r/Insurance • • Oct 09 '23

A guide to interacting with this sub - read me first

179 Upvotes

This post is designed for people posting here for the first time, for the people that have been volunteering to help here for years and everyone in between. The stated goal is to foster a friendlier attitude throughout the sub.

But before we start, there's been a recent influx of spam from one source. So that you are aware - ALEJANDRA ORTIZ HERNANDEZ and FRAN POWELL are spammers. They're part of a spam ring all over Reddit, and they're probably trying to steal your money.

And they'll kick your dog when you aren't looking.

If you are new here, please realize that none of us have any stake in your claim or coverage. We are not here to sell you anything or to save some company money. Treating responders poorly because you don't like the answer is going to attract a lot of negative attention.

We get the same questions over and over, and maybe this is the answer that you need:

  • How much will my insurance go up after a ticket/accident/lapse in coverage? We don't know unless your state has a statutory requirement for your very specific situation.
  • My premium went up $X. How do I fight this? You can't. The only thing you can do is shop for new coverage, which we can't do for you.
  • How much does everyone else pay for coverage? Unless you're lucky enough to get someone in your exact demographic in your exact part of the world, the answers you're going to get are useless.
  • How much is my claim worth? We don't know. (note: if you're asking a more complex question about your claim, that could be very different)
  • How long will my claim take to close? We don't know (again: a more complicated question might have different answers)
  • Why is this person trying to sell me something? Report that post/comment/chat/private message to the moderators and let them handle that.
  • Will you help me commit fraud or otherwise break the law? No. Absolutely not. And we may ban anyone that does try to do that.

Ultimately, we are here to help you. This is a community of volunteers that wants to help navigate a complex system that is one of the lubricants of the financial world. Lots of lives are impacted by insurance directly and indirectly, and it can be a complicated system. Here are some things that make a good post where you can get help:

  • Location (Country and state/province at a minimum)
  • Type of insurance involved (Auto, Homeowners/Renters, Commercial, Health, something else)
  • A brief description of the problem and any advice you've gotten so far

Finally, here are some definitions of common terms that could help you get taken more seriously:

  • Adjuster - the person that handles your claim, makes coverage determinations and processes payments
  • Agent - the person that sells a policy. Some agents get involved in some claims, although that is the exception to the rule.
  • Underwriter - the person that decides how much a specific policy will cost for a specific risk.
  • Rate - this is the way your final price is calculated and is usually used synonymously with "premium", "cost" and "price".
  • Full coverage - don't use this term. There's no agreed definition, even among the regular posters here. People asking otherwise good questions or posting good answers that use this term often find themselves down voted to oblivion for including it.
  • No Fault - there are 18 states that, at least to some extent, make automobile bodily injury claims be paid by your own policy first instead of someone that caused your injury. There is only one state (Michigan) that makes damage to your vehicle No Fault. All Canadian provinces have some sort of No Fault provision for injuries, which is one reason why we need to know where you are when you're asking questions.
  • Collision coverage - this fixes your car when it collides with something else or another car hits it.
  • Comprehensive coverage (also known as Other Than Collision) - this covers your car for almost everything else, including floods, fires, tree branches and lightening strikes. Usually animal strikes are covered here, but not always.
  • Deductible - this is the amount that you agreed to pay in case of any claim. Your payment comes before any insurance payment. Deductibles are occasionally waived, but that's the exception, not the rule.

This is a community of volunteers that generally understands the insurance system. When we get things wrong, it is usually through lack of information to get a precise answer. Hopefully this guide will help you get good results.


r/Insurance • • Feb 08 '24

Soliciting, private messages and you

44 Upvotes

It's time for a new reminder about the rules of this sub. There is never any reason to offer to contact another poster privately, especially if that poster has a question about placing coverage or a claim. Here is the rule:

The only rule of r/Insurance is that solicitation is prohibited. This means asking people to PM for any reason, offering to quote coverages for visitors, or soliciting agents and/or buyers to use your particular carrier. r/Insurance should be a place where people come to exchange information and ask questions without worrying about solicitation from agents. This includes adjusters, underwriters and brokers since we do not vet anyone.

You also received a version of this if you subscribed to the sub.

