expense to purchase such coverage because a conflagration of this sort is so rare. It's a contract, lady...it has wordings...the wordings are there for you to read to help you understand your coverage and help eliminate surprises...if you choose not to read them, that's your problem. But don't get all shocked and surprised and whiny and then cry foul because you failed to take a half hour out of your life to to live up to your part of the bargain. "Sometimes I think they look for a way out," you said. I say, "People who don't read their wordings are stupid."
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Airfun
Junior Member
Posts: 21
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Post by Airfun on Sept 9, 2003 21:35:08 GMT -5
I can understand why "An Insurance Broker" is chosing to remain anonymous, this snotty manner is quite unprofessional. I would hope you can restrain your contempt for your clients while at work.
There are ways of getting your point across with a little tact that might actually provide information to the readers without further damaging the reputations of your co-workers.
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Post by Dennis Prouse on Sept 10, 2003 1:15:21 GMT -5
Lots of people choose to remain anonymous on this board -- why is this broker being held to a tougher standard than others? As the kids say, he's just "keepin' it real", even if he is telling people what they don't want to hear.
The information he gives is correct -- there was no coverage for that fence, and never was. What is probably frustrating this broker, and frustrates me, is that we get hit with these kind of media "drive by shootings". In this one, we were accused of not paying a claim that in fact never existed, and also got to hear a cheap shot questioning our character and motives.
Insurance companies cannot arbitrarily change the rules mid-stream regarding your policy. That policy is a legal contract between two parties, and any violation could trigger a bad faith suit. The last place any insurance company ever wants to find itself is in front of a grumpy judge who thinks they acted in bad faith.
Not only that, most homeowners' policies are pretty standard -- the wordings and coverages change very little from company to company. There is no "fine print", contrary to myth. We publish a brochure called, "Home Insurance Explained", circulated to the public via the brokers, that puts the basic features of the homeowner's policy into plain English.
Insurance is an odd product in that you buy it hoping never to have to use it. Therefore, people give it very little thought, even though they are spending several hundred dollars a year at least on it. What this should encourage people to do is actually read their policy, and ask plenty of questions should they be troubled by what they read.
Dennis Prouse Insurance Bureau of Canada
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LHS
Full Member
Posts: 56
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Post by LHS on Sept 10, 2003 1:50:16 GMT -5
Feel free to criticize the big bad insurance companies all you want. The fact remains that like most business, it boils down to competition in the market place. If one company has a higher premium than another, they should come out second best. All the pregnant doging in the world isn't going to change a thing. One thing for sure is that there sure will be changes made by insurance companies. People that want to insure homes with cedar shingles on the edge of a forest will and should pay more for fire insurance than someone with a asphalt roof in the center of town. I don’t like the idea that when I renew my insurance that it will be higher premium but I do understand. I sure will spend some time getting prices from different companies too.
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An Actual Insurance Broker
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Post by An Actual Insurance Broker on Sept 10, 2003 3:14:37 GMT -5
I can understand why "An Insurance Broker" is chosing to remain anonymous, this snotty manner is quite unprofessional. I would hope you can restrain your contempt for your clients while at work. I apologize to everyone. Truly. I know my words have been harsh; in hindsight, I'm embarrassed with the tone of my posts. They were unprofessional and not indicative of the manner in which I wish my profession to be perceived. I applaud the posts of Mr. Prouse, as he is far more tactful and eloquent a writer than I have been under the circumstances. My contempt lies not with my clients, I assure you. I have been and will remain a consummate professional. I've been in the insurance industry for 12 years and I am very good at what I do. My tone, however, reflects my contempt and frustration with forums such as this, where earnest, normally well-intending and community-minded individuals see fit to openly disparage and flagrantly criticise an industry to which I have devoted the better part of my professional career. It's hard to sit idly by when people so vehemently accuse me of being a deceitful, greedy, underhanded, reprehensible business person when their judgement is based solely on a series of myths, misnomers, and exaggerated horror stories, all sprinkled with a heaping topping of media sensationalism. If someone so aggressively attacked your chosen profession, one in which you have devoted years of time and energy to being the exception to the perceived rule, I believe you would view it as a personal attack as well. The information I have posted is accurate. Choose to believe it or not. All I ask is that in the future, before you pass such critical and sweeping generalizations on an entire industry and your friends and neighbours who work in it, you simply consider that there might be more to the story than meets the eye. I read another thread about a dog that was found by firefighters chained to a house where the owners had been evacuated. The posters were mortified and accusatory, but one person quickly mentioned that perhaps we shouldn't be chastising the pet owners too quickly unless we knew all the details. From what I could tell, nobody in this thread appeared to give a moment's thought that, in cases like the lady on BCTV with her burned fence, there may be simple, straightforward, and valid explanations behind the event. For every one horror story you hear, you see, I promise you there are 100 stories where my customers applaud my efforts and those of their insurers. I'll leave you with this and nothing further: I choose to remain anonymous because I could very well be your broker. We might be speaking on the phone or in person tomorrow, in fact. You'll know me, though, if we do meet. You'll know me without my needing to introduce myself. You'll be able to tell it's me, for the amount of passion that you see in my posts is the same amount of passion that I put into helping my clients each and every day. Best of luck to you all. I'm finished.
