H. C. Kerstetter Company

July 18, 2017To Whom It May Concern,Thank you for giving us the ability to respond to this complaintWe've reviewed emails and activities onthe account to give the most accurate account of the situation.Our service agent received the quote for the 6-23-renewal of our insured from the broker ***
***, on6-21-She forwarded a copy of the quote to the insured at her email addressThe quote from thecarrier had a short summary part and a quote proposal partThe quote proposal followed up theinsured’s completed renewal application that was signed and returned to us with a copy of her companyproduct labels on 5-25-The proposal, showing the same annual premium as the year before, wasprovided on 6-21-17, but it included an additional terrorism charge (until we received the signed form toremove), and did not include the broker fees, stamping fees, and surplus lines taxesSo the 2017renewal looked like less than 2016, but ended up being the same as The summary page had thebroker fees, stamping fees and surplus lines tax on it, and the service agent thought that it was aredundant page, but was in fact, the only page with these fees and taxes listed on itThe fees and taxeswere not emailed with the renewalDespite this, the renewal was with the same company as theinsured was written with the year prior, and the fees and taxes were still unchangedThe fees and taxesamounted to $319.50, the same as in Our service agent responded with apology later when theinsured had questioned the increase on the bill compared to what she saw in her renewal email, and shetried to explain the confusion with the fees and taxesWhat was disclosed on the 6-21-email was”Please note there is a 25% minimum earned premium.” The service agent asked for applications to besigned and returned, and additional information to be provided.The service agent had shared with the insured that she would be out of the office, and if she wished torenew, to please do so as soon as possible and contact another service agent at our office to take care ofthisOn 6-22-17, the insured wrote to the other service agent asking her to renew the policy, said shedid not want terrorism coverage (which would remove $150), provided her tax id number, and statedshe would pay in full and would return the signed documentsWe bound coverage for her.On 6-26-17, the invoice was emailed to the insuredThe insured wrote back and wondered why therewas approximately a $difference from the quote proposalThe service agent whom originallyworked on the account wrote back and advised that it was the fees and taxes.On 6-30-17, the insured contacted our office and one of our agents requested loss runs for the insured,as she was going to look elsewhere for insurance.On 7-03-17, the insured wrote to the service agent, and advised that "it is common practice to let theclient know what the cost is going to be before renewing the policy, especially as my cost was increasedover what I paid last yearI did query the additional fees on the quote you sent me and was not happyto be asked to pay an additional $that is why I started looking for another carrier.” The andpolicies were within $of each other when the fees were properly added, and terrorism coverage of $was removed, which would have been done once the insured’s signed application wasprocessed by the company.The service agent wrote back and said that looking back over the original quote, she saw that theoriginal quote had not included the fees or taxes of $and she apologized for thatDue to thesituation she would try to get the carrier to cancel flat, if she still could, as the insured stated sheintended to cancel the policyThe service agent tried and the carrier said that the insured still owed the25% minimum premium due plus the broker fees, stamping fees, and surplus lines taxThe service agentadvised the insured that cancelling would still mean that the 25% minimum premium would be owedplus fees and taxes, and she suggested it would be in her best interest to keep the policy for the year,she could help set up financing if needed, and then next year the insured would be free to shop around,or she could shop for herShe said that she would hate for her to have to owe us and then have to buyanother policyShe asked the insured to please let her know what she thought.The insured responded with what she felt she should have to pay upon cancellationPrior to thecancellation, the amount owed for the decision to cancel the policy was explained to the insured, andadvice was given so the insured could make the best decisionOur service agent shared the breakdownof what would be due if the policy was cancelled in the 7-6-email to the insured, again reiterating the25% minimum earned premium due, plus fees and taxesThe note for 25% minimum earned premiumdue was visible in the email from the service agent on 6-21-17, and also on the renewal quote proposal.in the end, the policy would have been $less than the prior year.The insured returned a signed cancel request and it was submitted to the carrier on 7-10-17, the day thecancellation request was receivedThe agency is currently awaiting the final bill from the broker, AllRisk.Thank you,HCKerstetter Company

