I want to get this out there so that if there are any folks out there that have AIG insurance, they will know what kind of company they are dealing with.

Sorry for the long read....I will try and keep this as short as possible, but I have a lot of ground to cover here and this really fired me up at the time.

First off months ago there was a string of vehicle break-ins at my place of employment which prompted me to call my AIG insurance folks and get a quote on some umbrella or additional rider coverage for my vehicle. They gave me a quote for my stereo stuff, body kit, wheels and suspension parts. I tolk them I would think it over and get back with them. (Totally stupid idea of mine to get extra coverage on suspension since the factory suspension costs more that the Koni super cup kit I have)

Called back to another rep a few days later and went ahead with adding the additional coverage and had everything itemized. Happy day...wrong....

A few months pass and it gets close to renewal time for me so I start to wonder why my new insurance card wasn't in my wallet yet. I called my mom to ask her if she had hers and she said that she would call for the both of us. Mom calls me back and says that my car is being non-renewed for reasons that she doesn't understand.

I then call and they tell me that my car is being non-renewed because of the modification to the suspension components. Apparently they don't cover cars with any mods to the suspension, period. I fought with them for days on this because they neglected to send me a notice of intent to non-renew my policy (which it is illegal in Illinois to not notify them of non-renewal I think 30 days in advance). I got them on that part, and they extended my coverage another six months to give them time to send me the non-renewal notice so that they were'nt breaking the law.

I asked them if they cover cars like AMG Mercedes, Porsche, Corvettes, all of which are lower than my car, and they said that the height didn't matter, it was that the parts I put on were not on the car when it was purchased. So I wasn't able to get them to not drop me though. This even after that I told them that I was being mislead by their reps because neither of the two that I spoke with (the one person that gave me a quote and the one that actually updated my coverage) told me that these were items that had to be reviewed by underwriting and that they always result in a denial. Kind of bogus I think. Especially since when this action of theirs could have put me in a position to where my new insurance provider could charge me higher rates because of being non-renewed from the previous insurance. I brought that up to them and told them that because of their agents neglect I could be forced into higher premiums with the new carrier, and all they could say is that they were sorry that I was being placed in that situation. They said that there was no way that I could communicate with the underwriters and that they don't have inbound phone lines to be reached, and that their decision was final.

Anyway, I called Geico real quick because they were the first I could think of and ended up going with them and saving 500 dollars a year. The best part is that all of the coverage items are the same and they cover vehicles with suspension mods as long as the car is not lifted more than 4 inches. I am not planning to build the first donk TSX so it works for me. I actaully enjoyed calling AIG back and cancelling my insurance with them. Now I hope their stock price falls even further so maybe when the phone reps 401k turns into a 301k they will be a little more complete on the phone and not jerk their customers around.

The End

 

glad everythings figured out. there just being stupid.

 

It's not uncommon for insurance companies to reject cars with aftermarket components. It's crap but it's a liability thing for their underwriters.

 

It's stupid but true. I believe Progressive is the same, they will cover wheels, and stereo stuff, but engine and suspension mods and you're SOL if you get into an accident.
This is based on my older '04 policy when I had a car with a heavily modified engine, roll cage, aftermarket steering wheel...without airbag, etc.
I wonder if cccolt would be covered if he got into an accident with all his mods?

 

at the first donk TSX!

Dang, that's shady of them. Well, I'm glad that it worked out for you in the end. Even saved some dough

 

"I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to GEICO!"

good thing everything worked out for you

 

Geico covered my sub-frame bracket busting off from the aftermarket RSB.

 

Alot of insurance company will drop your car if they found out it's been modify. That's exactly what's happened to me last summer, when I need to claim $9000 from them. They checked out my car @ the mechanic shop, said it's been modified, and "almost" denied to pay the claim. At last they paid for it, but no longer insure my car. I went w/ another company now, save some $$$ and still have the same benefits.

And lol @ AIG stock price falls or whatever, their market in life insurance are almost 10X as big as their auto/general insurance. Their company total assets, is about the TOP 5 companies in the world combined.

 

LOL! Thanks

 

I guess all in all I can't be to surprised that AIG dropped me for having a lowered car, but I wish that they went about their policies a little different. Like if you want to not cover cars with suspension, make that a question that they ask you up front, God knows they ask you about everything else when you first sign up. Also, if you call inquiring about making a change to your policy, and if that change will make you ineligible, I think you should be told about it up front. Also they send you a mailer for additional equipment coverage, instead of making a checkbox for "lowrider/lift kits" they should omit that and say that cars with suspension mods aren't eligible for coverage.

Maybe if I'm lucky some big-wig at Geico will come across this thread and put me and my car in a Geico commercial with some cavemen and or Joan Rivers.

 

Hey --- Does Geico still ask if you own a radar detector when you apply for a policy? I was toying with the idea of switching several years back, but once I answered this question truthfully (of course I owned one), they wanted nothing more to do with me.

 

Just a quick thought here.....

Why would you tell an insurance company that your car's suspension is modified???

That's just asking for trouble in my opinion. Same goes with the radar detector.

NEVER, tell the insurance company any more than they absolutely need to know.

just my .....

 

If they ask the question on the application to initiate coverage and you don't answer truthfully and it has a bearing on acceptibility, you are guilty of misrepresentation which could void any coverage in an accident. Once you have purchased the policy, then change the suspension dynamics, thats another story.

 

Nope, they didn't mention a thing about radar detectors. I don't see why that would make a difference in coverage since that is not a permanent fixture inside a car, you could take it out at any time.

 

I was just trying to make sure that I had additional coverage on all of my aftermarket parts in the event that the car was smashed or stolen. Just so I could recover some of the costs of those items.

 

i saved $500 by switching to geico!

edit - dang someone beat me to it