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Post by amberlori on Sept 10, 2003 10:23:44 GMT -5
I think it's so easy to just jump out and blame the big bad faceless insurance company. Sure, I'm friends with my broker and she gets me great deals, but in the end, a claim comes down to the adjuster, whom I have never met before.
I myself posted not too long ago about my disgust with how we were being treated by our adjuster. I would like to recind that complaint. They were busy, and now that he's had time to come out to our house, and have a look at our property we are actually quite happy with the way we are being treated. They're even going to cover our plants that died as a result of us being away for 11 days...and maybe even our fish that died for the same reason.
So, I would like to apologize for any disparaging comments I made towards the insurance industry. When tired, and stressed it's easy to take it out on the first target....and insurance companies really do make great targets. ;D
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Post by wow on Sept 10, 2003 18:33:02 GMT -5
wow...how exciting...insurance brokers and executives...fighting to maintain the status qou.... just a business....uh huh, sure...looks like you recognize that if public opinion dont swing your way, there could be an insurance revolution in Canada....
Personally, I stopped buying insurace over a decade ago and developed my own savings policy. I am careful, take precautions, and i dont buy homes that are an obvious risk to runaway disasters like the fire that did in parts of the mission. Of course I can do this only because i have no mortgage.
I keep my valuables in a safety deposit box, and any extra cash and coinage i like to keep on hand.
Insurance is a reality only if you believe it, frankly, I do not. It is a created reality, a cleverly maintained one at that.
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Post by Guest on Sept 10, 2003 20:54:15 GMT -5
If the insurance agent is tired of working 15 hours a day for weeks and weeks then find a new job instead of pregnant doging about it.
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Post by Dennis Prouse on Sept 10, 2003 23:02:29 GMT -5
To wow: If you don't believe in insurance, and have the means to self-insure in the event of a loss, all the power to you. My concern, however, would be you or anyone else carrying large amounts of cash on your person or in your home. It's your call whether you believe in insurance, but you should definitely believe in banks or credit unions when it comes to storing cash.
Thieves seem to have a sixth sense for where people store cash -- if it's there, they find it. (Hint -- the first place thieves head to is the bedroom, where they find cash, jewelry, etc.) Wallets containing large amounts of cash also seem to grow legs. We hear plenty of heartbreaking stories about large amounts of cash taken in robberies, and the worst part is it didn't have to happen.
Dennis Prouse Insurance Bureau of Canada
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Post by South OKer on Sept 10, 2003 23:50:45 GMT -5
Thanks to all on both sides of this for enlightening me about this very touchy subject. Maybe someone from the insurance side can answer this for me. I read at the start of this thread of a person who was not even on alert, and went to renew their insurance and was appalled at it being 3x the last year rate. If that is the case, do you see that as being a fair assessment considering what is going on in the area right now, or do you find that to be apalling yourself?
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Post by Dennis Prouse on Sept 11, 2003 1:57:45 GMT -5
South OKer, this is exactly the kind of story that drives us insane. Someone comes on here talking about an un-named "friend", who allegedly walked into an un-named broker's office in an un-named town, and was allegedly quoted "three times the rate" from an un-named company. With respect, how can we possibly do anything with this? If this was court, it would be called "hearsay", and tossed aside. Give me some specifics, and perhaps we can give a definitive answer.
