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Assurant Group

• Assurant • Fortis Health Insurance • John Alden Insurance --- News • Connecticut Accuses John Alden, Fortis of Improperly Denying Coverage

Christopher of Colorado Springs CO (04/10/08)
I have an Accidental Medical Expense Rider on my health insurance policy. It pays the first $1000 of my deductible if the injury/illness I'm suffering from is caused by an accident. The only restrictions are that the injury/illness be caused by an accident, the policy is in force at the time of the accident, and treatment be sought within 90 days of the accident. All criteria have been met and there still has been no resolution. This all happened in October of 2006 and it is now April of 2008

I now have medical bills in collections, I have negative information on my credit report. I cannot afford to pay the remaining bills since I had to take so much time off of work to heal. I am self employed so there is no one to go after to pay for thing due to my on the job injury.

Chris of Hobe Sound FL (01/07/08)
I signed up for a 3 month TEMPORARY insurance plan. After 3 months I realized they were still billing me. I called, and they told me to fax in a cancellation on my account. I faxed it in, and they billed me again. I called again, and this time somebody answered (on a normal, Monday afternoon) and said everybody was out of the office. She had to take a message, and they would get back to me in 48 hours. Called again a week later, told me they never received the fax. They will do everything they can to keep billing you.

Give their phone number a try....When I called their number each time, it asks you to enter your social security or your insurance number to identify you; no matter what I entered, it said it couldn't find it on file and keeps saying let's try this again. Even when you don't enter anything on the phone, it says let's try this again, please enter your.... It takes about 10 minutes before it finally goes to the operator. This is because they hope people will think, "Oh well, maybe they won't bill me again because I must be out of the system if they can't find my information...but no...they WILL bill you again. This is a scam; don't fall for it.

Scammed me out of $500.

Henry of San Francisco CA (03/27/06)
I have a credit card with Bank of America. Noticed I was being billed for CG at $0.518 per $100.00 (insurance that pays your monthly bill if one becomes unemployed, etc.)

I never signed up for this program. Didn't talk to a telemarketer about CG. The product was added to my account through telemarketing slamming. TM needs to meet a quota; TM enters new customer without assent.

I wrote to Bank of America and called Assurant twice to have the fradulant charge removed from my account. B of A wrote me back and told me they had nothing to do with CG. Call Assurant. I used to be in the business. B of A turns Assurant TMs loose on its customer base and is paid for this.

Assurant took my name, account number, etc. twice; assured me that the CG would be removed; and promised to refund to me all the CG fees I have paid so far. These promises were not kept. The fees continued to be billed to my account.

Why did we move from a regulated banking system to a free for all maket where customers may be regularly abused without, apparently, any consumer protection oversight?

Clifford of Kalamazoo MI (05/26/04)
I have a mortage with Waterfield Mortage Company. While reviewing my quarterly statement, I found out that I was also being charged $10.95 for Health Insurance. My wife contacted Waterfield just to find out what health care benefits were covered. However, the person on the telephone could not explain benefits, and instructed her to contact the Insurance Company(Assurant Group, Miami,FL.).

Upon reaching that Insurance Company, I was informed that they, Assurant Group, were carrying me for Dental, and Eye wear. I informed them that I had never authorized this health care. And, particularly I take issue with it being associated with my Mortage. Assurant Group told me that it has been in effect since 1998. I never authorized this! My wife and I have excellent health and dental insurance benefits from our employment.I have asked them to discontinue this insurance, and have asked that they have a Supervisor contact me to discuss this. What are my options?

I have yet to figure out the unnecessary financial cost that were incurred.

Michelle of Marlow OK (05/05/04)
My parents have had a Discover Credit Card for years in holding the card they have also had the life and disability insurance on this account. On December 26th 2003 my Father passed from a heart attack. I contacted Discover card and got the usual condolences but they also advised that they would be processing the CREDIT SAFE PLUS insurance policy. Discover was wonderful in the help they gave and the manner in which this was handled by there department. Unfortunatly they had to turn it over to the company that handles the insurance and that is were all the problems begin.

