Like a Monster Movie
Written: Mar 04 '03 (Updated Feb 13 '07)
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Pros: The initial (outside) claims processor was effective.
Cons: The inside claims processor was ineffective and difficult to deal with.
The Bottom Line: Stay away from them. They can't be trusted.
Find a REALLY good insurance agent and stick with them.
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| Saxguy's Full Review: SAFECO - Home |
You know how in the typical monster movie, the monster is defeated, but not really killed off? The movie ends with the possibility of the monster regenerating and striking again. That’s my legacy with Safeco homeowners insurance. Not only did my family endure a long, difficult fire claim with Safeco, but Safeco’s incompetence continues to strike at my family.
I found their claims processor and systems to be difficult, with delayed payments.
We had a fire claim in November 2000. What happened is that some contractors installing cable internet for AT&T Cable, touched off some insulation in my son’s bedroom during installation. It started a small, smoky fire, which damaged a good portion of my son’s bedroom and floor and put off smoke throughout the house.
I had initially chosen Safeco because of their reputation as a solvent insurer and a fair claims processor. The were insuring our cars at the time as well. The agent had been one who had handled my business for years, competently.
Initially, thinks went about as well as could be expected. We were assigned an “outside processor” from Safeco, who arrived in a few days with a fire inspector. They inspected the damage with a representative of the contractor, who admitted fault and gave me the phone number of their insurer. The outside processor told me that the claim was subrogated, meaning that while Safeco would process the claim on my behalf, they would look to the contractor’s insurer for payment. I found out later that subrogation claims are not processed until they are complete.
The outside processor gave me a check to start us on our living expenses while in a local hotel and some referrals to cleaners for the house and clothes. We made sure that our family was comfortable in the hotel and I started documenting our receipts.
There was no trouble with the construction aspects of the claim. My son’s girlfriend’s father has a home construction business, so we were able to get quality work at a reasonable price.
The nightmare was with the claims for living expenses and for the smoke damaged furnishings.
The inside claims processor contacted me. He said that Safeco would pay for the hotel bill and our additional living expenses (amount over average) as a result of the claim. He said that he would deal directly with the hotel and I was to send my claims to him.
A couple of months later, the hotel told me that the bill hadn’t been paid. The issue, in part, was the occasional room service charges and telephone, which were processed by Safeco separately from the lodging expenses. We were not getting our claims for meals and clothes paid either. I asked my agent for help and didn’t get much of anywhere, although he did get me the number of the processor’s boss, whom I called. At that point, the boss explained to me that I had to sort my receipts into the “buckets” that Safeco uses to track types of claim payments. He also gave me an advance against future claims.
Armed with this information, I documented and summarized the receipts and kept calling. I’m a CPA, so I can document and classify expenses. At least SOME of the claims were being paid, although I told the processor on a couple of occasions that I was into them for several thousand dollars and I was going to charge interest if the payments didn’t come faster.
I was getting payments, although short of what we were owed. I asked the inside processor to show me his calculations and they were invariably manual. No adding machine tape, no spreadsheet, MANUAL. I repeatedly asked for a reconciliation of what Safeco had paid to what I had submitted. I never did get it, so I did it myself and asserted the extra expenses which they ultimately paid.
I was very assertive about my claims, making regular calls and going to the processor’s boss on a few occasions. I ended up talking to the risk manager at my office for advice and he told me that a lot of insurers delay claims payments in order to sap the resolve of the claimants and get them to accept less.
While we were back in the house in about 4 months, it took a year to sort out all the claims and get on with our life.
Or so I thought.
In February of 2002, Safeco informed me that they were not going to renew my insurance due to claims. Sure, we’d had a couple of claims for ice flow on the roof, but they were minor and the fire claim was subrogated. I asked my agent to talk to the Safeco underwriters and explain that the fire claim was subrogated. No result, although it’s possible my agent never made the call.
I found another agent. Safeco (around 4 months after the claim was completed) had not even asserted the subrogation claim. That was why the claim was still on my record. My new agent was able to place me at about the same price, with another company, Old Republic.
Fast forward to 2003. Old Republic is now exiting the homeowners insurance business. The fire claim is still on my record because Safeco has not collected the subrogation yet. They retained an attorney to sue the contractor’s insurance company.
This claim, none of which occurred since 2000, has put me in a subprime category, and I am going to have to pay about double the typical price for a year until the claims go off my record (as they do over 3 years).
Bottom line?
Safeco took a long time to process my claims and were generally difficult to deal with after the first week. The documentation provided by their claims processor was manual. There was no apparent use of the computer by the claims processor.
Their underwriting department bounced me even though the large claim was not my fault and the party that caused the fire admitted liability.
That claim stayed on my record because the department responsible for collecting the claim from the party that caused it did not do the job.
The agent I had for a long time was missing in action when I REALLY needed him.
My best advice is find a REALLY good agent - one that will work for you.
Thanks for reading. God bless:
Please check out my other reviews, including:
You might be interested in some of my other reviews:
Chase Perfectcard Rebate Credit Card
ING Direct Bank
Citibank Mastercard - 5% Rebate for Groceries!
Recommended:
No
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