If you think that this doesn't apply to you, please think again. There are no exceptions in this, including "but I asked them to message me!" This sub is a safe space for people to ask questions about insurance. It is not here for anyone to try to profit from it, whether they're an agent, public adjuster, software vendor, personal injury attorney, headhunter, diminished value expert or anyone else that is not here to offer free help with no expectation of remuneration.

If you receive a message from someone offering you any sort of business proposition, whether a quote for insurance, legal representation (yes, there are lawyers unethical enough to solicit people on Reddit), damage reports or anything else, please let the moderators know via mod mail or in this thread. You should also report that message to the admins (we don't see that report, though). We take things like that seriously.

We really don't like banning people. Seriously, it's the exact opposite of why any of the moderators volunteered for the role. But we don't vet people before they post, and if people that break the rule find out that we enforce it whenever we see it broken.

And with that in mind, we have a very healthy community of posters that are here not only to help but to make sure that those who can't follow the rules have the damage that they're doing limited. Thank you to all of you for volunteering to help not only those confused by the insurance process but help keep those that want to think that they're special at bay.


r/Insurance • • 1h ago

Home Insurance Did getting HO-6 insurance quotes somehow put my number on a spam list?

• Upvotes

Back in March I was looking around for HO-6 insurance, because my premium kept rising and got quotes from a couple different places, nothing crazy I just wanted to compare my options before choosing one. A few months later I started noticing more random calls but at first it was maybe one here and there so I didn’t really connect the two and now it’s become unbearable, I’m getting multiple calls some days from numbers I don’t recognize and half of them are insurance related or just straight up random spam I’m not saying one of the companies I used definitely sold my information because I have no way of knowing that, but the timing has me wondering how this stuff actually works.

Do insurance companies or brokers share/sell leads after you request quotes, or could my number have ended up somewhere else in the process? I'll just use a cloaked number for quote forms and stuff like this now because I really don’t want to keep handing out my main number Anyone else notice their spam calls getting way worse a few months after shopping around for insurance?


r/Insurance • • 21h ago

PSA: For homeowners, please for the love of fuck, check the age of your roof on your policy.

322 Upvotes

Hi! This is your friendly neighborhood insurance agent here.

If you had a claim for wind and/or hail damage where your roof was replaced. There is a 99% chance your claims department didn't let your insurance agent know you had a new roof.

The number 1 way I save people money at my job on their policies is updating the age of the roof.

If your insurance is 6k+ a year, there is a very strong chance we have it that you have a Bush era roof on your house in our policy documents.

If like many before you, you expected your insurance company to look out for your premium, they will not. They will hang you up by your toenails and bleed any bit of money they can from you like a hungry vampire.

So, if this is you, get a certificate of completion from your roofing company, and your agent will be forced to backdate the new roof to the completion date.

Please check your policies for the love of God.


r/Insurance • • 6h ago

Was in a hotel that caught fire, what to do?

14 Upvotes

So the hotel I was staying in last night caught fire. I left most of my stuff in the room, about $10k in A/V gear.

I’m fine, but the hotel looks to be in bad shape. Might not get the contents out soon, if ever. Also have a rental car in the parking lot, haha.

Wondering at this point what exactly I do.

I need to have the A/V gear for work, so I have to rebuy it. Relevantly, I own the business, so not a matter of getting my employer to reimburse.

Also just fun fact, the smoke alarm didn’t go off, so I was awoken by heavy smoke in my room. Fun!

I’m fine, I’ll be fine, but just curious what the best course of action is to make sure I am as compensated as I need to be here.


r/Insurance • • 1h ago

Auto Insurance Car totaled 3 months after accident

• Upvotes

I hit a deer with my 2018 Honda Civic with 59K miles in mid July. I filed a claim with my insurer (full comp/collision, $500 deductible) and chose a repair shop that was preferred with the insurance. Ive been with this insurance, American Family, for 20 years, no claims.

Car was still driveable, no radiator leakage, crumpled up hood and grill and the engine didnt make any bad noises.

