
Wednesday 13th of March 2019 07:02:48 AM
I'm writing this review because it pained me greatly to read all the pain, frustration, anger, and resentment this Insurance company has created in just the last couple years for so many of my fellow Americans. My knowledge of this criminally negligent, incompetent, and evil Insurance Company dates back to 2002 and 2003. Here is my factual story:I bought insurance and asked my agent to include uninsured coverage (which is by law a required option in CA). My vehicle was old, so I didn’t have full coverage, but in CA they had a “$3,500 Uninsured Property Damage” coverage for just that situation (to fix your own car in the event of an uninsured claim). I think the problem all started with the agent not checking the right “box” for that coverage in my application to Bristol West. When I received my policy statement/declaration/contract, I noticed my coverage did not include the very important to me uninsured property damage coverage. I called my agent and told them to fix it. No results. I faxed my agent directions, visited them too, and told them to fix it by phone too. No results.I bypassed my agent since they were useless (doing a lot more than my usual due diligence), and talked with Bristol West (directly) to get instructions on how to fix the problem. To add the missing Uninsured Property Damage Coverage, I was told to send it in writing to their fax number. I faxed in writing the request for it to be added yet again, with fax confirmation receipt kept, and stated on the faxed letter they are to add it (since it was my 4th or 5th request and attempt to add it), or if they fail to do so, to delete all uninsured coverage (liability portion I was already paying for), and refund my money. Keep in mind by law they can’t deny me this coverage. They ignored this letter in early January 2003 too! I neither received the coverage I demanded, nor the refund at that time which was the only alternative offered.I kept all my paperwork and documentation as they were impossible to deal with, get a hold of (live person; don’t answer phones, don’t return emails or respond to faxes). I kept that fax confirmation for if ever the crap hit the fan, I was going to hammer them with it. Finally, in April, I got a hold of someone and out of frustration and exhaustion told them if they are not going to add the freaking property coverage (making it impossible to do so), remove the uninsured liability and stop making me pay for an add-on that isn’t exactly what I want. Sure enough, the crap hit the fan a few months later, and an uninsured claim where I wanted that $3,500 coverage came up. They denied the claim saying I didn’t have the coverage. I provided the documentation saying I had requested the coverage numerous times previously as listed above.At first they denied the receipt, claimed faxing was a bad unreliable technology (non-sensible stuff). Finally, after my complaint to the CA Dept. of Insurance, they admitted to an “Examiner Error” in January (the date of the fax, but it took months to get them to admit this). However, in April I had made good on my threat to get a refund, and had cancelled all uninsured coverage because they wrongfully denied me the $3,500 part I had always wanted (you can’t get that without the other liability portion). They used my cancellation in April, which was 100% consequentially their fault, as a reason to deny my claim in June. If they would have just done what I had asked previously, I never would have cancelled the incorrect coverage. They should have paid that claim given how negligent and incompetent I proved they were.The entire basis of their denial came down to my signature in April for the refund. Since they wouldn’t budge, and I decided I didn’t have the time or money to sue (not that much money on the line really), I then asked in a final moment of desperation that my premiums from January to April should be refunded as well, since they didn’t provide the coverage the way I had wanted it. Instead of paying the claim they should have, they refunded my premiums for that “additional, but incorrect” coverage from the date they first committed their “examiner error” which started and 100% directly caused this whole chain of events.If anything you would think the Agency would step up and use some kind of “errors and omissions or malpractice” coverage to pay my claim. They just colluded with the Insurance company and played the “We don’t know anything, we deny everything, we won’t talk to you.” card from the beginning. They quickly escalated it from a simple claim to conspiracy/collusion/denial/stonewalling. Working hand in hand with an equally corrupt insurance company that was probably telling the agents not to cooperate or communicate.