
Kathryn of Santa Clara, CA on Aug. 1, 2008
Fortunately, for me, nothing happened thanks to my father, who raised the red alert flag when he heard about my AIG 6-month quote of $383, with the 'catch' being that the first two months payment must be paid by debit or credit card over the phone. When I told them I didn't have plastic and wanted to mail in my payment they said that option is not available. I called twice, the details above was the second call. On the first call I was told that to get the low rates, I was would have to pay by credit.
When I called back (me simple mind) I asked them what the difference was between the 'discounted,' credit-only rates and the usual rates (assuming they had a mail in option with a different or higher
rate). I was told by the second rep that there was no difference in the rates so their reason for credit card only payments is a mystery to me.
The quote was for $383 for six months, or $63.86 per month. The first two months equals $127.60 although I was told $132 payment would be the amount needed to start the insurance and get a policy mailed to me. It appears that a service charge is being added to bring the $127.70 up to $132 quoted charges, in order to start the policy.
Yesterday, when I asked about reasons for a credit only payment policy, I was told that I would have to speak to the rep's manager. I was transferred to the manager's voice mail who has not contacted me since. I can only surmise that AIG might be a start up company that uses only credit cards to finance their business? In any case, I don't give out social security or credit card numbers over the phone, so that raised a tiny suspicion that this might be a scam, when I first talked with them.
Another mystery is why their email states they are still 21st Century Insurance when AIG bought them out and is a separate company. Is this misleading information or simply not enough information? My father was a customer of 21st Century Insurance for 30 years, so thought something might be not quite up to snuff when I told him I couldn't mail a check to the Woodland Hills address (21st Century's old address). Also, he told me that insurance companies are under special laws which are overseen by the California Insurance Commissioner's office. He said it is possibly a discrimination practice if an insurance company does not allow some individuals access to auto insurance based on how a payment is made.
When I called back to ask the reasons why the payment method is limited to over the phone credit charges, I mentioned that the California Insurance Commissioner might see this as a discriminatory practice. This is probably the reason why I did not get a call back! If they keep up their practices, the Internet will let everyone know 'Caveat Emptor' rules buying insurance policies,including AIG. I am calling the California Insurance Commissioner today. If you are in California, you can call the Consumer Services Divison of the California Dept. of Insurance (the investigative branch of the CA Insurance Commissioner's office). The prompts will ask you to press a number for coverage or cancellation calls and another for insurance company/agent questions or suspected fraud calls.
ADDENDUM. I called the number above and found out that to date there are no special rules about how insurance payments are made or collected. AIG is the owner of 21st Century (still named as 21st Century, officially) and they own a number of insurance companies. They
are setting themselves up as a hub of insurance companies at the Woodlawn Hills address. He said they are not breaking any rules or discriminating because there are no laws about how payments are collected. Also I was told one woman who called for help told the DMV she had AIG and the DMV couldn't match her claim with AIG as the named insurance company until the commmissioner's office was called. They suspended her license in the mean time while the real name of her insurance handler was located.
Be warned that under AIG there are different companies handling different types of insurance but AIG is probably not the official name of the company handling your insurance. They do handle some claims directly but you'll have to ask them directly what company is handling the policy. Also, these companies operate on a per unit basis, e.g., you buy insurance for a 6 month period and the payment is due before you get the policy. This means that the company takes out a loan with the promise that you'll make monthly payments.
If they are going by credit card payments only, then they have their hands directly on your account and are taking less risk that you will pay/not pay back the entire policy amount. I was told that some companies add on a service charge for each payment, usually $4 dollars but it can go up to $12 dollars per monthly charge so there is a hidden fee you won't hear on the initial policy quote. Result: I have to find another auto insurance company. The insurance commissioner's web site has an insurance comparison link under 'consumers' link.