Paid insurance, now underwriters want more.

Araqiels

Araqiels

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So this is the story,

I went with a new broker to insure my bike. Quote came out 840ish/year. I paid in full via credit card, signed the papers, got my temporary slips, and my full slips will arrive in the mail after the strike. This happened three days ago.

When I was getting my insurance, I disclosed to the broker that I was in an accident where I damaged the rear bumper of a car ever so slightly. The lady was insistant we take it through claims, and that is what we did. All this was revealed to my broker prior to signing the papers.

So today I get a call from him, along with an email that states:

Hello Robin,

We have received the new business motorcycle application for Mr. (my name) and it has been issued under policy number (policy number). His policy has been re-rated as the insured had an At Fault motorcycle claim with us Aug. 5, 2010 which brings his driving record down to a 0.

Mr. (my name) premium is now $1658. It has been issued on Full Pay with $843 applied via credit card as per the attached authorization form.

Attached is an underwriting memo and a copy of Mr. (my name) Autoplus for reference.

Sincerely,

xxxxxx




He states that he has misunderstood what I said about the accident. He thought I had said a car hit me. He acknowledges that it was HIS misunderstanding, because he recalls me telling him about the bumper, and clearly, my bike doesn't have a bumper. So, Jevco, the company I was with when I had the accident, now - through some various logic - wants the difference of premium of $815.

I'm still waiting on my broker to explain the details behind this. But in the meantime, I thought I'd consult you all. What obligation do I have to pay Jevco these premiums? After all, I signed a legally binding agreement with the new company to pay insurance at $843/year after I disclosed my previous accident to them.

Can Jevco all of a sudden emerge with a demand for another $815 even though I'm not with them? Do I have the option to opt out, and cancel with my current company since I didn't quite agree to this?

This accident happened in August 2010, so if I wait till August 2011, it will have been cleared from my record and I'll pay $843/yo. I mean, it's not worth riding one month for an additional $815.

Please advise.

Thanks.
 
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Addition: So this is what my broker replied back to my inquiry for explaination:

Monday June 27, 2011
Hi Patryk - there's really not too much to explain.

Jevco basically have two tiers of pricing to offer:

1. Zero rating ( 0) for those riders who have NOT held recognised Canadian or US motorcycle continully for at least 12 months preceding commecement of insuranvce with Jevco

OR have had an 'at fault' motorcycle accident within that 12 month period. Your case is the latter.

2. Other rating - for those who have held recognised Canadian or US motorcycle continually for at least 12 months preceding commencement of insurance with Jevco

AND have NOT had an 'at fault' motorcycle accident within that 12 month period.
By the time your renewal of this present policy is due; the 'at fault' accident will be more than 12 months old, so there should be no hindrance on that issue to being credited to the 'other rating'


---

So what does this all mean!?
 
Seriously. Now they're saying I can cancel if I don't like it, but they're going to hold a substantial portion of my payment that's already cleared. If I don't pay Jevco, then they'll cancel my insurance for non-payment and it'll go on my record.

I'm not going to pay Jevco another $815 to ride for the month of July. I didn't sign for it. I didn't agree to it. It wasn't a figure listed anyone on any of the documents I put my signature on. If Jevco wishes to cancel my insurance because of it, I demand a full return on the money they took out. Otherwise, I'm not cancelling, and the only funds they will recieve, are the ones they already have for $843.

If this went the other way around, and I tried to pull something like this on them, this would go down as fraud. What a scam this is.

In turn, I'm going to send Jevco a drawing of mine that I appraise at $815, and tell them they owe me this money.
 
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wow... so they make a mistake, up your rate after you pay, then refuse to let you cancel for a full refund? thats ridiculous.
 
If you cancel now you should be allowed to get your Full payment back in full.

Will they not let you do that considering this is their mistake?
 
slowbird said:
If you cancel now you should be allowed to get your Full payment back in full.

Will they not let you do that considering this is their mistake?
Click to expand...

According to my broker, they said they would keep a portion of my payment. Which I do not accept, since yes, it is their mistake. So I informed them, cordially, that I will keep my insurance that I have already signed for at the rate of $843/year. If this is not liked, I will gladly accept a return of my money, and I'll send them back their slips.

