National Interstate Insurance disaster...

[Desert_Captain]

Over the last week or two I have received three different letters from National Interstate insurance regarding the policy they hold on our 24' Class C. They state that they are getting out of the RV insurance business and will not permit me to renew my policy which comes due on 8/2/17. My policy will be "automatically" switched to Safeco unless I take further action.

For the record I had been very happy with National Interstate and have said so numerous times on this Forum. I was particularly pleased with the guaranteed replacement value coverage they offered. Their customer service was excellent and their prices right in the middle of the RV insurance spectrum.

I was to say the least, extremely disappointed to have them bail and leave their clients scrambling for new coverage or take potluck with Safeco. I spent a lot of time shopping for a replacement carrier and settled on GEICO as I already have my motorcycle coverage with them.
They don't offer the guaranteed replacement value coverage that NI provided but overall the policies seem comparable and close in price.

Imagine my frustration when I called NI to formally cancel coverage as the GEICO policy takes affect tomorrow only to be told.... Oopsy, those letters you received were in error we are not going away for at least a year. We will be happy to renew your policy. ARRRRRG!

NI told me to just cancel GEICO and renew with them but that is simply NOT going to happen. I pointed out that someone at NI needs to be fired for this incredible screwup but was told it is just a computer error... too bad. One letter maybe, two letters perhaps... but three? :S

[The_Texan]

NI just renewed my insurance this week and never about getting out of the business. Also, Safeco is a good company. I had insurance with them when I lived in Florida and never had a problem with customer service or claims. If they do move me to Safeco next year, I'll be OK with that.

[fj12ryder]

Oooooh.

Oooooh.

"Amazon was founded in 1994, first traded publicly in 1997, and didn’t turn a profit until 2001. Four years of losses are an eon for any company, especially an upstart, and especially one with such grand ambitions. Amazon lost a staggering amount of money while building its brand and grasping market share, putting itself in a position where it would eventually dominate. The company lost several billion dollars its first few years, money that very few people thought would ever be recouped."

[travelnutz]

fj12ryder,

DUH! Jeff Bezos actually only owns 17% of Amazon. Look it up! On paper for tax purposes, the profit can or will be compromized by huge reinvestment backinto the business to avoid taxes on profit but the profit is still there and real or the business would close. Jeff took a huge salary and huge benefits and Amazon grew very quick because of the reinvestment and BTW created ten of thousands of jobs for other at the same time.

Yup, maybe you should feel bad for poor Jeff and send him some money to help him get by? maybe you can even guess who owns 17% of that fortune he'd created today? It's actually legal and is known as deferred sheltered PROFIT but will certainly be reported as real profit and will be taxed highly when he sells his 17% or any portion of it!

In actuality, NO business can continue for decades with losing money each year as the pot will get empty. If you owned a business yourself, you'd know that and I can assure you of that fact! I'm a previous long time business owner and know the ropes!

[fj12ryder]

"How long will a company, a store, an operation, or even a household be around in it's present form if constantly spending more than is taken in???"

Ask Jeff Bezos, he ran Amazon for years without making a profit.

[phillyg]

If you are forced to go with GEICO know that I've been with them more than 20 years and have no issues with a few claims, and their price has been reasonable.

I used their road service the first time last week to have the truck and FW towed. No issues and I know the FW was a $500 tow.

[travelnutz]

I should add that our non-motorized RV's were added to our blanket homeowners policy and are 12 month policies and are really cheap with excellent coverage!

Farm Bureau was the winner this time but certainly have no complaints about our previous carrier other than they'd priced themselves out of being competitive. Their decision and we then made ours and will do it again if needed!

[travelnutz]

We changed our auto, RV, boat, and home insurance carrier late last summer after having the same carrier for 34 years as their premium cost had simply gone up too much. Far from a disaster but doing the mart and wise thing for out wallets. Yes, did a full month+ of getting quotes from other and then narrowing it down to 3 with the better quotes that met our wants and then asked them to re-quote again and told them the truth that we'd narrowed it down to 3 carriers.

Finally one showed they wanted our business and reduced their proposal to the lowest of the 3 and met our coverage wants and they are now our present carrier and they earned it! Home and boats are 12 mo policies in Michigan and autos and rv's are 6 mo in Michigan. Got our auto and RV renewal which was due in March and no change in premium price so of course we paid it.

We were extremely happy with our other long time carrier but things do change with nearly any business over time and we grabbed the bull by the horns instead of complaining to others about our plight. Good to hear about what had transpired but where is the disaster?

Getting insurance wisely when needed is no different than shopping for the wisest deals for one's wants, needs, and desires just like when shopping for a vehicle or and RV. Just part of real life and far from a disaster or castastrophy. Just man up and get the job done as you are the "customer paying the bill", not the maker of, or manufacturer of, or the seller of, nor do you own the insurance company!

[Desert_Captain]

Wow, so much focus on my use of the word disaster... seriously? :h

No big deal unless you happen to be one of the thousands of National Interstates insured getting bad information. Hope it doesn't happen to you as shopping for new insurance is a PITA at best. Just trying to put the word out there, had someone else done so it would have saved me a lot of grief {can I say grief?}. :S

:B

[travelnutz]

Not a disaster at all but common sense!

Many insurance companies insuring in so many various venues of insurance coverage are vacating some to several states as the claims and costs are well beyond the revenue they receive in those states. SMART! They are not stupid! Insurance companies are NOT in the business of subsidizing policy holders and an annual loss to their company. Insurance companies are a "for profit business" and would go belly up if they lost money year after year and are smart to vacate loser states.

Health care coverage (as so highly reported on) in so many of the states and/or counties is not the only localities insurance carriers are dropping but just the tip of the iceberg and very wisely so. Very simple to understand: If any of the forum members owned any for profit business etc and they'd lost money constantly selling in one or several of the states, counties, sectors, segments, areas, they would almost certainly cease doing business or selling in those areas too. Not rocket science! A matter of survival is what's on the line!

How long will a company, a store, an operation, or even a household be around in it's present form if constantly spending more than is taken in???

[Grit_dog]

Some people's disaster is other people's best day.....

[fj12ryder]

Sounds more like an annoyance than a disaster.

[WTP-GC]

Frustrating? Sure
Perhaps a little misleading? Maybe
Disaster? Not even close

[Whiskey_River]

I must have missed that mailing. My policy renewal invoice just came a couple of days ago. The postmark date was June 14. Have not heard anything about them not doing RV's anymore. But if next year they are dumping the RV's guess I'll have a year to find someone....

[DownTheAvenue]

Desert Captain wrote:
I pointed out that someone at NI needs to be fired for this incredible screwup but was told it is just a computer error... too bad.

That is a classic way to avoid accepting responsibility and assigning blame. I assure you their computer system on its own did not generate those letters, send them to the folding and envelope stuffing machine, and then see that all those envelopes made it into the postal service!