Discover Card assured me that the insurance for which my parents had been paying all this time would cover not only the primary but also the joint card holders. Well the Insurance group ASSURANT GROUP, is saying that the policy has changed and that is no longer the case so they are denying the claim we have filed in behalf of my father.

My parents have paid $.88.1 Cents per 100 on the balance of there account as long as they have had it ... like I said before years. They are now denying this claim because they say the plan changed. I have a copy of the plan from the products and services page of the Discover Web Site somethign Discover told me to go and get a copy of, this information has a date of 2002 Discover Bank on it and was printed off on the 15th day of March 2004. According to the Assurant Group the plan changed in 2002 but it has never changed with the Discover people. Until just recently.

When my father passed it was very unexpected and to our surprise he had no insurance as he had cancelled it years before while my parents were divorced. Mother had no idea that this plan had been cancelled when they remarried and found out after my fathers passing. This has left Mother in a financial hardplace, but this Insurance was paid on this card and the bill was not deliquent nor was it an outrageous amount. The Master policy on the Insurance covers to $10,000 the amount owed is less than $1000, but now they say they will not take care of this bill. I personally have been in contact with several claim agents of both Discover and Assurant. Discover is in agreement that this is something to be taken care of and Assurant is determined to deny this bill.

Vickie of Andalusia AL (04/01/04)
This complaint actually concerns my 73 year old mother. She suffered a stroke in February, 2004. Since she can not take care of her personal business anymore, I was making an honest effort to see that her bill were taken care of. I contacted Bank One in order to let them know of the situation and was quickly informed that because I did not possess a power of attorney for my mother they could not discuss her account with me. I thanked them for thier time. I also noticed on her monthly statements that she was paying for credit proctector insurance and the telephone number for the insurance company was listed. I contacted the Assurant Group.

The first representative that I spoke with tried to be very helpful; however, there was no record of my mother's account. When I questioned the charges for the premiums that appeared on her statement, I was told that the account had to be researched and that someone would get back in touch with me. A day or two later, I received a telephone call from a claims representative stating that they had not found my mothers account, but they would send me a claim form for me to complete and send to them.

I recieved the claim form, completed the claim form and attached a letter from my mother's physcisian stating her illness and that she was disabled. On March 27, 2004, I received a letter addressed to my mother stating that she did not have coverage because the she was over 66 years of age. My mother was sold this insurance by a telemarketer and has never received any documentation regarding coverage. However, she has paid her premiums every month as required. I have written a letter to the credit card company (Bank One) and sent the insurance group a copy. There will be no payments made on the account until the situation has been settled and I will take further legal action if necessary. What they have done constitutes fraud and they have taken advantage of an elderly person. I will contact my states insurance commission as well as my state representatives. I believe in free enterprise, but not in taking advantage of the elderly or the disabled.

Michael of Simi Valley CA (07/23/03)
I received a charge on my Credit Card for Personal Credit Protector and after calling to cancel future charges was told I needed to call back in 24 hours because my account went into storage when I called and takes that long to open again. I questioned the ability to charge my account when the account was in sty\orage and Cliff told me that the credit card company billed me and they have nothing to do with it. The credit card company told me that they were billed by the insurance company.

Someone needs to review this and see if they are colluding to gain money without permission or just forcing people to take insurance whether they request it or not. The credit card company does not have records and the insurance company can't provide information. I cancelled my credit card and will report this to additional agencies.

I can not continue to do business with companies that work with non-responsive and possible criminal actions so I cancelled my account and need to pay the account in full. I will borrow money elsewhere to pay off this debt.

Pat of Red Deer ALBERTA (09/05/02)
I had a truck accident the loan was insured through Assurant Group I filled out the nessasary forms to get on with things. As time progressed nothing happened and the ford dealed started to call for payments, I called Assurant Group to see what is up and they need more Doctors information. Up until this point they mave assumed I have been to three or so doctors that they have sent requests to when indeed I only seen the Emergency Physian and then my Family Physian the following day. Todays date is sept 5/2002 and there has been no action on the payments, The dealer has demanded the vehicle back or They can repo it.