Otherwise, it's time to contact the General Insurance Ombudservice.
http://www.giocanada.org/
 
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silverbullet132 said:
wow... so they make a mistake, up your rate after you pay, then refuse to let you cancel for a full refund? thats ridiculous.
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Ontario law permits insurance companies to correct your premium in the first 60 days of the policy if they discover an error in the information provided with the application. Getting a full refund after you've already used the product (insurance) is rather "optimistic".
 
turbodish said:
Ontario law permits insurance companies to correct your premium in the first 60 days of the policy if they discover an error in the information provided with the application. Getting a full refund after you've already used the product (insurance) is rather "optimistic".
Click to expand...

So, four days after issuing me insurance they decide to double my fee, without any paperwork, and my expectation of fair and competent service or otherwise a refund is optimistic?
 
Araqiels said:
So, four days after issuing me insurance they decide to double my fee, without any paperwork, and my expectation of fair and competent service or otherwise a refund is optimistic?
Click to expand...
It's in all vehicle insurance contacts sold in Ontario, including the one that YOU agreed to. The Ontario government defines the terms of that standard insurance contract, and legally it makes no differentiation between errors being their fault or yours.
1.6.2 If You Have Been Incorrectly Classified and Your Premium is Wrong

We use rules that determine the amount you pay for each coverage and category of automobile insurance. You are classified according to these rules.

If you have been incorrectly classified, we will correct the situation.

If the incorrect classification resulted in your paying too high a premium, we will refund any premium overpayment with interest. The interest will cover the period for which you were overcharged.

The rate of interest will be the bank rate, as set by the Bank of Canada, on the first day of the last month of the quarter preceding the quarter in which you were incorrectly classified. If the bank rate includes a fraction we will round it off to the next highest number. (The bank rate is the rate at which the Bank of Canada makes short-term loans to chartered banks.)

If the incorrect classification resulted in your paying too low a premium, we will require you to pay an additional premium as long as we tell you within 60 days of the effective date of the policy. We will not charge you interest on the additional premium.
Click to expand...
 
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Araqiels said:
This accident happened in August 2010, so if I wait till August 2011, it will have been cleared from my record and I'll pay $843/yo. I mean, it's not worth riding one month for an additional $815.
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Collision happened in August 2010? You think it will drop off your record in August 2011?

My understanding is that any at-fault collisions in the last SIX years can effect your rates.
 
turbodish said:
Collision happened in August 2010? You think it will drop off your record in August 2011?

My understanding is that any at-fault collisions in the last SIX years can effect your rates.
Click to expand...

Your understanding, and the implication of what the brokers state are two different things.
 
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turbodish said:
If the incorrect classification resulted in your paying too low a premium, we will require you to pay an additional premium as long as we tell you within 60 days of the effective date of the policy. We will not charge you interest on the additional premium.
Click to expand...

This is relevant, thanks. Except, that this 'standard' vehicle insurance contract that you claim I agreed to, I never received, never read, never signed. I know this, because I'm looking over a copy of the documents I was made to sign, and fax in.
 
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Araqiels said:
Your understanding, and the implication of what the brokers I've checked with state are two different things.
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This reminded me that my motorcycle insurance premium was due today. So, having just paid it and looking at the principle operator description, it says "licensed and accident-free" for the last three years". That's different from my car and truck policies that stipulate 6 years.

I suppose there's room for variance depending on insurance company and the specific rate filings they have provided FSCO. A one-year drop-off for at-fault collisions seems very forgiving though.
 
I do stand corrected. One of the articles state that my policy can be amended at anytime, and if I should choose to cancel it, a portion of my premium will not be refunded. It was well concealed.
 
turbodish said:
I suppose there's room for variance depending on insurance company and the specific rate filings they have provided FSCO. A one-year drop-off for at-fault collisions seems very forgiving though.
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They must be very forgiving, because two different brokers aside from my current one told me if I wait until August it would be half of what it was quoted. They could have all been checking with Jevco, possibly.
 
Good to know, thanks.
Now I just need to find out how much of the premium they'll hold back before I cancel. Good lesson, make sure if you go through a broker, you check their work.
 
turbodish said:
This reminded me that my motorcycle insurance premium was due today. So, having just paid it and looking at the principle operator description, it says "licensed and accident-free" for the last three years". That's different from my car and truck policies that stipulate 6 years.

I suppose there's room for variance depending on insurance company and the specific rate filings they have provided FSCO. A one-year drop-off for at-fault collisions seems very forgiving though.
Click to expand...
It actually depend on your insurance company, for my car its 3-year accident-free, some insurance ask 6 year, and I think 9 year at worst, not sure.
 
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