Who To Call For A Insurance Complaint
So you have paid your premiums faithfully and feel secured in the assurance that you are covered. Then an accident happens and your insurance won’t pay. Or they decide to make a settlement offer that won’t cover it all. Or they just cancel your policy. What would be your next step?
Every state has offices that deal with and regulate insurance companies. These offices will resolve consumer complaints. But before calling your state regulators there are some steps you need to take.
- Gather up all your information pertaining to your problem (copy of your policy, billing statements, canceled checks of premiums, police reports, and correspondence of your insurer).
- Call your insurer and make note of the time, date, and the person that you are speaking to. Try to settle this with your company one last time and remember to take notes of the conversation.
- It may help if you ask to talk to the manager or person in charge. Let them know that you plan on contacting the state regulators (be firm but polite) unless they can settle the issue. If they do not resolve the issue, call the state.
Your state regulator offices will have their phone numbers listed on their websites as well as a way to contact them online. It would be best for your to make a one-page detailed summary of the issue beforehand. This way you can have it presentable and can get the problem verbally through in a short amount of time. It will also help you to get all the facts to them with out getting side-tracked by other issues.
State regulators deal with claim disputes, sales falsification, premium problems, fraudulent practices, adjustor disputes, and refund request.
The purpose of state insurance regulators are to protect the consumer; remember to be prepared to state your case. The state is not your attorney. They can only determine if your insurer acted properly by the policy you have.
Once the complaint has been placed it may take up to 30 – 90 days before it gets resolved. Even so they may not choose in your favor. You may also have to provide more documentation and information for them to make their decision. Always be quick about sending in information to speed up the process.
Remember alternatively you can always contact an attorney or find a consumer protection agency. Both have their pros and cons and can either make your life easier or more difficult. Remember before taking any drastic action to work it out with your insurer. If all things fail, consult an attorney.
