The One That Got Away: How I Learned That All Insurance Agencies Aren’t the Same

Insurance is one of those things I really hate paying for each month until I have to use it. After being involved in a recent accident, I was really glad I was covered, Car Insuranceand that my insurance company was willing to work with me to get my car fixed. I have been with the same insurance agent for most of my adult driving life. I have a local dealer that knows me by name, and they are a part of a large national insurance brand. Everything with them goes pretty well. It wasn’t until I was involved in a hit and run accident a few years back that I realized not all insurance companies are created equal.

Way back in the day, before I wrote blogs for a living, I worked in a small office selling satellite dishes. I just started graduate school, so I worked mostly in the evenings. This meant that I worked alone, and the office did not receive very much traffic at night. One day a young fella in a very large pickup truck stopped by our office to pay his bill. We talked about the weather briefly and genuinely had a nice conversation. It was just nice to have someone to talk to that day. I was alone for hours, and a friendly voice was just what I needed to make it through the rest of the night. As the customer left, he told me to “be careful out there,” and then he climbed into his truck.

Snow had fallen earlier in the day, and the parking lot was covered. As this person backed out of his parking spot, he smashed the throttle to make his vehicle break traction. This was fun for him, and I am sure he got some sort of enjoyment out of it…until he backed into my car. I watched it all unfold from my desk. When I walked into the parking lot, he became very irate and left the scene of the accident. In his mind, the action of him backing into my car was my fault. Though my car was clearly in an assigned spot, he was mad at me. Perhaps it was my fault for simply existing.

I had all of his information, so I called the police. I made an accident report and did everything you’re supposed to do after an accident. Because I followed the rules I thought everything was going to be fine, but I was wrong.

Problems started a few days later when I contacted his insurance company. While I can’t name a specific brand, let’s just say his insurance company was cut-rate at best. They would not return my calls, and they wouldn’t give me anything to cover the cost of the damage to my car. Eventually, my insurance provider had to cover the accident under my underinsured/uninsured policy. I remember thinking back then how thankful I was that I wasn’t in the car, and how I wasn’t injured. I can’t imagine trying to deal with a discount insurance company while injured. These people wouldn’t even pay for my fender; imagine if I had a broken leg.

While researching this blog I decided to do some investigating on underinsured and uninsured drivers. I was ignorant. I thought that all states required this type of coverage for their citizens. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, I was so wrong, that I decided that my next blog will be all about this topic. Trust me; you will want to educate yourself on this subject. I consider myself somewhat educated, and in under three minutes I was shocked out how little I knew. After this hit and run, I was glad that the state of West Virginia required me to have underinsured motorist coverage.

It’s important to remember that every insurance company is different. However, discount insurance companies often don’t have your best interest in mind. Even my well known insurance provider wasn’t able to get the other driver’s company to pay for the damage he did to my car. So, if you’re involved in something far more serious than an unoccupied fender bender, fighting the insurance company alone will be very difficult. That is why so many people turn to a Personal Injury Lawyer like Jan Dils to help them get the settlement they deserve. In fact, Jan will be the first to tell you that even the name brand insurance companies will try to undercut your injuries. While most modern insurance companies have fun commercials with likable spokespeople, we can’t forget that they are businesses, and their main purpose is to make money. Jan Dils has battled government and insurance giants for more than 20 years, and she knows how to get results.

If you’d like to know more about our personal injury services in West Virginia or Ohio, or if you’d like to talk about your case with a representative, call us today. Our toll free number is 1-877-526-3457. Or, fill out this form now to be contacted at a later time.

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Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law

Jan Dils, Attorneys at Law
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