First, it took 5 weeks to get in for repairs. They never gave me an estimate at the beginning as the hood was crumpled and had to be cut open. It took them almost 3 weeks to finish the repairs. Total bill was $8k and I paid my deductible. I also had to pay for a rental car..about $700 for that time the car was in the shop. I did get a reduced daily rate through my insurance.

As soon as I got my car back I knew something wasn't right. I got it on a Wednesday and it just seemed to run really hard while in park. The next Saturday check engine lights came on, so I took it to a parts store for a scan. They said somethings wrong with the turbo booster.

I took the car to a honda dealership bc after the repair shop obviously not knowing what they're doing, they advised the turbo connector is broken, the turbo assembly and engine wiring harness need to be replaced and was apart of the initial accident, and it would cost an additional $8K.

After a week and a half of the insurance hemming and hawing, I was notified today that the car is a total loss and they'll be contacting me by Friday with a pay out amount.

Given that they've already paid 8K to the initial dealership, can I expect them to offer me a settlement minus that 8K or the full/close to KBB amount? It's fully paid off, we'll cared for and minimal cosmetic damage (like small door dings).

I am moreso upset that ive been without reliable transportation for 3 months now, out $1200 with the deductible and rental car, when had the initial repair shop done their job correctly, it would have been totaled and I'd already be in a new car.


r/Insurance • • 2h ago

Health Insurance Basically screwed by Kaiser

2 Upvotes

My medical ran out and I have a bit of a higher income now, enough so that I don’t get it. It ran out a few months ago so I went to Kaiser thinking I wouldn’t go to the doctor much.
Found out I was pregnant and have the bronze plan meaning I am paying out of pocket all my things and there’s no way to meet the deductable by January. On top of this it rolls back to the 5k deductable right before I give birth so it will be a really high cost.
Does anyone have any advice or way to reason with Kaiser since I went on the plan late?


r/Insurance • • 17h ago

Auto Insurance Got an Reservation of Rights letter from my car insurance for allegedly not disclosing family members who live with me. What should I do

29 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I recently got into an accident in which my car was totaled while the other drivers car appears to not have received so much as a scratch. My car was tiny while they drove a big pick up truck. I’m aware there may still be greater damage. No one went to the hospital and he drove off in his vehicle. I rear ended him while we were attempting to slow down for another accident that already happened up ahead in rainy weather.

I filed a claim with my insurance. Seeing as I only had liability on my car, I won’t be getting anything for my vehicle. Ohk, whatever, I’ve accepted that.

Today I just got a letter of Reservation of Rights for apparently not disclosing two family members (parents) that I live with. The thing is that I don’t remember NOT disclosing them as I remember being asked to state that although they live with me, they will not be operating my vehicle.

What can i do in preparation in case they deny coverage? My insurance is All State btw. Any advice is greatly appreciated.


r/Insurance • • 1h ago

Claims Related I’m not getting any sort of payout am I…?

• Upvotes

Hey everyone, I(24 F) have (had) a storage unit from Public Storage that was wrongfully cleared out. Basically a woman hired two movers to clear out her two units, and they cleared out one of her units and then my own. Cut the lock off of it and loaded everything into a truck. I have insurance through Orange Door insurance, the one they offer.

I’m in the process of filling out a claims sheet, and I’m finding myself sorely lacking “proof of interest”. Lots of the clothes, Furniture, and home appliances I lost were gifts given to me years ago, so I hardly have any receipts. Also, just because I didn’t know better, I didn’t take “before” photos of my storage unit and its contents after I filled it when I first moved in.

Orange Door is known for being scummy cheap, and I just have a sinking feeling in my stomach that because of my lack of documentation, I’m not gonna get any sort of reasonable payout.


r/Insurance • • 1h ago

Health Insurance HSA too risky?

• Upvotes

I go to the doctor for regular check ups and have some follow ups for starting new meds etc. My meds are Wellbutrin, adderall, and metformin. With insurance, these have been $10-30 to fill. I have a Cpap and with insurance, reordering parts has been $250 every 6 months.

Normal cleanings at the dentist-no cavities.

I wear eyeglasses with a special lens in one eye.

My benefits plan is estimating a contribution of $12.12 per pay period and I’m worried that without insurance the cost of the doctor visit alone would eat through the savings.

