crazy insurance agent?

Question

i went a little behind on my car insurance payment. contacted my agent who said i had to pay 2 months payments now or he'd cancel me(i am only like 17 days behind btw). i found another company that offered me a better rate - signed up. now my agent says if i canel my policy he'll say i was canelled a month ago so my new rates go up. unless i stay with his company. if i canel him, he'll cancel me back a month to screw me. is this legal- i m trapped, even if i pay.

Answer 1

You owe for time on risk. Because you didn't pay, the cancellation obviously has to be as of the last date that was actually paid for. He never asked for 2 months payments, he asked you to pay the month that was WAY overdue, and the next month, which was coming due. He had already done you a humongous favour by not having issued a cancellation, and you treat him like crap by shopping your policy around mid-term? Well, now you have set yourself up with a lapse in your policy. You can't expect him to pay for the lapse time out of his pocket when it is your fault. Tough noogies.

Answer 2

Your agent is absolutely in the right there. I bet I know exactly what happened! I see this a lot.

So you missed a monthly payment. Lets say your payments are $100 a month. You're behind and owe this $100 and about fifteen days after a due date, your new bill comes out. No, it isn't due yet, but it's already on your policy billing account. Amount due technically comes up to $200 now. Your agent then gets to make a choice - do I take this $100 now to keep her insured or do I take the $200 actually owed right now and not have to worry about if she can or cannot make another $100 payment to me in the next fifteen days? Most agents will err on the side of caution because hello, if you're not paying your premium, they aren't paying their bills. They have every right at that point to say "You have to pay this full amount."

As for backdate cancellation of your policy, that's one hundred percent right. If he cancelled it effective the day you call it, then he insured you for all these days without you paying for it! When you go to McDonalds, do you expect a free Big Mac if you change your mind about wanting it before you pay the cashier? Works the same way. If you don't at least give him money for that time they were covering you when you weren't paying, they, by law, have to go back to the last day you actually paid back to and make the cancellation effective that day. New insurance company then discovers that you were technically uninsured during that period, you're put into a nonstandard/high risk company, and your rates will jump up.

Best thing to do is pay the amount for that payment you missed and then cancel it immediately. If you do it that way, he might even have to send some of it back to you!

Best of luck. Cheers!

Answer 3

What he's threatening to do is illegal, as long as your policy is current. The key to getting a good insurance premium is to never let your insurance lapse. Insurance companies don't like to see gaps in coverage. I'd reinstate the current policy, then say a month or so down the road, sign up with the other company, then cancel your current policy and tell the clown to go pound sand..

Answer 4

ONLY 17 days behind?????

it is your responsibility to maintain current payments. Kiddies, can you say "responsibility?"

Answer 5

Forget that looser, you can have his agency in trouble for harrassment and blackmail.

U just tell your new insurance company everything was good, you weren't driving around. And you were just waiting for it to expire so you could switch over to their company,

Let them know the previous company was giving you mixed information on when your plan expired because they didn't want to loose any business.

You'll be fine

Answer 6

Either way you should definitely cancel your business with this agent.