Damages are loss of credit the dealer has reported to equifax late payments therefore not being to achieve credit for seven years. I now have no vehicle to get to therapy therefore the injury is just going to get worse, I' am going to have to go to my family for some kind of assistance for transportation. I feel this is a issue that it is time for a lawsuit.

Patricia of Las Vegas NV (08/09/02)
On 11/2/2001, I was downsized from my job. That same day, I notified my credit card companies that I would need to implement the credit insurance for unemployment that I had been purchasing over the course of the prior two and a half years.

I had been paying for this coverage through both my Discover Card and my Chase Visa Card, and the insurance company is Assurant Group for each.

I put in my claims with Assurant Group and after close to two months of back-and-forth nonsense, they finally began paying.

As my unemployment continued, so did my need for the claims, and so I continued filing the exact same forms with the exact same information month after month to the exact same addresses. On an almost monthly basis, either the forms were not processed in a timely manner or the claim was refused because the date on the copy of the unemployment check was not in the acceptable range (note that despite REPEATED phone calls on my part, it was never made clear what exactly the accepted range was), and thus payments were made late or not at all.

More phone calls to Assurant, more aggravation and CONSIDERABLE emotional distress on my part. The late payments on their part continue to this day.

And the best is yet to come ... at the end of this year, Assurant Group will send me a 1099 for all the money they paid out on my claims. The only thing I will be able to deduct against this is whatever premiums were paid THIS YEAR. The previous two and a half years of outrageous premiums will not count towards this, nor will the damage that has been done to my credit rating through no fault of my own.

Initially, I was able to contact both Discover and Chase Manhattan and have the late charges removed and the APR set back to a semi-reasonable rate, after explaining the situation. Unfortunately for me, they have only so much good will to go around.

The APRs have been increased to loan-shark levels and I can no longer have the late charges removed. My credit report will be impacted negatively because of this.

Emotionally, I have been the proverbial basket case. Yes, I have a lot of debt, but until this episode, I had NEVER missed a payment, never been late on a payment and almost always paid more than the minimum. I have consistently lost sleep over this knowing full well that my credit rating has gone down the drain.

Peter of Philadelphia PA (08/06/02)
This company plays a little game. I have a contract with them to pay my Discover Card payment while I am unemployed. As soon as I receive my unemployment checks I copy and send to them as prove. They receive them within 4-5 days (mail time)after I receive them. They will send me back a form letter saying they need more information and won't pay the monthly bill on time. I am charged a $35 late fee by Discover.

Since my monthy payment is approx. $90 and the premium is approx $20 they in effect pay $45. The charge on my card says creditsafe and thats how it was sold to me, as a way of keeping your credit rating safe. However if they pay late then my credit rating is being hurt. I called and talked to a representitive and then asked for a supervisor. I asked for her name and she said Nicole L. I asked for her complete name and she said that she would not tell me her last name. (I guess she is afraid of being named in a warrant.)

On July 30 I asked her if they were going to pay the 8/2/02 due payment. She said that the last checks (7/6/02 & 7/13/02) were too old. I told her that my 7/20/02 and 7/27/02 checks would not arrive at my home until 8/2/02. She said I would need to mail copies of the 7/20/02 and 7/27/02 checks no earlier then 8/8/02. I pointed out that 8/8/02 and then another week for them to process would mean my payment would be late again (July was paid late) and that I would incur another $35 late fee. She said there is nothing they can do about that and that they do not know the due date of the bill.

Altough they say they have nothing to do with Discover they represent themselves to be Discover as the phone message at their office says Discover Card credit protection and their envelops have Discover printed on the side. Basically they want copies of unemployment checks dated before the due date of the payment due. This is physically impossible as unemployment benefits are paid for weeks expired, and not in advance. Nicole L. said that the only way they would pay th 8/2/02 bill was for me to send copies of checks I would receive on 8/2/02 after 8/8/02. This is an impossible condition and in insurance I believe this is fraud.