We understand that a customer does not always know insurance terms, and so we discuss policies ingreat detail, and educate clients when we issue the policyWhen this was a new policy, the client satdown with one of our producers and reviewed the coverages and the policy she was going to take outfor her businessWe do our best to review coverages to the client's satisfactionlf there is ever a timewhen an insured of ours would want to understand something better, we would be happy to sit withthem and explainWith all of the terms and coverages to review together, it would be difficult for us toknow what the client does not understand, without them being engaged in the conversation and sharingthat they did not understand something discussedThe “25% minimum earned premium” term existedon the new policy, on the renewal quote, and on the accompanied email for the renewalquote.This policy was issued on 6-23-17, and was not requested to be cancelled until 7-10-Therefore, thepolicy was in force, and the 25% minimum earned premium appliesThere was a significant period oftime that the policy was in force before it was requested to be cancelledWe have asked the company,but they will not waive the 25% minimum earned premium on a policy that was in force for that periodof timeThis would be the same for any insured.What was previously shared was that the insured was made aware of the minimum earned premiumdue, even if she did not understand this term the way she feels is sufficientShe was made aware of thecost she would incur to cancel the policy, and it was itemized in the 7-6-email, listing out what thecost that 25% of the minimum earned premium would be, and what the costs of the stamp fee, surpluslines fee, and policy fee would be should she choose to cancelThe total amount was visible on theemail, so it was clear, beyond stating the term ”25% minimum premium earned" that cancelling thepolicy would come at a cost, and showed her what 25% minimum premium looked likeFour days afterthat email, she still decided to cancel the policy on 7-10-17.We understand why the insured wishes for us to ?nd a way to resolve the issue, and we had tried toreach out to the company and find a way to lessen the impact of her choice to cancel, but the companywill not show flexibility in the situation, and due to our clear warnings of the cost to cancel, and theinsured’s choice to move forward with the cancel after the warnings, we cannot be flexible with the finalcancel billWe again apologize for the issue and inconvenience.Thank you,HC Kerstetter Company

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: Since I am not in the insurance business why would you assume I know what the term "earned premium" actually meansThis should have been clearly explained the first time I was contacted for renewalI have offered to pay a prorated fee for the days I was insured which I think is perfectly fairIf H.CKerstetter is unable to show flexibility in this matter than they need to encourage the actual company that is demanding payment for "nothing", be that *** or *** *** to reconsider so that this situation can be settled equitably
Regards,
*** ***

Review: we bought a property in [redacted] and paid cash for it .we got insurance from [redacted] insurance company , through h.c.kerstetter company we were paying 936.00 a year .2 months later [redacted] county had the worst rain storm in many years with huge wind gusts we had alot of damage.we call our insurance company and an adjuster to take a look . they paid a claim and everything was fine until I recieved my new bill.they doubled my premium by 900.00 dollars . I went from paying 936.00 to 1,728.00 a year that is out of control and you have no recourse, I feel we are being made to pay back the money they gave us to repair our property, why do you have insurance. I also have [redacted] for 2 other properties that have mortgages and I filed a claim once and they never raised my premium, also they are not with kerstetter they are with another company .I would really like to find out if what they have done is allowed by that I mean if you file a claim for something really bad that they can raise your premiums by doubling the amount you pay because that what they did.Desired Settlement: if the company is at fault I would like to receive a refund or lowered payment.

Business

Response:

February 11, 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

Regarding the complaint filed against the ID# listed above, this complaint should be filed against the Insurance Company and not the Insurance Agent. We are not the ones who charge the rates or the one who paid out the claim. Our agency tried to re-quote this account but it was declined due to the loss activity. When we went to the Insurance Company with the client’s concerns on the charges this was their reply: The premium went up as there were concerns with the condition of the property after the inspection. At the time of the inspection, the commercial unit was vacant. This account has a 419% loss ratio. Regardless of the cause, the company had to pay the loss so it is going to be considered when pricing is set. This account is also in a BOP Select tier, when it is clearly not BOP Select eligible (after inspection). We (the company) rewrote this mid-term to add credit and to help them out. This is our (insurance company) bottom price. They (the insured) do have a very competitive price. Unfortunately, we (the insurance company) need to hold our pricing on this one.

Our agency did in fact have contact with the insured and tried to explain this information to them. They did state they were looking for other quotes and we told them we tried to quote with other carriers, but were declined due to loss history. Unfortunately they did not like our explanation or the company’s stance. They did in fact renew with us for two (2) terms since this occurred.

Sincerely,