Hey guys,

Relatively new to this forum but I just need some advice as this was my first car ever purchased. I'll break it down for you guys.

I bought my new 2014 Lexus IS250 AWD F-Sport and I was super excited. Anyways, I don't have the cleanest driving record so I was a bit forced to go through a broker to find insurance. The best price I found was a little over $5000 for the year. I received a quote and essentially the brokerage contacted that insurance to set up my new policy.

Anyways, here's where things begin to get a little tricky. I wanted a March 15, 2014 start date which was the original date of the quote but for some reason but the car had arrived earlier than expected so I asked if I could change my start date to March 6th, 2014. After asking this, the brokerage informed me my insurance would increase by over $1000 totaling to $6000 annually. Anyways, they gave me before a certain date to finalize everything and sent me new papers for it but never gave them confirmation. Eventually, I never really got back to them and assumed that my policy was set to start on March 15th, so I waited...

March 15 came and I picked up my brand new Lexus extremely excited. Even the dealership told me to come on this day after sorting things out with my insurance and things looked good. Gave my down payment which totaled to $860 (approximately 2 monthly payments if it cost $5000 for the year). Everything seemed all good...until $500 was taken out of my bank account? So I immediately called the insurance company. Turns out, I was insured starting April 6, 2014, BUT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT.

Now, $1,000 is a lot of money to me and I didn't want to shell out that much extra per year. Now my broker is holding me to that March 6 date when I didn't even know about it and neither did my dealership. Oddly enough the slip they sent me said March 15th effective date but the papers say March 6th. The insurance company won't actually speak with me regarding it only the brokers can. They won't return my calls and simply reject me and offer to cancel with a fee which costs more than a monthly payment.

So all in all, I never agreed to a March 6 date yet they're going to hold me and they're saying that since I didn't get back to them, they initiated the March 6 date not March 15 which ended up costing my $1,000. I've spoken with friends and some of them suggested I threaten to take it to the press and some say take legal action and they'll cave. I'm expecting a call back from the brokerage manager shortly so any advice would be great!

Thanks forum!

 

not that i am an insurance agent but i lean on the side of caution.

insurer's situation - i have a customer who says i want to start the policy earlier. i dont draft the papers because i didnt receive a confirmation. customer picks up the car on the 6th and gets into an accident between the 6th and the 15th. now customer is in an accident as an uninsured motorist.

in that situation you could easily sing the other song right? "i called them to start on the 6th, no i didnt confirm with them but they drafted the papers"

IMHO...because of your lack of follow through the insurance company did what i would've done to protect myself and the company. I'm sure if you called back and said "wait...i changed my mind...lets start on the 15th" they would've amended the contract or at the least make the payment retroactive to the day you called back to "change your mind".

push come to shove...a judge will ask you...."when you received the papers with the earlier start date, why didnt you call back in to change the start date?" from your post your answers seem like they would start with..."i thought.." or " i assumed..." and those are not going to hold up.

sorry but i think you'd lose. i'd chalk this up to experience. but if you have the time and effort to sue then go for it. in califormia sounds like it would be a small claims case based on the amount and it wouldn't cost you more than $50 bucks to file. if you win, you'll get your court fees back. if you lose, you might have to pay any and all court fees the defendant had to pay.

Good luck.

 

I had to deal with a lot of my insurance stuff recently too. They cannot do that because you didn't even buy the car on the 6th! So your new policy should not start until you actually have the car in your hands. I'm thinking the broker probably wanted more money for the deal or something. Either way, it sounds weird that the insurance won't talk to you either. They insure you?! Anyways, my advice is to keep trying to get through the insurance and the broker too.

I also think you should keep trying different insurance agencies. That one you found sounds really awful to deal with. Oh, also, I don't know your past but is there any possibility you can clean up your record somehow? Because I found out I had two points on my record but I worked hard to get one of them off from 2012 just last month. My insurance company refunded me my money that I paid for the extra point for this whole year.