I have had to contact Discover and Assurant and ha had a frustrating experience. They act as if they don't even know each other when they are partners in this. (Discover collects the premium, Assurant uses the Discover name.) How can Assurant protect my credit rating if they don't know ( and say they can't find out) the due date of the bill? As I have enough to worry about trying to find a new job and keep my home and family together duing this time, I do not need this aggrevation. I have a heart condition and suffer Angina when trying to deal with this situation.

La of Houston TX (05/21/02)
American Bankers was responsible for making payments to my credit card accounts for the 5 1/2 months that I was unemployed. I was given the run around about getting each/all of the claims started being told to submit paperwork that I had to submit only about 5 or six different times. When they finally started making payments, they made them in lump sum payments to cover 2 or 3 months at a time. Anyone who knows anything at all about credit as they should as well knows that accounts are to be paid on monthly and not quarterly.

As result of thier delayed/delinquent payment schedules I have lost charging priviledges with one creditor. I did everything in my power and succeeded in providing them with the information that they needed every month for these claims only to end up delinquent and in bad credit standing. I have no words for thier business practices. It is my wish that they are either repremanded for thier actions or turn thier clients over to a company who cares.

Denied credit in store at the counter before about 20 people attempting to make a Mother's day purchase that I never accomplished. I was sent to the back of the store to speak to a credit representative to be told that I was on suspension with my credit card due to missed or partial payment.

Sheila of Newport News VA (05/10/02)
We recently began receiving correspondence from the Assurant Group stating that had processed a cancellation for my fathers account. We received 3 letters on the same day with charges dated back to 2/2002. My father died on April 18, 2002, and unbeknownst to us we paid off his account prior to his death, without knowledge of any possible insurance coverage.

Upon further inquiry the company stated that my 72 year old father had death insurance, however, on 1/25/00 it was cancelled due to his age. They continued however to charge him loss of income coverage, when in fact he had not been employeed in 20 years and was retired. I feel this company's dealings should be thoroughly investigated.

Charlene of Camp Verde AZ (04/17/01)
My husband, who has been disabled since 1982 and unable to work, had disability protection for the credit card he carried. He supposedly signed up for it with a telemarketer on July 18, 1994 at 4:06 pm (per the Insurance Company's computer records, but no tape on file). He does not remember signing up for this, nor does he remember ever receiving any paperwork for this plan. They have been charging him .79 cents per 100 of charges for the past 7 years amounting to $1,289.88. He, not being savvy to these types of things, thought that the charge was mandatory from the credit card company to protect them because of his disability.

I became involved recently when I married this man and joined him on this credit card. I called Assurant Group and talked to a variety of people from Customer Service and Claim Reviewers. I got many different answers and attitudes.

I was told that this was primarly a disability policy that had a 6 month pre-existing condition clause. And it would cover the minimum payment for up to 12 months or up to $15,000. It also had life insurance component. They don't check health status, nor do they check to determine if the customer is on disability. I asked them how could they charge a person who is on disability a premium for a disability policy that they can't use. Assurant Group explained that it wouldn't cover the pre-existing condition, but if the customer had another disability this insurance would kick in. In my eyes, a disability is a disability. My husband has not worked since 1982 when the accident happened. He has only received Social Security Income. How can this policy protect him from unemployment due to disability if he is already unemployed due to disability?

I posed this question to a few of the people I talked to and some agreed that this does not make sense. Others stated that, although he could not use the disability portion of this plan, he is covered for life insurance. Then, they tried to throw in the fact now that I am on the credit card I am protected. I explained to them that I did not need this protection and I am already well-insured. I was able to cancel any further deductions from our MBNA Mastercard. However, I stated to them that I was quite upset that they have been accepting a premium on something that Richard could not technically receive benefit from. I requested that they resolve this matter fairly by one of two means:

1) Apply the 6-month pre-existing clause at any point within the past 20 years, since he has been disabled and unable to work, and pay as the policy states (minimum payment for 12 months or up to $15,000); or

2) Refund his premiums of $1,289.88 and call it a mistake as if he never was covered under this plan.

