Spalding Insurance Group

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] I still don't like the way I was treated but will consider this complaint resolved Regards, [redacted] ***

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted]. I still don't like the way I was treated but will consider this complaint resolved.
Regards,
[redacted]

This email is in regards to the recent Revdex.com complaint filed by [redacted].  The clients’ complaint began by stating that she feels that her premium was incorrectly calculated due to agency error and that she was under the impression that the monthly payment of...

$89.55 per month was for both her auto and condo insurance. 
Beginning with the auto policy, it is important to state that when the [redacted] policy was originally obtained on May 17, 2013 the 6 month premium was $492.58. The insured made the down payment on the auto policy in the amount of $82.12 and paid the additional five installments each month so that the policy would stay active. The policy has since renewed two times, the first renewal took place on November 17, 2013 at which time there was a 4% rate increase. The second renewal which is for the current term renewed on May 17, 2014 and saw a 3% rate increase. It is standard to see rate increases of anywhere between 15% - 20% each year due to inflation rates showing that the increases are minor in comparison to average state wide increases. This is not something that Spalding Insurance Group can control and is set directly by the company, in this case [redacted]. Each time the policy renewed the insured was sent the updated policy declaration pages that showed the coverages, policy term, and premium for the upcoming six months.
The insured then purchased a condo policy the following month through our agency with [redacted] Insurance that had an inception date of June 26, 2013 and the full year premium was $531.40. Since this was a new purchase the insurance was paid by the title company at the home closing. It is between the mortgage company and the insured to decide how the insurance, moving forward, should be handled. It can either be paid by the mortgage company using the clients’ escrow or it can be paid directly by the client so that it does not come out of escrow account. As the insurance broker this in not something that we have input regarding.
We received the signed application for the [redacted] auto policy on May 24, 2013. We did not receive the additional signed [redacted] condo insurance application until June 20, 2013. This helps prove that the insured understood when signing both applications that the insurance premiums were independent.
            The insured is now claiming “Spalding needs to hold up their end of the bargain and pay my condo insurance as originally agreed.” This was never something that was agreed upon and we believe that she may just be confused after having her insurance paid after closing by the mortgage company. [redacted] who is an account executive at Spalding Insurance Group took the initiative to contact the mortgage company on July 18, 2014 to request the renewal premium for the condo insurance in the amount of $552.81 and was informed that according to the terms of the loan contract the mortgage company will only be paying the taxes while the insured is responsible for the insurance premium. [redacted] then contacted the insured to review this information.
            On the following Monday, July 21, the insured contacted and spoke with [redacted] in the office and explained that she thought the $89.55 payments she was making for combining auto and condo insurance. After checking the premium on the auto policy [redacted] divided the premium by twelve for twelve months of coverage since the majority of auto policies written are 12 month policies. She stated the premium was $44 per month. She then immediately realized that the information she gave was incorrect because the policy term was 6 months and recalculated the rates. She apologized for her error and tried to explain to [redacted] all of the information stated above. The agent that originally wrote the policy, [redacted] Abell did not make this mistake and noted in our management system the exact monthly payment for the auto policy and the condo policy.
We have standard protocols and procedures that all of our agents are required to follow when speaking with clients. All conversations were noted in the client management database and any time a policy is issued supporting signed applications are received.  We apologized to the client for the small error that occurred when she contacted the office on July 21st, but this does not change any of the insurance information. We take pride in having outstanding customer service and understand that all companies make mistakes but after reviewing all conversations and speaking with the agents we feel that our agency has done everything within our power to communicate to the insured how policy premium is paid and have all documentation showing that she understood each policy premium.
Supporting documents have been attached to this email.
Please let us know if you need anything further.
Thank you for your time,  
 
[redacted]
Corporate Strategy Director