What Irked You Today?

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'm not looking for sub standard insurance I just don't want to pay more than I have to for good coverage. I will be looking for a price for the same coverage I have right now which is pretty good.

If you really want to know what you'll be getting in after-the-accident service, talk to some reputable body shop managers in your area. THEY'LL tell you who skimps on paying for quality work, and who doesn't.

CAVEAT: MANY insurance companies today have "captive" body shops that they steer work to, even though "steering" is illegal. They get around the laws by calling it by different names, but it's steering nonetheless. The shops that have "relationships" with the insurance companies get more work, even though in a lot of cases, the volume doesn't make up for the money lost on every job. A shop that tries to curry favor with insurance companies will often not be able to keep the best techs, because they'll be cutting necessary hours on a job to stay in good with the insurance companies. Second-rate techs willing to work cheap do second-rate work. Simple equation.

Just do your homework.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[Harry P.]

Are you sure your home is insured for it's current market value?

Yes, current replacement cost.

[southpier]

everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

[Ace-Garageguy]

everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

The thought of dying doesn't bother me at all. I could use a nice long rest. It's the pain that's usually associated with dying that I'm not looking forward to.

But frankly, I can't imagine it being much more painful than life has been.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[AC Norton]

I could not possibly have said that better, bill.....ace......

[blunc]

Thanks Harry. I will add them to the list of companies I will be calling.

anyone here that is current or former military should talk to USAA about insurance if they are not already insured by USAA.

I have had zero problems with them and they seem to be helpful.

I used to get phone calls trying to sell me insurance, I told them I have USAA and they either hang up or say "have a nice day".

[Danno]

anyone here that is current or former military should talk to USAA about insurance if they are not already insured by USAA.

I have had zero problems with them and they seem to be helpful.

I used to get phone calls trying to sell me insurance, I told them I have USAA and they either hang up or say "have a nice day".

Dittos!

[southpier]

good grief; you guy's are depressing. y'oughtta take up a hobby.

[Tom Geiger]

If you really want to know what you'll be getting in after-the-accident service, talk to some reputable body shop managers in your area. THEY'LL tell you who skimps on paying for quality work, and who doesn't.

CAVEAT: MANY insurance companies today have "captive" body shops that they steer work to, even though "steering" is illegal. They get around the laws by calling it by different names, but it's steering nonetheless. The shops that have "relationships" with the insurance companies get more work, even though in a lot of cases, the volume doesn't make up for the money lost on every job. A shop that tries to curry favor with insurance companies will often not be able to keep the best techs, because they'll be cutting necessary hours on a job to stay in good with the insurance companies. Second-rate techs willing to work cheap do second-rate work. Simple equation.

Just do your homework.

And the entire system is not in favor of the consumer.

When my wife had the Jaguar accident (small corner crunch), we didn't have collision on the 12 year old car, so I had to deal with the insurance company of the person who was at fault. They sent me to a body shop for the estimate. The estimator whispered to me that this insurance company's MO was to total my car and offer me half of what it was worth. He said they made more money in the junk car business than the insurance business. With all the trailer loads of fairly new cars I see on the turnpike with minor collision damage, I can see this is a major industry.

In another incident, my daughter wrecked her Corolla, her fault and we had collision on it. Our insurance company company did a very good job. The car had been towed to their recommended body shop. They inspected it within a day and made me an offer. When I objected, they agreed to the number I wanted immediately. We had a check by the following Monday, and they told me to keep the car. Pleasant experience.

The car had a front corner crunch, and they totaled it out economically but it was a 43,000 mile car so it was worth fixing. I get a call from the body shop telling me I needed to give them the title for the car. They said this with such authority that an average person would have done so. I asked why, letting him know the car was mine. He stumbled and said it was just worthless junk and they'd forgive me the towing and storage fee, which was some $200. I told them no, I was going to fix it and asked for a quote, he refused, and demanded I pay his fees and remove the car immediately. So I filed a complaint with my insurance company.

