switching insurance ?s.

[evan9381]

do companies (other insurance, auto finance companies) look down on switching insurance quite a bit? in october, i went with my first policy not with my parents thru progressive. rate was best i could find at the time (210/mo)... in/around april, was shopping again, went with allstate. same coverage, but i saved like 60$/mo (down to 155/mo), which is nice. been with allstate a couple months now. bought a newer used car last month, and my insurance jumped from 155/mo on my 95 gsr, to 218/mo on a friggin hyundai elantra. well, shopping around once again, i checked out progressive for shits and giggles, and it turns out they only go back 35 months, so my ticket/accident from 04 have now dropped off in their eyes...for the same coverage im getting with allstate, plus some extra (roadside assistance, AND loan/lease pay off), its like 55$/mo cheaper.

 

ive NEVER had a lapse in coverage, and over the last 3 years, have had no moving violations (at least not convicted...pleaded a ticket down to an equipment violation), and a tint ticket.

 

so is there anything negative i should worry about switching insurance, or should i be ok as long as im constantly insured with no lapses?

[Bam]

dunno but progressive told me that there is a $30 cancellation fee if I cancel within the first year, not sure about other companies, but just an FYI, oh and you need to change your profile if you drive a hyundai! lol

[evan9381]

yeah, i just havent had time. sold the integra at the end of april, went on vacation for a week, and been busy as fuck at work...but it is much nicer to get 28-30 mpg CITY when i could usually only hit 25 HWY with the gsr.

 

as for the fee, i only had progressive for like 5 months, cancelled it, and i wasnt charged a cancellation fee...even if it was 30$, i would eat that to save more money monthly (as long as its enough that its worth it...not 5-10$)

[Bam]

that's true, maybe its only on bike insurance, not sure.

[BloodRed]

I know a lot of people that switch auto insurance companies every 6 months to a year. It normally isn't a problem. Insurance companies normally check your credit report, so you may see a hit on that every time they get you a quote or new policy. It shouldn't be a hit that effects your score, but some times people look at those when checking credit.

[GTO1]

I work for Progressive Claims IT. Have never heard of a cancellation fee. If you're using a independent agent it might be his fee. If you use Direct (the web site ) or Drive (the 1-800 #) you pay no cost for agent markup when you buy a policy.

 

As for as what an insurance company uses to calculate rates ...they are all different. So one company may hit you up for changing insurers frequently while other may not. ...but personally I don't see it in itself as a factor that would be used in calculating risk.

[Bam]

I work for Progressive Claims IT. Have never heard of a cancellation fee. If you're using a independent agent it might be his fee. If you use Direct (the web site ) or Drive (the 1-800 #) you pay no cost for agent markup when you buy a policy.

 

As for as what an insurance company uses to calculate rates ...they are all different. So one company may hit you up for changing insurers frequently while other may not. ...but personally I don't see it in itself as a factor that would be used in calculating risk.

 

I did it over the website....that's weird. Oh well, I guess I'll fight them when I go to cancel it this winter...thanks for the info.

[HAOLE]

I will give my .02 because I am one of the guys that gets paid when someone gets into an accident and needs treatment. I would not just shop for a company based just on price. Look into how well they pay their claims. The bottom line about insurance is... are they going to pay your bill if you need them. Here is my ranking of four common insurance companies based on the ease of getting paid and the amount they cut from our bills.

 

1. State Farm ( they pay their bill any never give me a problem)

2. Nationwide (not as good as state farm but not bad at all to deal with)

3. Progressive (Just had to sue them for non-payment of medical bills, not recommended They will not pay the bills when you need it . and the Doctor/hospital my sue you personally)

4. Grange (#&$^&$ They are the worst at paying claims, I have had to sue them and patients in the past due to them. They give you a cheap price for your coverage, but if they are not paying the claims it is not worth it.)

[BloodRed]

I will give my .02 because I am one of the guys that gets paid when someone gets into an accident and needs treatment. I would not just shop for a company based just on price. Look into how well they pay their claims. The bottom line about insurance is... are they going to pay your bill if you need them. Here is my ranking of four common insurance companies based on the ease of getting paid and the amount they cut from our bills.