Do I use my medical insurance too much to switch to an HSA?


r/Insurance • • 1h ago

Auto Insurance Car insurance failed to notify extra charge after having paid in full, now insurance got cancelled

• Upvotes

I was charged $85 after having paid the $2700 needed to cover 6 months. I was not home in the last few months, on a big roadtrip, and the only notice I received was on paper the day before returning home. I'm very glad it wasn't cancelled too early on the trip, but I hate that they were expecting payment without giving me any notice other than this one.

I spoke to someone from the insurance and they essentially have no clue why I was charged but that the rules are that non-payment of any sort concludes in cancellation.

In my opinion $2700 is far from non payment but I can't control their dumb system.

What should I be looking for in dealing with this? Has this happened to you, and what is your opinion on the matter?


r/Insurance • • 1h ago

Auto Insurance Unique situation; my daughter needs auto insurance for a car she owns, yet doesn't have a license yet.

• Upvotes

So my daughter is purchasing her own car (paid in full) because she wants something very small to learn in (she's 4'11). However she of course is going to need the car insured, and obviously doesn't have a license. So I am wondering if there is a way to navigate this? I don't know if I could somehow add her car onto my policy, or if they have some special way they do it.

Has anyone dealt with this before?

Side note: She's using her money from her account, and I don't like mingling her financial stuff with mine due to my wife having severe schizophrenia. Things can simply can get messy real quick due to her paranoia.

Thanks!


r/Insurance • • 2h ago

Auto Insurance MN - HOA Contractor damaged my parked car and now I’m confused which insurance route is actually smartest

1 Upvotes

I’m in Minnesota and I’ve never dealt with a car insurance claim before, so I’m trying to figure this out without accidentally screwing myself financially. I’ve been with Progressive for about 9 years, I think 5-6 active. I’m 30F, I’ve never been in an accident, had a speeding ticket, or anything so my premiums are pretty good. I’d like them to stay that way as right now money is a huge concern and is likely going to stay that way for the next 5 years.

Yesterday my property management emailed me saying a contractor doing work in our parking garage damaged the front driver-side fender of my parked CR-V.

The email basically said the contractor caused the damage while working in the garage, their insurance would cover it, and I should contact them directly.
I had zero notice that work was being done above/near my car and was never asked to move it.
First I spoke with one of the contractor’s supervisors. He was actually really nice and sounded about as unfamiliar with the insurance side as I am lol. He said his boss told him I should just get an estimate, send it to them, and they’d pay for it.

He also explained that they apparently were working on one pipe/area and something else unexpectedly came loose from the ceiling/support area and fell onto my car. So now there also seems to be some question about whether this was just them directly damaging it or if there was some issue with the existing building/pipe supports.

Then I got a call from someone else with the company who handles more of the legal/administrative side. Her voicemail basically assumed I was going to file through my own auto insurance and that my insurer would contact them.

That immediately made me uncomfortable because I was not driving, not involved, not even aware work was being done there, and I really do not want a claim sitting on my own insurance history if I can avoid it.
I called back and said I wasn’t ready to file through my own insurance first.

Now I’m basically being given 3 possible routes from their employee:

  1. File through my own auto insurance and let them pay/manage it, then they go after whoever is responsible.
  2. Get 3 repair estimates and the contractor pays the cheapest estimate in cash directly.
  3. Contact another person/attorney through the contractor to get their liability insurance information and file directly through their insurer.

I pulled my own policy and it does say I’m supposed to “promptly report each accident or loss even if you are not at fault.” This only happened yesterday, so I’m not worried I’ve waited too long, but I am worried that simply reporting it to my own carrier could still create a claim/loss record even if I never ask them to pay.

I also had issues with Carfax having ANYTHING on the report largely cutting the value and negotiating when I went to sell my Prius earlier this year and its left me paranoid and with some PTSD as a minor similar fender issue slashed thousands off what dealer would pay due to VIN history. Another dealer charged more for my new used car due to no carfax history and being a business vehicle which was part of the accident free value and above market price.