I heard from some people that this was possible and others that this was absolutely impossible. I heard from the Claim Reviewer that they would not cover this disability because it was a pre-existing condition and he would have had to had another disability to have the plan kick in. I, again, pointed out that if someone is unemployed because of disability, they cannot become more unemployed because of another disability. I am furious that they took his money for all these years when he only had disability income of about $500/month and he did not qualify for this plan.

He has lost $1,289.88.

I have gotten nowhere with Assurant Group. I am about ready to call Bruce Camacho, President/CEO in Atlanta and plead my case.

I have researched this company and see that a Class Action lawsuit was filed in New York with American Bankers (an Affiliate)for this credit card protection plan and denials of claims. A hearing was held in January, 2001. The ability to join the suit does not exist due to the fact that we are not in New York and the deadline has elapsed.

Charlene of Camp Verde AZ (4/17/01):
My husband, who has been disabled since 1982 and unable to work, had disability protection for the credit card he carried. He supposedly signed up for it with a telemarketer on July 18, 1994 at 4:06 pm (per the Insurance Company's computer records, but no tape on file). He does not remember signing up for this, nor does he remember ever receiving any paperwork for this plan.

They have been charging him .79 cents per 100 of charges for the past 7 years amounting to $1,289.88. He, not being savvy to these types of things, thought that the charge was mandatory from the credit card company to protect them because of his disability. I became involved recently when I married this man and joined him on this credit card. I called Assurant Group and talked to a variety of people from Customer Service and Claim Reviewers. I got many different answers and attitudes. I was told that this was primarly a disability policy that had a 6 month "pre-existing condition" clause. And it would cover the minimum payment for up to 12 months or up to $15,000. It also had life insurance component.

They don't check health status, nor do they check to determine if the customer is on disability. I asked them how could they charge a person who is on disability a premium for a disability policy that they can't use. Assurant Group explained that it wouldn't cover the "pre-existing" condition, but if the customer had another disability this insurance would kick in. In my eyes, a disability is a disability.

My husband has not worked since 1982 when the accident happened. He has only received Social Security Income. How can this policy "protect" him from unemployment due to disability if he is already unemployed due to disability? I posed this question to a few of the people I talked to and some agreed that this does not make sense. Others stated that, although he could not use the disability portion of this plan, he is covered for life insurance. Then, they tried to throw in the fact now that I am on the credit card I am protected. I explained to them that I did not need this protection and I am already well-insured.

I was able to cancel any further deductions from our MBNA Mastercard. However, I stated to them that I was quite upset that they have been accepting a premium on something that Richard could not technically receive benefit from. I requested that they resolve this matter fairly by one of two means: 1) Apply the 6-month "pre-existing" clause at any point within the past 20 years, since he has been disabled and unable to work, and pay as the policy states (minimum payment for 12 months or up to $15,000); or 2) Refund his premiums of $1,289.88 and call it a mistake as if he never was covered under this plan. I heard from some people that this was possible and others that this was absolutely impossible.

I heard from the Claim Reviewer that they would not cover this disability because it was a "pre-existing condition" and he would have had to had another disability to have the plan kick in. I, again, pointed out that if someone is unemployed because of disability, they cannot become "more unemployed because of another disability". I am furious that they took his money for all these years when he only had disability income of about $500/month and he did not qualify for this plan.

William of LaSalle, IL, writes:
I have a credit card with First Card. This account has been active for ten years. I purchased "Card Guard" which is a disability insurance. June 19th of this year I became disabled. I applied for my "card guard" insurance to take over payments on my credit card. We are now at the end of October and they still are saying that they have not received the information they need. My doctor has sent the information that they requested on four different occasions.

Finally, two weeks ago they paid $510.00 dollars on my account, however, this is not close to what they need to pay to catch me up. Friday, Oct.27, Assurant sends me the identical same form that my doctor first filled out and requests the information again. In another envelope that I received the same day, I received a "please return this in fifteen days or this is a closed claim." I cannot get them to pay the claim that I am entitled to.

I was disabled on June 19, 2000. At this time I am still not released to go to work. My credit has been damaged due to the negligence of this company along with much emotional upset. I do not know where to turn.

Williams should probably start with his state insurance commission. He can find the address in our Resources section.

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