 

1. State Farm ( they pay their bill any never give me a problem)

2. Nationwide (not as good as state farm but not bad at all to deal with)

3. Progressive (Just had to sue them for non-payment of medical bills, not recommended They will not pay the bills when you need it . and the Doctor/hospital my sue you personally)

4. Grange (#&$^&$ They are the worst at paying claims, I have had to sue them and patients in the past due to them. They give you a cheap price for your coverage, but if they are not paying the claims it is not worth it.)

 

Very interesting to hear what the medical field feels about auto insurance companies. I know most of us have heard the 3 C body shop commericals about there favorite insurance companies.

[evan9381]

I will give my .02 because I am one of the guys that gets paid when someone gets into an accident and needs treatment. I would not just shop for a company based just on price. Look into how well they pay their claims. The bottom line about insurance is... are they going to pay your bill if you need them. Here is my ranking of four common insurance companies based on the ease of getting paid and the amount they cut from our bills.

 

1. State Farm ( they pay their bill any never give me a problem)

2. Nationwide (not as good as state farm but not bad at all to deal with)

3. Progressive (Just had to sue them for non-payment of medical bills, not recommended They will not pay the bills when you need it . and the Doctor/hospital my sue you personally)

4. Grange (#&$^&$ They are the worst at paying claims, I have had to sue them and patients in the past due to them. They give you a cheap price for your coverage, but if they are not paying the claims it is not worth it.)

 

so where would you rank allstate? thats who im with now. if progressive is above them on your opinion, i think it would be a win/win to switch back and save the 60$ or so a month

[HAOLE]

so where would you rank allstate? thats who im with now. if progressive is above them on your opinion, i think it would be a win/win to switch back and save the 60$ or so a month

I just listed a few that came to mind, there are hundreds of companies out there. I would rank Allstate about the same as progressive, they suck, but not as bad as Grange.

[Vulcan900]

Glad to hear about State Farm. I switch to them from Liberty Mutual, because of the rates.

Though I never had any problems w/ liberty mutual when I needed help.

[GTO1]

I will give my .02 because I am one of the guys that gets paid when someone gets into an accident and needs treatment. I would not just shop for a company based just on price. Look into how well they pay their claims. The bottom line about insurance is... are they going to pay your bill if you need them. Here is my ranking of four common insurance companies based on the ease of getting paid and the amount they cut from our bills.

 

1. State Farm ( they pay their bill any never give me a problem)

2. Nationwide (not as good as state farm but not bad at all to deal with)

3. Progressive (Just had to sue them for non-payment of medical bills, not recommended They will not pay the bills when you need it . and the Doctor/hospital my sue you personally)

4. Grange (#&$^&$ They are the worst at paying claims, I have had to sue them and patients in the past due to them. They give you a cheap price for your coverage, but if they are not paying the claims it is not worth it.)

 

I would say I know quite a bit more about why medical payments are delayed as I've worked on medical bill payment software for several years. A good amount of time it is delayed because of the medical provider fails to properly provide full documentation on the claim. Others because a peer review was ordered to justify the treatment (thats another doctor reviewing the case and treatment). There lots of medical fraud and insurers have to uncover it so that the fraud does not push up rates of all policy holders. Other times a injured party is required to get a second opinion and fails to cooperate in the process...which leads to delays. Other times the insureds coverage has reached its's limit and the company is no longer responsible for payment. I can go on and on and on. There are laws in every state that determine how quickly medical payments must be made and if there is a delay the insurance company must pay interest on the bills. The last thing an insurance company wants to do is to pay interest on these bills...if the procedure/bill was justified...and some are not.

[HAOLE]

I would say I know quite a bit more about why medical payments are delayed as I've worked on medical bill payment software for several years. A good amount of time it is delayed because of the medical provider fails to properly provide full documentation on the claim. Others because a peer review was ordered to justify the treatment (thats another doctor reviewing the case and treatment). There lots of medical fraud and insurers have to uncover it so that the fraud does not push up rates of all policy holders. Other times a injured party is required to get a second opinion and fails to cooperate in the process...which leads to delays. Other times the insureds coverage has reached its's limit and the company is no longer responsible for payment. I can go on and on and on. There are laws in every state that determine how quickly medical payments must be made and if there is a delay the insurance company must pay interest on the bills. The last thing an insurance company wants to do is to pay interest on these bills...if the procedure/bill was justified...and some are not.

