Big Cliff Posted April 20, 2015 Report Posted April 20, 2015 Have you ever heard of a company called “Grey Power Insurance”? I just saw a thing on the news about an 84 year old lady that was out of her house for 4 days getting cancer treatments this past winter. She had asked a neighbor to keep an eye on the place for her but hadn’t asked him to go inside. Unfortunately, her pipes froze and there was about $11,000.00 in damages. Grey Power apparently denied her claim because there is small print in her policy that states you must have someone checking every day! Now please forgive me, I am only 69 but I sometimes have a hard time understanding some of the clauses in insurance policies and things. I am very lucky that I have a very close friend that works for an insurance company and that I trust beyond question to make sure I am protected but I wonder how many others out there are in the same boat as this lady was! (Apparently, after the news aired the article Grey Power did agree to “settle the matter as quickly as possible” (whatever that means). It should never have had to come to this!
spincast Posted April 20, 2015 Report Posted April 20, 2015 That's a very common clause in homeowner policies - check the small print (on all your policies). Know before you need it, so that its there if you need it
16 Footer Posted April 20, 2015 Report Posted April 20, 2015 Insurance companies are in the business to make money not spend it.
Canuck2fan Posted April 20, 2015 Report Posted April 20, 2015 Just so everyone is aware Grey Power is part of the Intact Financial group so if you are with Intact this may affect you too.
Big Cliff Posted April 20, 2015 Author Report Posted April 20, 2015 It seems to be settled now. . True Roy but my thoughts here are; how many other seniors do get caught in things like this and don't have the news get involved and don't have a fair settlement. When the news called Grey Power and asked about water damage they were not told of any exclusions until they specifically asked about frozen pipes.
Fisherman Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 I checked with them for car insurance a while back because of their claim of reduced rates for seniors. Complete bull wonky. they wanted about 500 more than my present company.
Steve Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) i guess my first piece of advice, read your policy. property policies are written in plain language (read: not lawyer mumbo jumbo). a court decided a few years back that insurance companies had to issue policies in easy to understand language. many feel a little fear when it comes to reading policy wordings. have a go at-er. if you have any questions, just ask on here. I'll try and help. Every insurance company has their own property wordings. This is very important to understand. Unlike auto insurance, which has government legislated wordings, property wordings can vastly differ from company to company. That is why it can be difficult to provide accurate property coverage advice. Also, pricing for property policies widely differs as a result of the various coverage and wording options. An insurance policy is a contract. Who enters into a contract without reading it? If you're not comfortable with "anything" related to your policy, ask your broker! that is what they get paid commission for. That is commission you pay for in your policy premium. Edited April 21, 2015 by Steve
porkpie Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 The entire insurance industry is as crooked as a dogs leg.
SHAD Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 insurance is evil, yadda yadda lol...play by the rules er' by the contract of insurance you pay for and won't be any probs. I haven't heard of every day your home needs checked but every 30 or 60 is required if the home is vacant. How many people here have read there property or even auto policy for that matter, some good reading I highly recommend. Stay educated my fishing friends. Cliff ! Mandy say's hello and she's doing good
Canuck2fan Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 The most important thing to remember is insurance of any kind is only available for one reason. TO MAKE THE COMPANY huge amounts of money for the shareholders. Insurance companies do NOT ever work for you the customer they work for their shareholders, first last and always, if they didn't they wouldn't last. That is why you have to read, what little exclusions they put in the fine print. Notice fine print never seems to have BONUSES for the customer LOL.
Canuck2fan Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 The entire insurance industry is as crooked as a dogs leg. LOL it is actually worse in Ontario, thanks to guberment after guberment buying their LIES about how auto insurance should work. We get the privilege of paying the highest rates in North America for the just about the most limited protection after 2010. In a pot calling the kettle a certain shade vein. The Ontario Trial Lawyers Association funded a study to prove this LOL. https://www.otla.com/index.cfm?pg=Lazar-Prisman-Report
16 Footer Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 I wonder how many people out there think that they are insured went they are not!
DanD Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) When my daughter was a second year law student; she worked a summer for a law firm, whose clients were mostly insurance companies. Her job while there, was to research the policies and the claim reports; looking for anything that possibly could get the insurance company out of paying the claim. She hated it there; but it was good experience for her. Now that's she is a lawyer, she has chosen to practice personal injury law (which includes financial) and go after the insurance companies; that think they've dodged a bullet. She has never gone into any details of her cases; but she has told us that most insurance companies are pretty quick to settle; so that the media doesn't get wind of a juicy case. Dan. Edited April 21, 2015 by DanD
Steve Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 Canuck2Fan, how do the insurance companies that are private, and do not have shareholders, fit into the equation?
Mister G Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 The entire insurance industry is as crooked as a dogs leg. I can't say that as I have always been treated fairly with my insurance company. Glad I had insurance when I needed it as I would have have lost a LOT if I didn't have insurance.
Headhunter Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 If you think that home and auto insurance is bad, take a look at getting business insurance, then talk to me! HH
Old Ironmaker Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 " When you got it you don't need it, when you don't got it you need it" Yogi Berra on insurance.
Mike Pike Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 You can defend the insurance companies as much as you want. But if that woman left her house for 4 days, had a neighbour keeping and eye on the place, and her pipes froze, I woudl expect it to be covered. That little clause about someone checking in everyday is probably one that catches 95% of their customers. Sorry, I think it's nasty.
KLINKER Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 How many of us have modified our boat without the manufacturers consent.
DanD Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 How many of us have modified our boat without the manufacturers consent. Good point. If you've done a lot of customizing, it might be worth it to have a survey done on the boat and present that to the insurance company. That would plug any loop holes for them to crawl through and not honour a claim. Dan.
Big Cliff Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Posted April 21, 2015 You can defend the insurance companies as much as you want. But if that woman left her house for 4 days, had a neighbour keeping and eye on the place, and her pipes froze, I woudl expect it to be covered. That little clause about someone checking in everyday is probably one that catches 95% of their customers. Sorry, I think it's nasty. What really bothered me was that she is 84 years old and away from her house getting cancer treatments! It's not like she was off enjoying a vacation on some beach somewhere and just didn't give a darn. Have a heart for crying out loud! I might be wrong but it is my understanding that Grey Power specializes in insuring seniors, I would expect that there should be some protection for the customers and that full disclosure of exclusions should be manditory not burried somewhere in the fine print. I am very lucky, I have a very good friend that takes care of our insurance needs and I trust her implicitly! She was very thorough in explaining limitations and exclusions to us and suggesting limits of coverage when we signed up with her and it turned out that we got better coverage and saved money from our previous insurer. Sorry for the rant but it really bothers me when I see anyone being taken advantage of.
Pikeslayer Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 I am very lucky, I have a very good friend that takes care of our insurance needs and I trust her implicitly! She was very thorough in explaining limitations and exclusions to us and suggesting limits of coverage when we signed up with her and it turned out that we got better coverage and saved money from our previous insurer. Sorry for the rant but it really bothers me when I see anyone being taken advantage of. Sounds like you found a gem there Cliff
Garnet Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 You find out how good your insurance is when you make a claim.
Big Cliff Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Posted April 21, 2015 Sounds like you found a gem there Cliff Wouldn't even consider anyone else Simon, gives "customer service" a whole new level of meaning! Truth, honesty, integrity!
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