
Lisa of Erwin, TN on July 27, 2009
I am a citizen of Unicoi County, Tennessee. I am not sure that your office is the correct recipient of this letter, but in order to find someone who can help the consumers in rural areas of our country and state, I am writing to many offices and agencies. Please take the time to read this letter as it is of great importance to the people of Tennessee.
I am writing this letter to your agency and many others as well as specific elected officials at local, state, and federal levels in order to raise the awareness of an injustice to the insured consumers of Tn forced on them by the recently instated business practice that is being adopted and MISUSED by Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee as a tool against the consumer to INCREASE AUTO PREMIUMS at will. One that will have a direct affect on our local and state economy -and possibly national- and especially on the stimulation of the auto industry and on the 600,000 other policy holders of Farm Bureau of Tennessee alone.
The misuse I am referring to is the misuse of a consumer's credit report to enable insurance companies to suddenly and without warning, increase AUTO INSURANCE PREMIUMS of already established and existing policy holders(as in my case 25 years in great standing) because of no other factor than a decision to look at and use (only recently for the reliability of policy holders) an existing credit report that the company has deemed below standard and therefore making the policy holder a sudden risk to the company thus increasing the premium.
Please take time to read this account of my direct contact with this misuse and the fact that a family of above average means in excellent financial state, where both husband and wife have jobs can be affected with this "less than perfect credit report" ....what the outcome will be of a family where job loss has occurred and the many people in our state that will be affected by this and this is my attempt to get someone to listen and do something to change this, or at least be directed to the person or agency or steps that might help initiate a change in this policy.
Read the following scenario to see if this seems logical or fair to you?
a 25 year customer/family in great standing with the insurance company, no lapse in policy ever, no late payments, has auto, home and life ins.policies with the same company, own their home valued at $300,000, paid off home loan in 15 yrs., just purchased in '07 new F-150 on credit (0% interest), spouse purchased new '08 750i BMW on credit with no problem getting loan for 50,000+trade-in(both insured at Farm Bureau for last 2 years), paying out of pocket for son to attend college, have 0 credit cards or balances, has never or would never drink and drive, 2 or3 auto claims(fender-benders/teen-age driver)max to date- none major and none at all in last 3 years, policy premium actually decreased last year, but this same policy holder has been awarded a below standard credit score according to Tennessee Farm Bureau Insurance Company's scale because on their credit report a disputed loan made by someone using this person's credit information and cannot get it resolved despite consumer's best efforts and therefore the family "AUTO" insurance premium has in the last week increased by $200.00 yearly because they are now a risk to the company even though the disputed loan was there since Mar. 07 when they were not a risk and in fact an excellent client!
No, I did not mistype! AUTO insurance. The credit score is now being factored into an insurance company's equation to figure the amount of the premium due on AUTO insurance regardless that the consumer has been a customer for the last 25 years and in great standing with the company. And although this customer had no trouble having a credit rating that could secure 2 new vehicle loans with 0% and 4% interest, Farm Bureau Insurance Company feels now after 25 years of service to us and by us, we have suddenly become a "risky" driver and must be charged $200 extra dollars to insure.
I see no logic to that kind of thinking at all. Could it be because the concept they are trying to pass off as logical is really founded on greed and dishonesty...not logic? But wait, I am not finished with this story. That same 25 year customer that is mentioned above, could now pay as much to be an insured driver and have the same premium due as the person with a DUI charge, citations, who has no job-by choice, who lives off the government, who owns no home, and pays no taxes, but forgive and forget all that. he does have that high credit score which deems him a good driver because he pays his insurance on time along with his ONE other monthly bill that the government gives him the money for. Which person would you trust to be driving on the same road as your daughter or son or wife or husband?
After all -that is what matters where AUTO insurance is concerned, right? The better the driver's record, the lower the cost to insure? That is what I signed on for anyway... until they decided to change the contract without letting me know or be able to do anything about. A consumer's credit rating is being misused by companies to fit whatever purpose they see fit----mainly as a tool against the consumer and this seems like a very dangerous game for our economy since the greediness of companies has already been proven many times over recently.
With the computer age at its peak and every day becoming more and more sophisticated, the cases of identity theft are at an unbelievable rate. Hackers are able to get a person's information as easily as we look up a phone number and developing new methods faster than the FBI can keep up. Knowing this and the damage that can be done to a person's credit from such an occurrence, not to mention the state of our economy ...how can we allow one's credit score to be given this type of influential power in determining unrelated aspects of their lives and used in any way shape or form by companies at will?
I can understand if companies want to use it as a screening tool for identifying new customers who might be a risk and choose not to write new policies to those who they feel might not pay or be a risk in some way. But I don't understand how companies with customers who have had 25 years of established proof to that same company and multiple policies and have proven time and time again they are creditable clients and not a risk to their company as a driver or in any other way and have paid far more into the company at this point than the company would ever have to pay out ....can apply the same scale of risk to that consumer as they would to a new applicant.
It is time someone steps up and stops companies from taking advantage of average hard-working consumers and doing as they wish with no accountability or rules and leaving the American consumer with no avenue of recourse or no one to turn to when wrong acts such as these are committed against our work force. This will directly effect our economy...in a big way...just sit back and watch or do something in your power to see that it is not allowed to happen. But let's not forget who we are actually pinpointing here...insurance companies- not banks or credit unions...insurance. There is no real credit risk anyway. They are not handing out loans, or money to their customers. if you don't pay your premiums...you don't get insured. they'd drop you like a hot dish. so, what exactly is it they're risking anyway?
I am a teacher in a rural community. How many teachers put in 26 years of service to the same system and are considered a risk of any kind? Teachers like farmers are all about doing what's right and Farm Bureau was made successful by those very people and is turning their backs on them now. $200.00 per year in increased auto premiums and I'm sure other insurances will follow suit if this works for auto.