 

Ahhh the brain washing from the other side. First of all I cannot speak for all Dr's but I provide proper documentation for our claims, in a timely manor. Why would I not do that? I need to get paid, just like every one else.

 

There is not as much medical fraud out there as the insurance companies want people to believe. Most of what the insurance companies say is fraud is a honest mistake on the part of the provider/biller. On top of that the insurers use that excuse to find ways to cut payments and save money. A common reason the insurance companies use is "we are trying to protect the other policy holders" :bs: :bs: The reason they are so aggressive is, they are trying to return the greatest profits for the stock holders. They could seriously care less about the policy holders. If they cared about the policy holders, they would not find every excuses in the book to get out of paying your medpay claims.

 

Don't get me started on your peer reviews. The bottom line of your peer reviews is not to help direct care. It is to cut a bill from the provider. That is the bottom line. The patients fail to cooperate and fight the peer reviews/ Independent medical exam (IME) because they know what happens. I have done IME's I know what the pressure is from the insurance companies. When I do those exams I don't have the report already done before the patient walks in the door, like many of the Doc's do. How do I know they are prewritten? The reports from the IME Dr's look and read the same time after time.

 

As far as the medical bills having to be paid within a certain time. I will raise the flag again. :bs: Those laws do not apply to auto policies and you know that.

 

 

Here is the Anderson Cooper piece about insurance companies....

 

 

[GTO1]

Ahhh the brain washing from the other side. First of all I cannot speak for all Dr's but I provide proper documentation for our claims, in a timely manor. Why would I not do that? I need to get paid, just like every one else.

 

There is not as much medical fraud out there as the insurance companies want people to believe. Most of what the insurance companies say is fraud is a honest mistake on the part of the provider/biller. On top of that the insurers use that excuse to find ways to cut payments and save money. A common reason the insurance companies use is "we are trying to protect the other policy holders" :bs: :bs: The reason they are so aggressive is, they are trying to return the greatest profits for the stock holders. They could seriously care less about the policy holders. If they cared about the policy holders, they would not find every excuses in the book to get out of paying your medpay claims.

 

Don't get me started on your peer reviews. The bottom line of your peer reviews is not to help direct care. It is to cut a bill from the provider. That is the bottom line. The patients fail to cooperate and fight the peer reviews/ Independent medical exam (IME) because they know what happens. I have done IME's I know what the pressure is from the insurance companies. When I do those exams I don't have the report already done before the patient walks in the door, like many of the Doc's do. How do I know they are prewritten? The reports from the IME Dr's look and read the same time after time.

 

As far as the medical bills having to be paid within a certain time. I will raise the flag again. :bs: Those laws do not apply to auto policies and you know that.

 

 

Here is the Anderson Cooper piece about insurance companies....

 

 

 

 

Each state dictates it's own insurance regulations that apply to medical bill payments and they do cover timeliness. Some states are just less stringent then others. Frankly our directive from management is to get the claim closed as quickly as possible. That's not even debatable. The bottom line is that keeping a claim open costs money. So your view on profit motive is absolutely mistaken.

 

You make things sound just so easy but an insurance company must be able to provide proof that it handles all similar medical claims in the same manner and with the same outcome. Why because the insurance company will get sued if it's proven that it did not. That's a big reason for the review process and I'm sure that you are aware of it. ...its the insurance companies equivalent to taking steps to prevent being sued for malpractice to put it in terms you can relate to.

[HAOLE]

Each state dictates it's own insurance regulations that apply to medical bill payments and they do cover timeliness. Some states are just less stringent then others. Frankly our directive from management is to get the claim closed as quickly as possible. That's not even debatable. The bottom line is that keeping a claim open costs money. So your view on profit motive is absolutely mistaken.

 

You make things sound just so easy but an insurance company must be able to provide proof that it handles all similar medical claims in the same manner and with the same outcome. Why because the insurance company will get sued if it's proven that it did not. That's a big reason for the review process and I'm sure that you are aware of it. ...its the insurance companies equivalent to taking steps to prevent being sued for malpractice to put it in terms you can relate to.

The name of this site is ColumbusRacing.com so I think most here are concerned with Ohio laws and could care less about another state.