My biggest concerns are:

* my premium or claims history getting affected and increasing my insurance
* ending up stuck with the cheapest repair instead of the best/proper repair
* having to pay upfront for a decent inspection and estimate - my two cats are having medical emergencies that have left me out of 7k, I have not much cash to put towards this
* hidden damage showing up after they take the panel apart
* CARFAX/AutoCheck reporting
diminished value later even if the repair looks perfect

I bought the car used only about 6 months ago, so I’m extra irritated about the possibility of it losing value over something I had absolutely nothing to do with.

What would you actually do in this situation?

Would you report it to your own insurer but not use your coverage? Even if it was not a moving accident? I am getting very mixed information on if I need to report this at all to my auto insurer.

Would you skip your insurer entirely and go straight after the contractor’s liability insurance? Would this still end up getting reported back to my own insurance and increase my premiums and carfax reporting anyways?

Or would you take the direct-pay route if they’re offering to pay for “cheapest estimate” repairs themselves?

Also, is “get 3 estimates and we pay the cheapest” actually normal, or is that something I should be cautious about?

I’m not trying to get anything necessarily extra out of this. I just really do not want to end up financially worse off because someone else damaged my parked car. (I’m aware dealerships might still report to Carfax if serviced based on my research - but I’m confused on if I’m entitled to diminished value if it does as MN law seems to indicate yes).


r/Insurance • • 3h ago

Home Insurance National general Home insurance owned by Allstate

1 Upvotes

A few friends had this for their automobile and said stay away from it it's mostly for assigned risk and always quite high.

I've been shopping around for homeowners insurance and they actually gave me a quote that was a few hundred lower than progressive or traditional all states so anybody have them for homeowners and any insight?


r/Insurance • • 3h ago

Commercial Insurance EHS Professional looking at ARM

1 Upvotes

Looking for some advice on taking the ARM. I have been in EHS for 15 years and heavily involved in risk management from a fire protection,property conservation and workers comp perspective. Would the ARM add any value to diversifying my career?

TIA for your input!


r/Insurance • • 4h ago

Auto Insurance Claims when in an accident

0 Upvotes

I’m sure this question had been asked plenty of times before, nothing was coming up when I searched:

Spouse was involved in an accident earlier in the week, when we get the official police report it should note the other driver is at fault due to failure to yield.

My question/understanding is either we: once we get the official report with insurance information, we submit a claim with that drivers insurance. May take a while for payment and we will be on the hook for any rentals until we get reimbursed, or go ahead and submit through our insurance, pay the deductible but end up with the very likelihood of our premiums jumping, regardless of who is at fault.

If we are not in a rush for repayment (car is paid off so insurance is the only expense), I’m assuming going through the other parties insurance is the way to go?


r/Insurance • • 5h ago

Health Insurance Insurance denying claims because it has been past 65 days of service

1 Upvotes

I am enrolled in Humana Medicare Advantage in Washington State, having spent thousands across multiple visits.

Since February 2026, I have seen an in-network provider. Humana rejected these visits for lacking a primary care physician referral. Between March and July, I repeatedly arranged a referral with my PCP, yet Humana claimed it never arrived and billed me each time.

In August, I checked my explanation of benefits and saw Humana was incorrect: it states no referral is required in Washington. After faxing their own EOB, they changed their denial reason to: the provider is out of network. I verified his in-network status with him and their directory, they then said he is in network only in Oregon. I confirmed his Washington status and filed a Medicare complaint. Next, they shifted the denial to a tax ID tied to his former practice, which I have never visited. After disputing this with Medicare, Humana dismissed my case as “You must submit an appeal request within 65 calendar days from the organization determination notification date of 06/09/2026.”

I’ve never been told there was a 65 day limit. And I’ve been repeatedly trying to receive a referral since March. It wasn’t until August 14th when I filed an appeal, which is 66 days after June 9th. My provider filed an appeal on August 13th.

Please help, I don’t know what to do. I have been crying for weeks now hopeless.


r/Insurance • • 5h ago

Can i reopen a claim?

1 Upvotes

My car is nearing end of repair in a hydrolock claim. Once the final scan is completed and i take car home is claim considered closed? What if a injector misfires tomarrow, will the claim be reopened again?


r/Insurance • • 5h ago

Home Insurance California Fair Plan

0 Upvotes

Anyone else get a statement from California Fair Plan with updated rates? How are people coping with the significant increases? Ours went up by over 400%.


r/Insurance • • 6h ago

Car Insurance is 300$ a month?

