Complaint against Lloyds of Texas Insurance Company
and/or
Insurance Counselors Inc, 1 Geico Blvd Fredericksburg, Va 22412 (800-841-3005)
Complaint 1 - coverage was switched without notice leaving me underinsured
I have had insurance (Auto/Home/Umbrella) with Geico for around 30 years. Some years ago, Geico decided not to write Geico homeowner's policies in Texas and switched my homeowners to Travelers. I have always carried full replacement cost coverage on my policies.in I moved from my previous residence to my current one in Georgetown. At that time, I contacted Geico (Insurance Counselors) to duplicate my existing policy and coverage to the new residence.in the process, (Geico and/or Travelers) changed my replacement cost coverage from HO-708T to HO-709TR. No notice was given and they conveniently moved the HO-709TR to page 2. I had no reason to think they had changed my coverage and did not see the change on page 2. There was no drastic reduction in premium on the new home to indicate that there was any change and in fact the HO-708/HO-709 increased from $64 to $65 from 2006 to 2007.
In February, I asked my roofer to inspect my roof as I had heard that there was some hail in the area while I had been traveling. The roofer (Jim Brown Roofing) said there was in fact hail damage so I called Travelers Claim to report the damage. Travelers/Geico now say that I only have actual cash value coverage on the roof and will depreciate the repair by about 45-50%. When I indicated that I had always had replacement coverage and was switched without my knowledge, Travelers said "Don't you read your policy". Yes I do, but missed the change from 708-T to 709-T that was moved to the 2nd page. Geico said "We can't help, we are only the agent and you have to talk to Travelers". I told Geico that as the agent, they had the responsibility to inform me when they changed the coverage. So far, no resolution - each point to the other and wants me to bear the depreciation.
Complaint 2 - Claim handling -
The first notice (Attached) was dated Feb. 6
The adjuster W Blain Pounds indicated the loss was
$ 5,422.45. My roofer Jim Brown Roofing, said the estimate did not take into account price increase in roofing material and replacement of the roof vents and his estimate was $6,100. I got 2 other estimates (Kettler Roofing for $6,270) and (Evers Roofing for $6,500). I faxed the estimates to Mr. Pounds and asked him to call me. He never returned my call. Finally I called the Travelers claim office and they said that Mr. Pounds had been fired and they would get someone else to call me. Three days later Chris Brown (512-426-6019) called and said he had no info from Mr. Pounds and could I send him the estimates. I did so and Chris Brown spoke to Jim Brown. However he did not call me, so I left a message to call me. I had to call him again and got him on his cell phone. Chris Brown said he would not authorize the roof vent replacement of $350 since "they were not damaged by hail". Chris Brown never inspected my roof so don't know how he can make that statement. Also according to Jim Brown Roofing, when you pull off the roof vents, they get bent up and it is difficult to get a good seal back. When I asked Chris Brown about the other 2 higher estimates, he said he did not consider them. I asked Chris if Jim Brown had not itemized the roof vents, would he have paid at the $6,100 estimate level and he said "probably". Chris sent me a new estimate approving only $5,750 with Depreciation of $2,648.69. No explanation of how depreciation was calculated.
Notice in Mr. Pounds letter, he shows the depreciation as being "Recoverable" and attached a form to send to Travelers when complete.
I have spent hours on the phone calling different Travelers and Geico contacts, but have so far gotten the runaround as one tells me they can't do anything to talk to the other.
I also called Travelers main headquarters and asked that someone there call me about the problem.instead of doing so, they had the manager of the first adjuster call me. He was rude and offered no help whatsoever.
This is the worst experience I have had with insurance claims and ask that someone investigate and penalize the responsible parties.
I filed a complaint with the Texas Insurance Commission, but they are really mouthpieces for the insurance industry.
Net results - I cancelled all insurance with Geico - Home, Car, & Umbrella. I will never do business with them again and suggest no one else deal with Travelers or Geico.
Jerome in texas
Georgetown, Texas
U.S.A.
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