There are any number of reasons why a premium might have jumped -- a rash of recent claims, a new home business, major renovations, etc. All of these facts are usually carefully omitted when someone decides to go public with their complaints about insurance. By the time the full story comes out, the media or public has moved on, remembering only the unproven allegation. It's really frustrating.
Here's a perfect example of our problems -- on this same thread, a fellow told us how, despite the fact that his Pembridge policy was about to lapse in the middle of this crisis, (they pulled out of BC ten months ago) he was able to get new coverage from Family Insurance. Not only that, he got better coverage and slightly lower rates to boot. Here is a real story with real company names, and a pretty good story at that. If this is "gouging", give me more of it. Does anyone want to talk about this real story, however? Not a chance -- the focus instead is on the unproven third party allegation with no details provided.
I'll tell you the same thing I told Global today -- give us some specifics, and we can give you some specific answers. We cannot possibly be expected to respond, however, to every piece of unsubstantiated hearsay and old urban myth being lobbed at us every day. It's the old game of "gotcha", and frankly we're a little tired of playing after almost six straight weeks of it.
Dennis Prouse Insurance Bureau of Canada
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LHS
Full Member
Posts: 56
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Post by LHS on Sept 11, 2003 6:54:13 GMT -5
Thank you amberlori for a positive comment. And thank you Dennis Prouse for some real facts. I hate all the mud slinging. It's a total waste! We need more factual information and less crap!
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Post by Shiva on Sept 11, 2003 10:37:08 GMT -5
And thank you Dennis Prouse for some real facts. I re-read Prouses stuff -can you help me out? I can't find any "facts" in the post. I'd enjoy reading some. Of course - if that wasn't mud Prouse flung - what was it? What I didn't see answered is why the insurance companies aren't writing policies for new homes or renewing on some. Talk about housing sales on the decline, affecting construction too. They don't seem to mind the premiums but shut er down when it comes time to be realistic with the policys. I don't know what they are worried about, they'll just tack the cost on as premium increases to everyone, plus their desired profit margin and if you want a mortgage, you'll pay it and that I'm sure, is a fact..
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Post by wow on Sept 11, 2003 11:33:30 GMT -5
To Dennis,
my composition error, i kieep my cash and coinage in the safety deposit box, by on hand i mean out of an account. The box contents are not insured, but that is a risk i choose
I agree with shiva and the writer on page 1 that insurance is a rigged game. I know an actuary, and i know a former big engineering VP, both who have confirmed that their databases are so vast that they can always calculate a safe margin, and, they know how much extra cash that the public has, so to know where to set rates. The actuary tells me that Statistics Canada info that the average person is by law obligated but inable to afford to access, is consistently used for their industry benefit. They know how much we can afford before there is a backlash or a riot. And by this, I am not poking at the little guy broker that is simply trained how to flog the policy holders, I am directing my comments to you Mr. Prouse, and the entities that you are humping this post for.
Buckminster Fuller wrote a book titled G.R.U.N.C.H. of Giants..."gross universal cash heist", it talks clearly about your industry, it's history and underlying tenants and is full of facts. Bukminster is so well respected that a newly discovered element Buckminterfullerene is even named after him.. he is a consumate thinker. \ I acknowledge that there is some lack of facts in some posts, but The overall fact is, INSURANCE IS A SCAM, AND EVEN IF THE AVERAGE MAN CANNOT FULLY INTELLECTUALLY DISECT IT, AT THE GUT LEVEL HE KNOWS IT IS A SCAM SUPPORTED BY RULE.
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Post by Dont Panic on Sept 11, 2003 12:28:23 GMT -5
Douglas Adams worte a book titled Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345391802/qid=1063300148/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_3/002-5286447-8798434?v=glance&s=books&n=507846In it he describes the solution that another world had for the problem. The Thinkers came up with the idea and gave plans to the Doers on the planet to build an intersteller spaceship equipped to hold hundreds of thousands for a long voyage. Then the Thinkers announced that they had discovered another planet even more wonderful than the one they were now on. The most important people thought they should go first as there was not enough room for everyone. The Thinkers agreed with them, and so the Bankers, Insurance Execs, Politicians, Managers and Buecrats all got onboard.. Unknown to the passengers, the ship had been programmed to fly into their own sun and be destroyed...due to a technical error, it missed and drifted for a few years until it crashed into the Earth....apparently that is when our own problems began Now you can understand the drive behind technology and NASA
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