Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Shame on YOU, Mercury!

We are going to call this a cautionary tale.

I don't like negativity.

I especially don't like spreading negativity.  There's enough crap slinging in the world without my adding to it.

However.

If you are insured by Mercury Car Insurance, I highly recommend researching them with a fine toothed comb and then decide if they are the right company for you.  If you love them, that's great!  

Over two years ago, I was rear-ended by someone at a stoplight.  I was sitting at the red light and the guy just kablammed into the back of me without putting on his brakes.  This guy was insured by Mercury.  He and the company acknowledged it was his fault for the wreck. (Ummm, yeah.  CLEARLY.)

Since it was a Saturday afternoon, I didn't have the option of just calling my chiropractor or going to urgent care or whatever so I had to go to the ER.

I bounced back from delicious whiplash pretty fast.  I even ended chiropractor sessions something like six weeks early.  I didn't want to be one of those wreck crazy people who milk the system.  I was fine and called it a day.  Or so I thought.

The second it came down to reimbursing me for a VERY small amount of (less than 5k) doctor bills, Mercury clammed up and wasn't having it.  Although they recognized their client was at fault, they refused to pay the bills.  They even went so far as to tell me I had no right going to the ER on a Saturday afternoon.  

No right to go to the ER...  

Someone I know is an amazing lawyer.  He offered to help me get things sorted out.

Over 2 years later, we finally arrived at a settlement.  The settlement pretty much hosed everyone involved, and it just barely covered out of pocket medical bills.    

If you're a Californian, remember Prop 33 in the most recent election??  

Here's some research I discovered:

(Source:  http://news.yahoo.com/mercury-hikes-auto-insurance-rates-california-63-million-192600135.html)
Prop 33 is just the latest in a long history of Mercury's broken promises to California consumers and illegal practices that illustrate to voters why Mercury Insurance can't be trusted. The company's checkered history includes:

  • A recent California Department of Insurance enforcement action against the company, in which the Department stated that: "Mercury has a deserved reputation for abusing its customers and intentionally violating the law with arrogance and indifference."

  • Internal reports prepared by California Department of Insurance investigators that show that Mercury used a variety of internal company rules – many unwritten – to overcharge or refuse to sell insurance to many Californians it deemed "unacceptable," including Americans serving in the military, small businesspeople, unmarried people living together, people with diabetes, and the unemployed.

  • Years during which Mercury illegally surcharged hundreds of thousands of drivers for a lack of prior insurance coverage, until the insurer was ordered by a court to stop in 2005. These illegal surcharges are the same price increases Joseph is trying to enact with Prop 33.

  • An internal training manual produced in a civil trial that reveals how Mercury Insurance trained employees to mistreat, neglect and even threaten customers who file claims.Allowing its insurance agents to charge illegal broker fees to unsuspecting customers until Mercury was forced to stop by a California court.
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It is companies like this that are in charge and making a ton of money bending people over.  When the hell are we going to stand up and say I HAVE HAD ENOUGH?????

I am only one chick with one voice.  But together, we can be SEVERAL voices and revolt against those who try to victimize our fellow humans with money.

Peace

Michelle Tomlinson

http://www.michelletomlinson.net

10 comments:

  1. It's a sad thing to say there are many Mercury's around... I think many voices should stand up and scream in unison that these low cut, criminal companies need to be put out of business.

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  2. I have had Civil Service Employees insurance forever.I moved out of a large city to a smaller city and my rates went up.Go figure.Excellent post Michelle...

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    1. Thank you, Tom. And see? It makes NO sense. Insurance should equal protection. Not rejection.

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  3. It makes me sad. Insurance companies in general, tend to make us think that they are here to protect US. However, just like every other big business out there, they are only interested in their bottom line. Just like everyone else, it's just about the ALL MIGHTY DOLLAR.
    Trust me.. and this goes for ANY insurance company it takes two years to get hosed, but if you had gotten a speeding ticket or a failure to stop ticket, your rates will go up in a matter of days.

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  4. Lots of scammers in the Insurance Biz. I love your blog and your noodle! :-)

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    1. And I love ya right back, girl! Thank you for putting your peepers to my words! :)

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  5. Awesome post McT! You are so right, and it's not just with car insurance either! Health insurance is an even bigger scam! Think about how much we pay for prescriptions! There have been some that my co-pay was still over $120! And thats MY part! Without insurance, it would have been well over $1200! That is only one of the several I take 3-4 times a day!
    What is wrong with these companies? I totally understand making a buck, but come on, there has to be some kind of line...

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    1. There is NO line for ANY of these companies because there isn't a magnificent rise of humans against them. We all feel like we can't do anything BUT pay them because we are told we need to have the meds or we need to have car insurance, etc. Until the day comes where people have had enough and stand together to peacefully exclaim ENOUGH...And that runs the risk of peeps who need meds to be cut off and suffer horribly.
      We will continue to get hosed and allow it to happen. It's an amazing corner we've painted ourselves into... I really wish we had a simple answer that could eliminate these problems. THAT would be Nirvana.

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