Hi David,

David Kao wrote:
> The insurance company may raise the premium for Matt's insurance
> and get all the money back they pay out for his claim. This is the
> game they play.

That's not a "game", that's their business model.

Seriously, by having an "at-fault" accident he has proven to be a higher
risk to them, justifying a higher premium. Unless he has been accident
free for at least the past five years he is pretty much guaranteed a
premium increase no matter where he takes his business. At least that's
how it is in my market.

>
> If they do not treat Matt right by paying what he deserves why stay
> insured with them and let them get all their money plus more back?
> A good insurance company will not only treat Matt right to pay
> out enough to make Matt happy. They may even keep the premium unchanged
> instead of punishing Matt.

The only way a bean-counter could justify that behaviour is if he was
charging too much in the first place.\, or if he has a totally clean
record previously. I don't think we have that data at the moment.

There is a huge difference between a good
> and a bad insurance company. It's always a good idea to quickly drop
> off from a bad one and switch to another, hopefully a better one.
> This helps to drive the bad one out of everyone's way.

We agree on the above, but with a recent at-fault item on your record it
might not be the best time to change. And in addition, it's worth noting
that in ^my^ market it isn't always easy to change insurers on a 20YO
vehicle. Many companies will flat out refuse the coverage.

>
> Yes, I agree if they treat Matt right and if he is happy then stay
> insured with them. Obviously it seems that's not the case now.

Right now is a bad time to judge an insurance company, as has been said
previously, a lowball offer on an unusual vehicle like a vanagon is not
uncommon. It certainly couldn't hurt to shop around and compare notes
with other NV vanagon owners on the list, but I certainly wouldn't jump
until I looked where I was going land...

>
> David
\
--
Happy Trails,

Greg Potts
1973/74/79 Westfakia "Bob the Tomato"
1987 Wolfsburg Weekender Hardtop
www.busesofthecorn.com
www.pottsfamily.ca