Customer Service - Something AMFAM need work on.

I came across a situation today that I thought I would share with you. Let me preface by saying that I am sure we can all agree that when it comes to service related industries (such as insurance companies), taking care of the needs of the customer are vitally important and honesty is ALWAYS the ONLY policy.

A friend of mine described the following ordeal he has experienced with American Family Insurance Company and it brought up the issue of customer service front and center. Back in May AMFAM apparently informed him that they were going to be increasing his rate; as it turns out the rate increase was over 60% from last year to this year. His homeowners policy was set to expire / renew on June 1, and they did not inform him of what the rate amount was going to be until approximately two weeks before its due date. You can be sure they had already invoiced the mortgage company for the money.

Like the rest of us, he was livid. With only one claim in his life on a home (amounting to less than a thousand dollars) there was little justification for that type of rate increase. As I am sure you would expect he started shopping the business. Within two days he had executed a new policy with a new carrier at a rate amount significantly less than what AMFAM wanted. He called his old agent and (listen carefully this is important) said the following "You are to cancel the homeowners policy effective immediately".

What part of that does anyone not understand? He is emphatic as to exactly what he said, and I have no reason to doubt him. If you made that statement to me I think even half drunk I would understand that you wanted the HOMEOWNERS POLICY cancelled immediately and without delay.

As it turns out, his agent was either not listening, did not care, or just wanted to get rid of him as a customer, because she cancelled his auto policies as well. He spent the next week and a half operating a motor vehicle without insurance. You can also bet that had their been a loss, AMFAM would have denied the claim and hung him out to dry.

It apparently took over ten phone calls to the corporate offices of AMFAM in order to get the issue resolved; or so it seemed at the time. Prior to this cancellation his auto policies were paid by AFT (automatic funds transfer) from his checking account. It seems that both the corporate offices of AMFAM and the agent were not very diligent in getting things set back up correctly because NOBODY mentioned to him that the AFT was not restored. A little over a month later the carrier cancelled the policy again because of what they claim was non payment.

Where was the agent in all this? MIA. Even after speaking to her two weeks before the cancellation and telling her specifically to restore the AFT, she did not get it done; now, the carrier has basically told him, go find another insurance carrier - we really do not want your business.

To top it all off, he was talking to another agent about the problem, hoping to get it resolved and found out that his agent was spreading several lies about the matter, which could only be to cover her own ineptness.

Now to some of you, this is no big deal - I certainly am not what one might call an insurance company hater and I have defended them on numerous occasions but when you are mandated by state law to carry auto coverage, as an insurance company you do not cancel a policy without making damn sure that is what the customer wanted.

I have been with my carrier for over 20 years, I would have considered AMFAM but this episode certainly makes me pause, because if there is one thing that I demand as a consumer - its customer service and if you make a mistake (such as the agent did originally) you admit it and go on.