Anyways, keep trying to get through and good luck!

As for the situation Roshiro posted,
Well, did you check if your previous insurance covers you until you buy your new ride? Mine does...and I think most do right?

 

I'd check out another insurance company. Ordiniarily, I'd recommend GEICO, but if you are a young male with a poor driving record, you might have trouble getting accepted. In the meantime, check out the General and see what that company might be able to do for you....they often accept people with less-than-perfect records.

And, BTW......welcome to CL as a new member.

http://www.thegeneral.com/about/

 

Progressive accepts mostly any kind of drivers or riders, though their fees are a bit expensive. I can't imagine paying 5k-6k a year for insurance. Not to make you feel any worse, but if I were you, I would get a quote from my agent before I proceed to buy

 

When did the title of the car transfer to you? Was this March 15? I don't see how you can have coverage on a vehicle you do not own.

What is the start date on the documents you signed?

Also, even with a March 6 start date, you do not have a longer policy term, just a different start date so I do not understand the price increase.

You can always contact your state's insurance commissioner. There will be a consumer affairs person in that office.

 

Sweet mother of all insurance...$5000 a year? that's a lease for IS350 F.. $450 a month.. What did you do that you get punished like that?

 

And, did you consider getting something that costs less to insure given your driving record?

 

This makes absolutely no sense at all. Why would an insurance company insist that you obtain coverage for a period that you don't even own the car--what do they care? Personally, I'd be suspicious of the agent, and his/her competency. One could say that the ins co is trying to squeeze a few more dollars out of you, but $800 to an insurance company is not worth their while for this kind of stupidity....

But--trying to get a refund for a period of time that has passed by, saying "I didn't need the coverage during that period"--good luck. I say lean on the agent and make him/her make it up to you out of the commission.

 

My thoughts exactly, and $1000 for 9 days of coverage?

I'd take them to small claims court, you have nothing to lose. That slip they sent you with the March 15 date could be your out.

And start driving properly, that's a lot of money wasted.

 

you said it

For that money, I'd just take greyhound

 

If my math is correct, that's $10k per year just for insurance and payments on an IS250? More with the strange $1k additional charge? Wow, just wow.

 

I think there may be some error or omission in the OP. If the insurance company did make a mistake, the broker should rectify the problem with them. An error on the part of the broker should be settled between that broker and the customer.

The reality of buying auto insurance from the high risk pool is pretty bad. States usually require all insurers selling auto policies in that state to participate in these pools, often on a rotating basis. Believe me, the insurers DO NOT want your high risk business. Don't be surprised if you get poor treatment from them. They would be happy for you to take your business elsewhere or have an excuse to cancel your policy.

I would suggest being civil with the broker and the insurer. Threatening them with bad press or legal action could easily back-fire, especially if you are in the wrong.

 

Not for anything, but it sounds as if you're living a little beyond your means. Perhaps buying a brand new Lexus is not something you can afford right now? No doubt you are getting screwed over by this insurance broker and I would pursue any and all options to try to get your money back. However, $5000/year on insurance for one car is ludicrous. If it's too expensive for you because of your driving record (and it certainly sounds like it is), then maybe you should have considered a more affordable pre-owned Lexus or some other used car where you wouldn't have to pay so much for insurance.

 

Gotta pay to play, crap record wants a 2014 IS, lives hand to mouth cause he wants to be a balla (in a 250) but can't even confirm his desires with the insurance company yet it's their fault, either there's a lot of missing information or you're exercising the same due diligence with your insurance as you did with your driving record. If u can't afford it don't get it, hell sometimes even when you can afford it, don't get it. I smashed my C6 caused $10k of damage to the car they wanted to jack my insurance to $300/month so I traded it in got another car then I sold that for a $5k profit got my 350, still paying $200/month but a 350 is more practical and affordable and reliable plus it's less likely to be my coffin cause I drive everything like I stole it and this thing simply doesn't have the power to kill me. Be reasonable.