Corrigan Insurance

Review: In Novmeber 2013, I received a phone call from my auto insurance agent asking whether or not I had children. I responded stating, "that I do not have children." My January 2014 insurance bill was about $30 higher than what I had been paying for the last 18 months. My policy renewal wasn't until February 4, 2014. When I called the insurance company to find out why, the representative explained that someone in the company incorrectly added a discount to my policy when I switched from being a Maryland to Pennylvania resident in June 2012. The discount was for people under the age of 30 that have children. I do not have children and have never communicated that information to the insurance company. With any other discount, proof is required in order to get the discount. For instance, in the past I received a "good student discount," and had to provide the agent with a copy of my grades report every semester. I never provided and the agent never collected evidence on me having children prior to giving me this discount. The insurance company stated that at a minimum they would need name, age, and SSN for any child being claimed. Again, I don't have children and did not provide this informtaion in any capacity to the insurance agent. When the mistake was caught in November 2013, my policy was adjusted resulting in a price increase. I was dissatisfied with the explanation the insurance agent provided and cancelled my coverage with [redacted] effective January 4, 2014. The insurance agent is still billing me for $26.75, the removal of the discount from the date of the discovery through my cancellation date. I don't understand why I am paying anything for an undetectable mistake made by the underwriter on my insurance policy. None of the renewal documents received in August 2012, February 2013 or August 2013, show any discounts for having a child. The only discounts appearing on my bills for those periods included: passive restraint, safe driver, accident free, anit-theft devise, multi line, and affinity.Desired Settlement: I would like for the $26.75 adjustment to be removed from my account.

Business

Response:

March 11, 2014**. [redacted],The breakdown of billing has been explained to **. [redacted] on several occasions. The policy was cancelled effective 1-4-14 per insured request. The cancellation was pro-rated and **. [redacted] was only charged for the days she had coverage leaving a owed of $26.75. It is earned premium.She moved back and forth several times between MD and PA at which point; the ‘resident child discount’ was mistakenly placed on the policy in June 2012. She received a discounted premium from 06/2012 until December 2013. [redacted] underwrites policies at renewal to make sure all documents are in order. [redacted] underwriting department sent the agents office a request for name and date of birth of the child in order to continue receiving the discount When speaking with **. [redacted] we learned she did not have any children at which time we explained to her that the discount would be removed and a revised declaration page would be sent. She was not pleased and stated she felt like she was being penalized for someone else’s error. I explained that there was no penalty and we only removed a discount that she didn’t qualify for effective the current renewal date of 12-4-13. We did not backdate the removal of the discount. She got unpleasant and disconnected the phone after threatening to take her complaint higher up. The ‘resident child discount’ does not show on the declaration page; it shows under the drivers name in our rating system. I have enclosed a copy of her last renewal declaration page showing the effective date the driver information was changed 12-4-2013. I also enclosed a copy of our call log showing our communication with [redacted].?

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: The response provided by [redacted] included a false statement. According to the second paragraph, "When speaking with **. [redacted] we learned that she did not have any children at which time we explained to her that the discount would be removed and a revised declarartion page would be sent."This is a FALSE statement. A representative from Corrigan called me and introduced themselves and simply asked if I had kids, I replied "no." At that time the caller thanked me for my response and hung up the phone. I received this call in November 2013. I was signed up for automatic deductions and the "normal" amount was deducted from my account on 12/4/2013. It was not until I received the bill for January 2014 that I realized that I even received a discount and that my premium had been changed (increased). Again, I never told [redacted] that I had a child and I was not informed by a [redacted] agent or via billing statement about having a child discount until I called about the premium increase in late December 2013.

Regards,

Business

Response:

March 27, 2014After receiving your response, I reached out to [redacted] once again to try and resolve her issues. She feels our response was a falsestatement. She stated our rep called her to inquire about having children and when she responded ‘no’, we said thank you and hung up the phone. Our business practices include treating all clients the same; with respect and always identifying the reason we are calling. We do not record our phone conversations so there is no way to pull a call. [redacted] owes earned premium on her policy which provided coverage up to the cancellation date of 1-4-2014. I explained to her that she still owes the earned premium. We did not backdate the removal of any discount. We only removed the discount that should never have been applied effective the next renewal of 12-4-13. I asked her what she would like us to do and her response was to waive the $26.00. I started to explain our filings with the insurance department related to premium and she basically started talking loudly over me and stated she would just never pay the money and disconnected the call once again.At this point, I’m not sure what else we can do to resolve this matter with [redacted]. We have tried numerous times. I have providedbreakdowns showing how the premium is owed and log notes from our system showing our communication back and forth with Ms. Patterson. Unfortunately, we can’t waive premiums that are owed to the company. As I tried to explain to her, we have specific filings with the MD Insurance department related to the calculation of premiums. We have to abide by our filings and treat all clients the same using the same rating/premium factors. Please let me know how I can be of further assistance. Sincerely,

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: The information provided in the response is false plus I suspect unscrupulous business practices by Corrigan Insurance Agency. Again, the representative that called my phone in November 2013 DID NOT identify the reason(s) why she was calling or explain that my answer to her questions would result in an increase in my premium. If [redacted], was not the person that called how can she be sure that the policies were followed? As it currently stands, she is calling me a liar because the person calling didn't identify themselves by name and I know what I heard. It is still my position that I was not aware of a rate increase until I received my January 2014 bill in late December 2013. Given my displeasure upon learning about the discount in December 2013, and requests to IMMEDIATELY discontinue my insurance is evidence enough that if this were made clear to me in November 2013, I could be avoiding all of this and would have cancelled my plan then.Also, I feel the need to subsequently raise this issue with the Pennsylvania Department of Consumer Affairs Insurance Division. There are plenty of companies that offer auto insurance in the state of Pennsylvania. I believe that [redacted] (specifically the Corrigan Insurance Agency) put in false information, lowering my premium in order to retain my business. According to the previous letter sent, "[redacted] underwrites policies at renewal to make sure all documents are in order." Considering the fact that I had three renewals (August 2012, February 2013 and August 2013) before this "mistake" was caught, I also determine this to be a false statement. If the agent underwriting my policy at Corrigan Insurance Agency was properly doing their job, information regarding "my children" (in order to receive the discount) should have been collected when the discount was applied to my account. Prior discounts received, such as the "good student discount," always required proof from me before being given the discount. This WHOLE SITUATION was caused by a mistake made by Corrigan Insurance Agency employees. If I would have not been quoted an incorrect premium the increase would have resulted in me taking my business elsewhere. I was quoted a price and that is the amount I paid ON TIME, EVERY MONTH for over two years. I am not intersted in paying [redacted] any additional money. I am not satifised with how this case has been settled and believe that the Corrigan Insurance Agency should be investigated for providing false information in their underwriting.

Regards,