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Old 07-25-2010, 12:30 PM
 
134 posts, read 342,171 times
Reputation: 77

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I bought my first home last August so I'm not quite sure if this is how homeowners insurance works. I went with State Farm and everything seemed okay for the first three months. Since then, my car insurance rates have gone up twice which has nothing to do with my driving record or type of vehicle. My original agent disappeard after 5 months and forgot to draft my account for car insurance payments so I had to pay back about 2 months. Then, 7 months later, a new agent asks to come to the property to take pictures of the roofline. I send her pictures and a month later, last week, she left a message on my phone asking me to ignore the cancellation notice I will be recieving from State Farm through the mail because the previous agent forgot to present a complete package.

I almost want to go back to my old auto insurance carrier Geico, because I've never experienced such confusion before from them. I think they offer homeowners through Travellers.

If I switch homeowners insurance, does the new insurance contact the mortgage company and get it worked out? Does my monthly mortgage change? How do you find a good insurance company?
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Old 07-25-2010, 04:54 PM
 
Location: Long Island
9,922 posts, read 23,050,956 times
Reputation: 5897
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustTess View Post
I bought my first home last August so I'm not quite sure if this is how homeowners insurance works. I went with State Farm and everything seemed okay for the first three months. Since then, my car insurance rates have gone up twice which has nothing to do with my driving record or type of vehicle. My original agent disappeard after 5 months and forgot to draft my account for car insurance payments so I had to pay back about 2 months. Then, 7 months later, a new agent asks to come to the property to take pictures of the roofline. I send her pictures and a month later, last week, she left a message on my phone asking me to ignore the cancellation notice I will be recieving from State Farm through the mail because the previous agent forgot to present a complete package.

I almost want to go back to my old auto insurance carrier Geico, because I've never experienced such confusion before from them. I think they offer homeowners through Travellers.

If I switch homeowners insurance, does the new insurance contact the mortgage company and get it worked out? Does my monthly mortgage change? How do you find a good insurance company?

If what your original agent did (or didn't do) made your payments late, it would most likely affect your credit score negatively, which could cause your rate(s) to increase.
Why don't you go to " annualcreditreport.com " and request a free copy from one of the credit bureaus and check. If you see that State Farm reported you as late, and you can prove that you were not at fault, request removal of the derogatory entry, or at least request they keep an explanation on file.

If you change insurance companies, it is up to you to let the new insurer know who the "additional insured" (your lender) is, so they can send a copy of the bill to them for payment.
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Old 07-25-2010, 05:14 PM
 
Location: In America's Heartland
929 posts, read 2,087,363 times
Reputation: 1196
There you go... Just like a BAD Neighbor... State Farm is there.

Big insurance companies are like big banks. Customer service is usually non existent. I prefer a small independent agency that shops multiple companies for the best price. Find an agency that has an agent that has been there for awhile and seems willing and interested in developing a relationship with you.

I really wish that someone would go after these insurance companies that are using credit scores to determine customers rates. What a bogus crock. If you can find an insurance company that does not use a persons credit score to determine their premiums, then choose them. A poor credit score could just mean that the person doesn't borrow money, not that they are a deadbeat. It's a class-action lawsuit in the making. And they say you are in Good Hands.
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Old 07-25-2010, 06:09 PM
 
48,505 posts, read 96,563,814 times
Reputation: 18301
But it was a local agent that caused his problem. I always pay direct to the company as the agent is just that a agent and sales person Your insurance is the company ;he get fee for selling;writing the application and serving it.
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Old 07-27-2010, 05:14 AM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,118,536 times
Reputation: 10691
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti View Post
If what your original agent did (or didn't do) made your payments late, it would most likely affect your credit score negatively, which could cause your rate(s) to increase.
Why don't you go to " annualcreditreport.com " and request a free copy from one of the credit bureaus and check. If you see that State Farm reported you as late, and you can prove that you were not at fault, request removal of the derogatory entry, or at least request they keep an explanation on file.

If you change insurance companies, it is up to you to let the new insurer know who the "additional insured" (your lender) is, so they can send a copy of the bill to them for payment.
Not every late payment gets automatically reported to your credit report. It most insurance companies don't report one month lates-especially when it is the fault of one of their agents.

OP, it sounds like you got a bad agent, it happens. If you want to shop around, shop around but my advice would be to find a local agent that has been in the business at least 5 years and get some recommendations from friends. Having a good agent can save you a lot of issues down the road. Using an online company can cause issues if you ever have to file a claim. As far as letting your mortgage company know, yes, they typically do that for you, but ask just to make sure.
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Old 07-27-2010, 11:05 AM
 
Location: Long Island
9,922 posts, read 23,050,956 times
Reputation: 5897
[quote=golfgal;15215080]Not every late payment gets automatically reported to your credit report. It most insurance companies don't report one month lates-especially when it is the fault of one of their agents.

quote]

That's true, however, the OP stated:

My original agent disappeard after 5 months and forgot to draft my account for car insurance payments so I had to pay back about 2 months.

Would seem to indicate more than one month
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Old 07-27-2010, 12:21 PM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,118,536 times
Reputation: 10691
[quote=Elke Mariotti;15219294]
Quote:
Originally Posted by golfgal View Post
Not every late payment gets automatically reported to your credit report. It most insurance companies don't report one month lates-especially when it is the fault of one of their agents.

quote]

That's true, however, the OP stated:

My original agent disappeard after 5 months and forgot to draft my account for car insurance payments so I had to pay back about 2 months.

Would seem to indicate more than one month
It is highly unlikely that this would have been reported to the credit bureau. They just cancel coverage in a situation like this, however since this was the fault of the agent, the insurance company, had it been reported, would have removed it as well. I have looked at 100's of credit reports and have NEVER seen a ding from an insurance company unless it was a charge off, which RARELY happens.
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Old 07-27-2010, 04:46 PM
 
Location: Alaska
5,356 posts, read 18,497,825 times
Reputation: 4071
Quote:
Originally Posted by JustTess View Post
If I switch homeowners insurance, does the new insurance contact the mortgage company and get it worked out? Does my monthly mortgage change? How do you find a good insurance company?
Usually you have the insurance list the mortgage company as a mortgagee on the policy and inform the mortgage company about the change.

I recently had to do so because our mortgage company was bought out. All it took was a phone call to my insurance agent and I filled out an online form for the mortgage company. It was relatively painless, but in my case, I don't think I should have done anything because I didn't make any changes.
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Old 07-27-2010, 06:09 PM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,118,536 times
Reputation: 10691
Quote:
Originally Posted by akck View Post
Usually you have the insurance list the mortgage company as a mortgagee on the policy and inform the mortgage company about the change.

I recently had to do so because our mortgage company was bought out. All it took was a phone call to my insurance agent and I filled out an online form for the mortgage company. It was relatively painless, but in my case, I don't think I should have done anything because I didn't make any changes.
They probably just needed a paper trail that you were aware of what was going on.
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Old 07-27-2010, 07:43 PM
 
Location: Long Island
9,922 posts, read 23,050,956 times
Reputation: 5897
[quote=golfgal;15220487]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti View Post

It is highly unlikely that this would have been reported to the credit bureau. They just cancel coverage in a situation like this, however since this was the fault of the agent, the insurance company, had it been reported, would have removed it as well. I have looked at 100's of credit reports and have NEVER seen a ding from an insurance company unless it was a charge off, which RARELY happens.

Thanks for that input - good to know!
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