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- Written by: Doug Hartley
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Jesse, from Forest Grove, Oregon, got stopped and cited for speeding three times on the same road he travels every day from home to work within three months. The difference in the insurance price from what he used to pay increased by $150 a month. He was suspended for a month and needed an SR22 certificate while applying for a Hardship Permit. The permit allowed him to continue driving the country roads to work. If he gets one more ticket, he’d be suspended for a year. Jesse is lucky he lives in the 97116 zip code. If he lived in Hillsboro 97123 or Portland 97203, he would pay $200 to $250 more a month.
I’ve seen worse driving records. My all-time favorite is Mark, who lived in Beaverton, 97005, had 29 tickets and accidents listed on his most recent three-year driving history. His auto insurance quote on his Subaru WRX was over $10,000 a month. Yes, I had a company who would accept him, but at a price. It’s been a few years since I last quoted him. If he listened to my advice and parked his WRX, he’d have a clean record by now and would be paying around $150 a month.
It’s incredible how some drivers can go their whole life and never get pulled over by the cops, and others are like a police magnet. Wherever you fit on the spectrum, call or text me at 503-693-2852. I’d be happy to see if I can save you any money. Or, you can complete and submit this form. I’ll get to it as soon as I can. I don’t sell your information. It stays here locked up in my computer until you decide. After 30 days, it gets deleted, and you’ll never hear from me again.
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- Written by: Doug Hartley
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Madelene from Eugene, Oregon 97401, completed a quote request form. She hadn’t had insurance or a car for two and a half years. The vehicle identification number she submitted revealed a car with a reconstructed title. The price was astronomical at around $300 a month for liability only. Yes, she had a ticket or two on her record that were about to fall off, but what a shock. I encouraged her to keep looking at other cars. She fed me five more VIN numbers. By the end of the day, we found one that had a clean title, a good maintenance history and came in at $180 a month. The year, make, and model does make a difference in the cost of insurance. Add a rough crash and repair history to it, and you have the ingredients for high insurance prices.
Is it a conspiracy by the car manufacturers to get old cars off the highway? At first, that’s what I thought when auto insurance companies implemented this system of charging more for branded or totaled vehicles. After seeing what happened in three cases where clients suffered a total loss with little to no injury, kept the salvage and fixed the car, then got in a second crash almost in the same place, I was convinced the insurance companies did have a reason to charge more. Those three cases landed the clients and their families in the hospital with serious injuries. The first time, the cars had done their job to dampen the impact, but the second time, the crumple zone technology had already been spent and failed to protect the passengers. The insurers had to pay out tens of thousands of dollars for the injuries in those cases.
You ought to call me before you buy a brand new car. No, it wouldn’t have an accident history, but the same thing applies. Cars are crash tested before being sold. The agencies tabulate the safety statistics for each model and publish their findings. Insurance companies have only those reports to establish the rates until a history of actual injury reports can be obtained. I find the same variation of rates among new cars.
When you go shopping for a new or used car, please text or call me at 503-693-2852. I’ll be happy to quote as many vehicles as necessary until we find a good one. It’s not just the cost; it’s your safety.
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- Written by: Doug Hartley
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Jose in Tillamook, Oregon 97141 has four vehicles on his policy and claims to be the only driver. Despite my interrogation, he refuses to reveal any more drivers. One day, his son was driving one of the cars to pick up his girlfriend from the airport in Portland, Oregon, and got in a crash. It totaled the newer SUV. So far, the insurance company has refused to pay the $135,000. The other party has a judgment against the driver and the client. Plus, the insurance company is charging the client for a permissive use accident. The customer argues that he shouldn’t have to pay extra for the accident because he wasn’t driving.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to disclose all drivers who have access to the cars you insure. They need to be listed on the policy to be covered. I’m sure you’ve heard of cases where the company will still pay the claim even if the driver isn’t listed. Auto insurers are taking a more rigid stance on the matter. They’ve implemented a system of gathering reports of potential drivers by looking for residents of the same household.
Don’t be surprised when we quote you that other names pop up. We’ll gently request that you explain who they are to you, if they live in the same house, and if they have access to your car(s). It’s getting harder to hide potential drivers with this technology. If you genuinely don’t let them drive, say so. We’ll mark them as non-drivers on the policy. Be careful not to let them use your car if you have indicated they won’t.
Another trend is for an insurer to automatically add drivers they discover after giving you a chance to respond to their inquiry. If you don’t reply to their request for additional information about a household member, they will include them without further warning after the date indicated in the letter.
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- Written by: Doug Hartley
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I can count on two hands how many times a client or prospective client asked me to sell them insurance but with a date of yesterday, so the accident they had today would be covered. Before applications for insurance required upload through secure internet connections to the insurance company, the industry relied on the honesty and integrity of the insurance agent to properly date and time the binding of a risk. The quarterly newsletter from the State of Oregon blurted out stories of agents who had gotten caught in such illegal activity as back-dating a policy and the fine and other sanctions they received. Now it’s impossible to back-date a policy because the computer time and date-stamps all activity.
When asked, I explained that we both could be fined and even do jail time if I were to back-date a policy to cover an accident. Now, if you ask, I hang up and block your number. If you are an existing policyholder, I will politely ask you to find another agent. I want no part of it.
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Late and cancelation fees can eat you alive. On top of the billing fee, if you pay late, you might get charged as much as $10. Then, if your policy goes past the cancellation date, depending on the company, you might get charged another $25 to reinstate the policy. That’s $45 just in fees.
Non-sufficient funds fees are the worst. Let’s say you are on automatic payments, and the company already charges you $10 a month to send you an electronic bill notice to your email and phone. If your payment doesn’t go through because you didn’t have enough money in your account on the morning of when they were expected to draw, then the company will charge you a late fee of $10 and an NSF fee of $25. Now, if you don’t get paid for two weeks and your policy cancels by the time you have enough, they could charge you another $25 to reinstate. We are talking $70 in fees, not counting what your bank charges you for over-drafting your account.
This storm of fees happened to Steven in Cascade Locks, Oregon, one month. Someone hacked his card and took all his money. The bank stopped the card, but it took two weeks before getting a new one in the mail. While he waited for the disputed withdrawals to be put back into his account, he had no money to pay his premium. He forgot to call the company or me to stop the automatic withdrawal of his insurance policy for the month. The insurance company attempted to charge his account. His regular monthly premium was $56. The fees he paid, in the end, cost more than the premium.
The worst part of all this fee business for the agent is that we don’t get a commission on the fees! The company wants us to help collect them. Our compensation is only a percentage of the pure premium. So, as many have implied in the past, please know that fee money doesn’t go in our pockets.
We don’t charge fees on top of what the company collects. Some agents charge an additional broker and application fee. Plus, they will sell you an extra, fully-earned roadside assistance plan that you didn’t request. Before you buy, ask what fees are included in the down payment of your policy.