No doubt if I gave them the Corolla they would have fixed and sold it. We repaired it and my brother in law drives it to this day.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Tom Geiger

[Mike Kucaba]

Yep! If it wasn't for corruption,and just general greed, capitalism would be perfect. I wonder how much of these shenanigans in business practices are the result of government regulation.

[Pete J.]

anyone here that is current or former military should talk to USAA about insurance if they are not already insured by USAA.

I have had zero problems with them and they seem to be helpful.

I used to get phone calls trying to sell me insurance, I told them I have USAA and they either hang up or say "have a nice day".

Frankly, if you are eligible, there is no one out there better than USAA. I have had my insurance with them since 1972(yes 42 years!) I was an insurance underwriter for 10 years and an agent for 15. I could have had any insurance company with a professional discount and I still kept them.

The reason why is simple. They give the best service out there. Example: I had a water leak in my kitchen that resulted in mold. The whole kitchen had to be torn out and redone. The day after I reported the claim they sent a claim rep out and met with me and my contractor. The three of us went through costs and agreed on a price for the work to be done. I had a check in 3 days for $38,000. No argument, no hassle, nothing. Just money to fix the problem. I had more issues with the bank trying to deposit the check than I had with them. When all was said and done, we had enough money to replace the cabinets with better grade casework and put in granite counter tops instead of tile. Oh, and they guaranteed the work as long as I own my house.

Having been an underwriter I knew the contract and it is debatable as to whether they were liable(sudden breakage vs. long term leak) but they came out with the attitude they were going to make it right for me. I wouldn't trade companies for the world.

Oh, and the cost! Mike is right, most insurance marketers will just hang up if you tell them you have USAA. They are a member owned co-op and as such when you sign up they set up a "subscriber account" and every year they put a portion of the profit in there for you. Once you get to a certain level, they pay out any excess to you. After this long, I get about half of my premium back each year. If I were to rate them on a 1 to 10 scale, I would give them a 15! Only down side, if you can call it that is they only take military and their families. My adult kids have them and I have threatened them with their lives if they ever change companies.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Pete J.

[Danno]

Little known fact, Pete: There are a couple of other categories of membership eligibility with USAA,regardless of military history. They are: USAA employees, federal law enforcement agents (FBI, Secret Service, ATF, DEA, CIA, NSA, Postal Inspectors, Attorneys General ~ but not Protective Service guards), presidents, vice-presidents, and cabinet secretaries, high-ranking federal government officials, congressmen and senators, and superstar celebrities.

The beauty of USAA is every member is treated equally, regardless of class or stature ~ ~ ~ so long as a member doesn't try to cheat USAA. Try to steal from USAA and you're deemed 'permanently ineligible.' Integrity counts big time.

And, yes. It's hard to beat the pricing and impossible to beat the service and the benefits.

Edit: Almost forgot ~ federal judges and justices.

Edited September 10, 2014 by Danno

[Rob Hall]

My sister has had USAA for the last 15 years or so (ex was a veteran). Says the rates and service are great.

[Tom Geiger]

My father was a big USAA fan, since he was a retired army officer. Through association, that made me eligible so when I got married in 1981 I applied and was accepted. A few weeks later I got a cancellation notice. They ran my perfect driving record and found an accident on my record. I had no idea it was there. A lady had hit the back of my car on ice, she broke her front directional inside a rubber bumper. There was no damage on my car, so I let her go and we both left. I had no idea that she went and filed an accident report.

USAA didn't want to hear it. So I went elsewhere.

[bobthehobbyguy]

People who drive up to somebodies house and honk to let them know they are there. if you are to lazy to get out of your car use your cell phone and call them why bother everybody else because you are a self centered idiot.

[High octane]

Yeah Bob, those LAZY people do that in my neighborhood as well. They're part of the "hurray for me, FY" group.

[martinfan5]

The lemon tree in my backyard deciding it no longer wanted to live by breaking in the middle of trunk and falling over, sure am going to miss the shade it provided on the patio.

[southpier]

remember Burt Munro's lemon tree?

