What you should know about your Insurance

We Are the Only Insurance Agency in Cincinnati That Offers This Unique Service to Policyholders

Friday, February 25th, 2011

Are you looking for insurance in Cincinnati? Call our conveniently located independent insurance agency in Cincinnati @ 513-662-7000 or click here to receive an online insurance quote in Cincinnati.

In our previous article we discussed that there were more than 300,000 documented complaints filed against insurance companies last year.  The top two reasons why consumers file complaints against insurance companies is due to claim denials and settlement offers that were less than expected by policyholders.

How Can You Avoid a Claim Denial On Your Cincinnati Insurance Policy?

As was mentioned in the previous article we have developed an exclusive and unique educational service to Cincinnati policyholders.  This service is not available with any insurance agency in the area. 

This service is based on a book that I will be publishing later this year that will be available in your local bookstores and through Amazon. If you missed this article, click here to read it now. 

This unique service is called The Pathway Protection Letter™

The Pathway Protection Letter™ is a completely unique educational newsletter that discusses the specific reasons why insurance companies deny claims.  More importantly this newsletter gives you common sense coverage scenarios written in plain English that help Cincinnati policyholders understand activities that they may be engaged in that could get your next claim denied.

Why is this information so valuable and extraordinary?

Primarily it can help you avoid claim denials.  There are literally hundreds of different scenarios that you could find yourself in that would result in a claim denial.  If your insurance company refuses to pay, that means you will pay!

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Basing Your Decision Exclusively On Price Is A Mistake When You Buy Insurance In Cincinnati.

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

If you are looking for insurance, call our independent insurance agency in Cincinnati @ 513-662-7000 or click here to receive an online insurance quote.

In a previous article I mentioned that there are differences in coverage between various insurance companies in Cincinnati. For example:

Certain insurance companies in Cincinnati do not allow you as the policy holder to permit other people who aren’t listed on your insurance policy to borrow your car! (This is called permissive use by insurance companies in Cincinnati.)

Did you know that?

So if your car insurance policy in Cincinnati doesn’t allow you to give permission to another person to drive your car and you allow a friend to borrow your car anyway and they have an accident, guess what’s going to happen?

 Your insurance company isn’t going to pay for the damage to your car, or to another car that your friend may have hit! 

If your company doesn’t pay guess who is going to pay for your friend’s accident?

You will have to pay because you gave your friend permission to drive your car! (Your insurance claim will be denied because of this restriction in your policy.)

Here Is the Scary Part about This Scenario

The insurance company is not required to tell you upfront when you buy a Cincinnati car insurance policy if permissive use is allowed, or if it is restricted.

How do you know whether or not this exclusion is in your Cincinnati insurance policy?

I’ll share the answer to that question in my next article.

Why should you choose our Cincinnati independent insurance agency? 

For one we are a local insurance agency in Cincinnati, and more importantly we take an educational approach to insurance. We’ll discuss this more in our next article.  Independent insurance agents in Cincinnati are a better choice, because we offer choices. ™

Pathway Insurance Services Inc.
513-662-7000

Sam the Scam will try to pull this trick on you when you ask for quotes on car insurance in Cincinnati!

Saturday, July 10th, 2010

If you are not careful, this insurance agent selling car insurance in Cincinnati  may not quote you the same coverage limits or deductibles in hopes that you won’t notice!  I call this insurance agent Sam, the Scam!

This is how we learned about Sam the Scam:  One of our clients called to cancel his policy because he told us he found a lower price on car insurance in Cincinnati by contacting Sam the Scam. (Not his real name of course, would you buy a policy from someone named Sam the Scam?)

I asked our client if his new agent had quoted the same coverage limits and deductibles that he had with us, he said he thought so.  I asked him if he had a copy of the declaration page and he did.

After reviewing his new coverage limits with Sam the Scam, we discovered that Sam was only able to sell his low priced car insurance in Cincinnati by reducing our client’s coverage limits by 8 times, to the state minimum levels!!

In addition Sam the Scam raised our clients deductibles to $1,000!

Yes our client saved money on his Cincinnati car insurance policy by using Sam the Scam, but at the same time he increased his deductibles and substantially lowered his coverage!  (Not really a good deal for our client was it?  Naturally Sam the Scam did this on purpose just to make a commission.)

Did he get a better deal on his car insurance by shopping around with an unscrupulous insurance agent in Cincinnati?  Nope, after matching what the other agent quoted, our car insurance rate was lower than the other agent’s rate by $200! (By the way, before you ever lower your liability limits you need to make sure the coverage is adequate for your needs.)

Fortunately our client quickly came to his senses and dropped Sam the Scam the Cincinnati insurance man like a hot potato after learning that he was bamboozled!