As far as keeping claims open... The typical tactic is to low ball settle them out. I have had adjuster trick my patients into settling the claims while the patient is still under care. The adjuster tells them "here is partial payment for your claim, just sign here." " Don't worry we will cover more treatment if you need it" All the while the patient just signed the release for the claim. The insurance companies prey on the individuals that don't know the system.

 

 

Your second paragraph is full of so much :bs: I am not sure where to start. You can pull that load of propaganda on the rest of the public, but it does not work on me. Remember I am in the loop, I know the games that are played on both sides. The purpose of an IME has nothing to do with protecting the insurance company. Or proving you handling all claims the same. They are there to save $$ that is the bottom line. I do IME's sometimes too.

[GTO1]

The name of this site is ColumbusRacing.com so I think most here are concerned with Ohio laws and could care less about another state.

As far as keeping claims open... The typical tactic is to low ball settle them out. I have had adjuster trick my patients into settling the claims while the patient is still under care. The adjuster tells them "here is partial payment for your claim, just sign here." " Don't worry we will cover more treatment if you need it" All the while the patient just signed the release for the claim. The insurance companies prey on the individuals that don't know the system.

 

 

Your second paragraph is full of so much :bs: I am not sure where to start. You can pull that load of propaganda on the rest of the public, but it does not work on me. Remember I am in the loop, I know the games that are played on both sides. The purpose of an IME has nothing to do with protecting the insurance company. Or proving you handling all claims the same. They are there to save $$ that is the bottom line. I do IME's sometimes too.

 

Hmmm Ohio drivers never have accidents in other states where they fall under the insurance regulations of those states...oh ok.

 

You see a very small slice of the pie.

 

Just remember some people view the medical community in the same way as you view the insurance industry. How many non-insured are turned away or over charged every day by doctors and medical institutions across this country? I'm sure you have a statistic on that one. One of my daughters who is not insured currently was just charge $1600 to treat tonsillitis. Her fault for not curretly having coverage but did it really take 3 doctors to diagnose and treat her? Hardly. Could she have been charged a much lower rate like the negotiated rates given to a insured person...hell yes. ...Hmmm negotiated rates...without insurance companies getting them the medical community would be a lot richer and the general public a lot poorer. ...and you just want to be paid like every one else. :bs: :bs: :bs:

[HAOLE]

Hmmm Ohio drivers never have accidents in other states where they fall under the insurance regulations of those states...oh ok.

 

You see a very small slice of the pie.

 

You say that because I speak the truth! You have a point about other states only to the extent that the owners policy will follow them not matter what state you are in. So if I get in a wreck in Mass.(no fault ins.) my policy does not become no fault. It remains the same as the original state.

 

 

Just remember some people view the medical community in the same way as you view the insurance industry. How many non-insured are turned away or over charged every day by doctors and medical institutions across this country? I'm sure you have a statistic on that one. One of my daughters who is not insured currently was just charge $1600 to treat tonsillitis. Her fault for not curretly having coverage but did it really take 3 doctors to diagnose and treat her? Hardly.

 

Oh yes... The old "the doctors are making too much money" argument. How many people get turned away at Walmart for not having money to pay for their groceries? You want service? pay the bill or don't come to the office. Bottom line. We are not here for charity, We have to eat , pay our bills, keep the employees paid.

 

As far as people being over charged.... Well maybe if I did not have to spend half of my day just trying to get paid from the insurance companies, maybe I could treat more people, and the patients would not have to pay for the excess overhead. If your daughter is not insured, she is saving money overall then. A health policy with a $500 deductible will cost a family of four about $700+ per month. Pay that for three months, and that is more than $1600 she spent. That is why I have $2500 deductible per person for my family, so I save money.

 

Three doctors? It is tonsillitis.... it is a natural reaction to fight off infection. Stop going to the Dr. for a normal function of the body.

 

BTW. How do you have a $1600 bill for that anyhow? Did they remove them?

 

Could she have been charged a much lower rate like the negotiated rates given to a insured person...hell yes. ...Hmmm negotiated rates...without insurance companies getting them the medical community would be a lot richer and the general public a lot poorer. ...and you just want to be paid like every one else. :bs: :bs: :bs:

 

The insured person pay a large amount of money for the insurance every month. She choose not to have insurance, so she pays more for the visits. She saves overall.

 

In health care who makes the money? #1 Insurance #2 Drug companies $3 hospitals. The Doc's don't make that much..As a matter of fact every year we make less.