[Tom Geiger]

I had two idiot encounters today...

I stopped at the Wawa convenience store to pick up a few bags of ice for the cooler of soda we have at our club meeting. I noticed Coke products were on sale at 2 12 packs for $8 so I grabbed up two. Then I saw their breakfast sandwiches were on sale 2 for $3 so I got two of those. I approach the cash register carrying 2 12 packs between my arms, with two boxed sandwiches on top of that, while balancing a bag of ice in each hand. It's a balancing act.

Approach the register and there is this young couple. The girlfriend is paying for their lunch with her debit card while this skinny little dweeb is watching her. He see me with all this stuff and still stands there in the way leaning against the counter. The deli counter calls their number so the girlfriend leaves the transaction half way done and walks back across the store to retrieve their sandwiches. It never occurs to him to be a man and go get the friggin sandwiches while she finishes paying for them?? No, he just stays there blocking the counter. I finally have had enough and say "excuse me, can I put these on the counter." Dweeb looks at me startled and it takes him a moment to comprehend and get the heck outta the way!

I head for the Pennsylvania Turnpike entrance where I encounter idiot number two. In front of me going through the toll booth is a beat up old van. The lane allows for cash payers to get a ticket, or Easy Pass owners to just fly through. Should've known he'd be a cash guy. He stops at the ticket machine. He reaches, he's way too far away from the machine to grab the ticket. So he takes off his seat belt and is hanging out his window trying to get it. He finally gives up and opens the door, gets out and gets the ticket. Now he's back in the truck. Still sitting still with a line in back of him, he puts his seat belt back on. He sits and reads the ticket. Then he puts the van in gear and inches forward.

He heads up the ramp slowly, this is the acceleration lane where you need to merge with traffic at the end... he doesn't break 35 on the way to that end where.... he friggin stops! Since we couldn't merge we sit while he looks for a break in the whizzing traffic. He decides to move forward, again accelerating slowly.... I'm stuck behind him because the cars and trucks are whizzing by in the left lane and I can't get around him. He gets up to about 50, calls that good and just cruises along blocking traffic, that's running around 75. I finally get a break, pull around him and watch him quickly disappear in my rear view mirror, never to be seen again.

I deserved a numpty free afternoon after all that! And I pretty much got it!

[Ace-Garageguy]

Nothing much irked me today other than the inevitable idiot drivers in Buckhead. It's one of the most affluent areas in the country, and the people mostly seem to be entirely too stupid to drive their Mercs, Beemers, Porsches, Jags and Lexi without help. Amazing. All the wealth must be inherited; they're surely too stupid to have actually earned it. Either that, or they're so pre-occupied with all the dollar signs floating around their heads they can't remember the green light means "go", or that two cars can't fit in one parking spot.

[Harry P.]

Nothing much irked me today other than the inevitable idiot drivers in Buckhead. It's one of the most affluent areas in the country, and the people mostly seem to be entirely too stupid to drive their Mercs, Beemers, Porsches, Jags and Lexi without help.

Reminds me of the current TV commercial for some luxury car (can't remember which one) where the clueless yuppie with the obligatory and oh-so-chic three-day stubble almost rear-ends the truck in front of him because he "didn't see that coming." Thank God his car is smarter than he is...

[oldnslow]

I've noticed most "intelligent" people have no common sense and don't interact well with people. They can be a whiz at their specialty and dumb as a stump in everything else.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I've noticed most "intelligent" people have no common sense and don't interact well with people. They can be a whiz at their specialty and dumb as a stump in everything else.

I'm irked by sweeping generalizations about "intelligent" people. Having a higher-than-average IQ doesn't necessarily indicate a lack of social aptitude, any more than being a gifted musician correlates with liking cheese.

I know plenty of stupid people who are also completely, totally, socially inept.

Edited September 14, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[southpier]

I'm irked by my lack of tolerance for fellow man.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I'm irked by my lack of tolerance for fellow man.

That irks me about myself as well.

But what irks me even more is that there's so much about my fellow man that needs to be tolerated.