When you are shopping for the best prices on car insurance in Cincinnati, make sure the comparison is apple to apple. 

Don’t get scammed by Sam the Scam, the Cincinnati insurance man whose only real interest is making you his next sale.

For fast online auto insurance quotes in Cincinnati, just quickly click on Car Insurance Cincinnati.

If you have already requested quotes within the last 30 days please refer to those Cincinnati car insurance quotes.  If you have not received your quotes please e-mail Jack@pathwayinsurance.net or call our Blue Ash office at 513-662-7000.

Copyright 2010 Pathway Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of any part of this information without permission of Pathway Insurance Services, Inc. is unlawful.

Greater Cincinnati insurance buyers: Are you 100% certain you know what your insurance policy covers?

Friday, August 21st, 2009

As the survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners indicated some have a misunderstanding of what is covered and what isn’t.  Ask yourself this question:

Picture 031

Do I really know what my insurance policies cover, or more importantly what isn’t covered by insurance?

Note how one Cincinnati driver learned a harsh lesson about his car insurance policy.

 

“Joe” was driving in down Cincinnati making a delivery, when he takes his eyes off the road for just one moment to adjust the sound on his radio.  The car in front of him suddenly stops and Joe runs right into the back of a minivan!

Fortunately no one was injured, but Joe’s car was banged up pretty good plus the minivan needed a new bumper.  Joe calls his insurance company to report the accident and within a week he gets a letter from his company refusing to pay the claim for the damage to his car, and to the damage to the person whom he had hit.

Naturally Joe was upset about that, so he calls a local Cincinnati TV station to see if there is anything that they can do. The reporter smelling blood in the water for a sensational story quickly lost interest after finding out that the insurance company denied the claim because the policy holder used their vehicle in a way that was clearly prohibited by the policy.

Joe thought he was covered, but in reality he wasn’t.  Joe didn’t bother to read the exclusions in his car insurance policy.  He used his car in a way that was prohibited by his insurance policy and he had to pay the claim out of his own pocket.  That was tough lesson for Joe.

The absolute worst possible time to learn something isn’t covered is after the accident happens.

When a claim isn’t paid, sometimes we want to lay blame at the feet of the insurance companies,  when in reality it may have been our lack of understanding of what insurance really covers and what it doesn’t cover that caused the problem in the first place.

So it is vital that you understand completely what your insurance policies cover and what they do not cover.

Keep in mind: Insurance companies can legally deny your claim when you violate a policy term or condition, or if you forgot to add a coverage, or did not have coverage for a loss.

Insurance companies will only pay what they are contractually liable to pay and no more. That’s how it works.

If you want to know what is not covered you must take time to read your policy.  Specifically you must review the section titled:  EXCLUSIONS.  Be cautious and take time to read the details.  Not every insurance company uses the exact same limitations of coverage.  Click below to read typical EXCLUSIONS of coverage.

Typical Car Insurance Exclusions

Typical Home Insurance Exclusions

 Do you think you’re in the market to find superior prices on Automobile Insurance plans?    Click on  Car Insurance Cincinnati, or get in touch with our convenient Blue Ash Office at 513-662-7000.

Insurance is not rocket science here in Cincinnati…

Friday, August 21st, 2009

…but there are a few things you need to understand about your policy so you don’t get burned financially.

 

Picture 015Did you know that your insurance policy doesn’t cover everything?

Many mistakenly believe that it does, and some receive a rude awakening after a claim occurs and the insurance company issues a denial of coverage.

The absolute worst possible time to find out something isn’t covered is after the claim happens.  Yet this happens on a regular basis to those who do not take time to investigate what is covered and what isn’t.

A survey was completed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and they found:

33 percent of U.S. heads of household, who own a home and have homeowners insurance, incorrectly believe flood damages would be covered by a standard homeowners or property and liability policy.

68 percent think vehicles such as cars, boats and motorcycles stolen from or damaged on their property are covered.

51 percent think damages from a break in the water line on their property supplying water to their home are covered.

35 percent think damages from earthquakes are covered.

Such misconceptions about insurance coverage often lead to anger on the part of the policyholder after experiencing a loss they thought was covered only to later have their claim rejected by the insurance company.

 Whose fault is that?  It’s my opinion there are two chief culprits.

It’s the insurance industry itself for not taking more time to educated their clients in easy to understand language.  But it’s also consumers who buy insurance policies throw them in the drawer and dust them off only when a claim happens without bothering to read beforehand what’s covered and what’s not .

Will you be in the market to buy Insurance in the near future?  Click on Car Insurance Cincinnati, or contact our hassle-free Blue Ash Workplace at 513-662-7000.