What you should never tell your insurance company

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Tue, Dec 08 2009 | 0 Comments

When you contact your insurance company to file a claim there are a few things that you shouldn’t say if you want to make sure that your policy will cover the incident. Now, do not fraud the insurance company, just make sure what you’re telling them is the truth.

1. Never start a sentence with “I think” or any other term that indicates that you’re not sure as to why something happened. If you don’t know say “I don’t know.” Giving information that can be proven wrong later can really hurt your claim and can damage your credibility.

Particularly beware of speculating on blame or causation. For example, if you suggest that a water leak is due to a construction defect, you could give the insurer an out if that’s a policy exclusion.

2. Don’t use the “whiplash” excuse unless your doctor actually says you have it. This is one of the most fraudulent claims every year that insurance companies have to deal with. In some cases, according to Amy Danise from Insure.com, mentioning whiplash in your claim is likely to get it flagged for further investigation.

3. Don’t admit to a doctor’s test as being experimental when it isn’t. There is a difference between an actual experimental drug/procedure and one that is proven (and accepted by the FDA for use) but your doctor wants to try it out in your case. You may want to make sure that your doctor can prove that it will be covered by insurance before getting it done and fighting with the insurance company later.

4. The word “flood” triggers some kind of nervous, shaking, fear in insurers; so don’t use it. When it comes to homeowner’s insurance, floods aren’t covered. A flood is weather related too, not if your pipe bursts and you find yourself with a basement full of water.

5. Don’t act like the only thing you care about is the money. When an insurance company sees that you care more about getting a check rather than fixing your damaged property, they will likely put your claim on hold while they go and check further into it.

When it comes to insurance, it’s all about what the insurance company thinks. If they feel that you’re trying to make a fraudulent claim, for any reason, they can simply put the brakes on your claim altogether. It is rather frustrating to pick and choose your words when you talk to the insurance company, but it is important. Too many people, every single year, decide that having insurance is a good way to try to make a bit of money, when in reality that is not what insurance is for.

I can’t tell anyone what to do with their money, but if an insurance company sends a check out, then fix whatever is broken.

Related posts:
Don’t say this to your insurance company
Things to not say to your insurance company
Everyone should look into life insurance because the future is uncertain

Tags: Money, fraud, insurance company

This is why I won’t let a valet park my car

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Oct 01 2009 | 2 Comments

Okay, so this story is a bit different than my usual posts, but I saw this earlier and had to say something about it.

In the video above, the news reporter goes undercover to show how valet companies in Los Angeles, CA are taking up public parking spaces to make money. One owner says that he only does it because he needs more room. I’m sorry, but that is no excuse to take parking spaces from the public to profit from them.

Chris and I both discussed this and thought that perhaps someone’s pockets are being padded so that the valet companies can get away with this. If these signs are illegal to put up, then how are they not being arrested or at least fined for doing it?

Then, there are valets that are parking without putting money in a meter and getting tickets on other people’s cars. That’s outrageous enough, but to make matters worse they aren’t telling people that their car had a parking ticket put on it.

These business practices are deplorable and should not be tolerated. It is awful that it’s happening somewhere as densely populated as LA, but there’s not much that most people can do except hope that law enforcement can do something about it.

View more news videos at: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video.

Related posts:
Be careful before you let someone else park your car.
AEG may be ending its relationship with Ticketmaster
The SEC is considering a ban on Flash Trading

Tags: parking spaces, news reporter, business practices