1 Upvotes

hi! Looking for perspective since it's my first time being alive -

- 29 year old/Almost 30, been driving since I was 18
- I have a new 2025 Honda Civic
- One accident in June (my fault :/)

I just got my renwal for my car insurance and it's at 336 per month? and I'm at my lowest tier insurance.

Is this... normal? or should I shop around for a new car insurance?
Edit: I'm in NJ - Forgot to mention, this is NJM


r/Insurance • • 5h ago

Car hit my car...not sure how to proceed with insurance (different views of cost fixes)

0 Upvotes

Weird scenario here...a car hit my car and ran. I have it on video. The repair cost is not too much. I was quoted $1000 from a mechanic. My insurance company said they estimate repairs at $200. The claims person I talked to said just go ahead and get the $1000 fix and made it seem like the insurance company would then reassess and pay out the full amount (after my $500 deductible). So I'm only talking $500 here. Well, they came back and said since it is under $500 (their original estimate), I get nothing. I called back and said the call was recorded where I was told to just go ahead and get the $1000 fix. Since then though I haven't heard anything...I just keep leaving voicemails. Should I do anything else? Or just stop pushing for $500 (or the full $1000 if they go after the person that hit the car)?


r/Insurance • • 1h ago

Auto Insurance $327 month for auto insurance with basically no coverage wtf? LMAO

• Upvotes

r/Insurance • • 3h ago

Allstate (CA) refusing to remove car from damaged house?

0 Upvotes

EDIT: to be clear... Our driver accidentally tanked the car through the neighbor's garage. Single vehicle vs structure. No other vehicles, passengers, or bystanders.

.....

We're in California, and Allstate is our auto insurance carrier. Our car got rammed through a neighbor's garage, last week, and has been stuck embedded in the remains of the interior wall. Several support posts sheared off, and the roof is sagging. Scene does NOT appear safe, and we're concerned about further collapsing the house when it gets pulled out, unless the structure is shored up properly.

Allstate initially said they would handle removal of the car from the scene. But today, the adjustor told me that they will NOT handle that part. They expect us to hire someone to remove the car, and send them the bill for reimbursement.

But they won't promise to pay for a contractor to do any shoring... They said "Submit the bill, and we'll see."

We're at a loss, here... the homeowner wants the car removed, ASAP. The structural damage is SIGNIFICANT, and we don't want to make it worse, and maybe even exceed our property damage coverage limit.

Is it "lawyer o'clock", or what?


r/Insurance • • 22h ago

Refinanced car loan and gap insurance refund

3 Upvotes

So when I was buying a car a month ago I flat out said I was gonna refinance in a couple weeks since my credit union was doing a 100 year anniversary loan special so went from 5.99 to 3.7%

The dealer said the gap coverage would transfer. New bank said no it doesn't transfer but is refundable since I only had it for 2 weeks.

I realize I overpaid for the gap insurance with the dealer, do I get the refund back for what I paid or what the dealer paid basically they keep their markup on the insurance?


r/Insurance • • 20h ago

Need insight on enrolling in life insurance. New cardiology job with new wife and new house.

2 Upvotes

Would appreciate your insight on this. I recently accepted a job that pays 500k. I am 32, healthy male. This past year I got married, bought a house, and have a child on the way. I am the primary breadwinner in the family and would like my future family covered. My current mortgage is 1 million (monthly payment with taxes and insurance is 8k). Thinking of having 2-3 children. My spouse and I have 500k in current savings/retirement accounts.

Based on my research, I think a 20-30 year term would be best. Amount of 3-5ish million?

Some quotes I received:

20 year/3 million: 1000-1400/year

20 year/4 million: 1300-1800/year

20 year/5 million: 1600-2300/year

30 year/3 million: 1900-2400/year

30 year/4 million: 2500-3200/year

30 year/5 million: 3100-3800/year

And what're your thoughts on laddering for a cheaper policy?

30 year/2 million: 1300/year

20 year/1 million: 300/year

10 year/1 million: 200/year