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Nationwide - Homeowners

Nationwide •Homeowners •Auto --- News • Nationwide Cancels 39,000 More Homeowner Policies

Hamdy of Moganville NJ (07/02/08)
I contracted with Nationwide Home Warranty the above mentioned company for services to be preformed when needed for my home. I contracted with the said company via the internet on 03/07/2008 for $399.99 charging my Chase Master Credit Card for coverage of one year.

On same day 03/07/2008 someone from said company called me & asked me if I would like to add two more years on my contract for discount & that would be $359.99 for each additional years & that can be automatic deducted from same my Chase Master Card & that will be two months between each payment & I Agreed.

On 05/07/2008 the said company deducted $359.99 as the second payment from my Chase credit Master card. Also I was told I will receive my contract via mail within next couple of weeks. Until today I never received any contract or any mail from the said company. The only email that I received from them a confirmation that the said company received my 1sr payment of $399.99 on 03/07/08.

As I mentioned the said company is for home services, one of those services was that the said company had to fix my central air conditioning. I contacted the said company over the phone on Sunday 06/01/08 & they said that they would honor my request within 24 to 48 hours; however no one showed up nor called me from or by the said company. Again I called the said company 2nd time on Tuesday 06/03/08, I was told someone will get back to me, however no one got back to me by showing or by calling me.

I again kept calling the said company on 06/04/08, 06/05/08, 06/06/08, 06/07/08, 06/08/08, 06/09/08, & 06/10/08. On 06/10/08 I spoke to someone else (a third person) & he represented himself to me as the manager & his name was John & I told him that I want to cancel my contract with them. The person refused my request & told me that there is period of 30 days passed after the contract date & I could not cancel the contract. Please let me know if further information or document is needed.Thank you.

the cost of the membership

Meschelle of Bartlett TN (06/12/08)
I paid for a home warrnaty contract with Nationwide.They are not repair my AC after it have been broken for a month now. I been having problems with this comapny since I sign up with them. I have paid service fees and the contact in full. They are now asking for maintance forms on when I had the ac service. It is the fan motor blower that is out. I have clean filters and clean out unit since I brought my home. They want me to pay first and then give me my money back. That was not in the contract. Ihave had people top hang up in my face and they are not trying to fix the problem.

I have heart conditions an not having my ac is causing me health problems. I had to tay at relatives home and hotel fees.

Keith of Charlotte NC (01/11/08)
Nationwide Insurance in Charlotte, NC. has pushed my buttons. I have homeowners that automatically insures me for $12,000.00 for guns, while my wife has to keep any jewelery over $1,200.00 in a bank deposit box! We were told if we want to insure her jewelery we could have it covered for an additional cost.

We had to get a bank safety deposit box which cost around $60.00 per year. We were also told to contact the Insurance Commission or whoever makes the rules to change said policy. Give me a break!

Stephanie of Charleston TN (12/18/07)
I had a small fire in my garage. I panicked and called the insurance company for them to come and look at the damages and give me an estimate of repairs. While they were out, I had a previous repair looked at, and got an estimate for internal repairs from a leak. Well, needless to say, my policy was cancelled, and I cannot get insurance anywhere without paying way high, triple the cost, because of these estimates. I had the mortgage company slap on insurance and they don't cover ANYTHING! All that Nationwide could say to me was they were sorry for the inconvience, but you have to be claim free for 3 years, and it stays on your record, so no one else will take you. I did not have one cent of the companies money for the repairs I HAD DONE, and they can't reinstate me, not that I would have it now anyways, but they have scarred us for having any insurance within a reasonable price.

I have to pay $5000.00 a year for a policy that doesn't cover anything but the house.  I have more value inside then the house is worth.

Barry of Pensacola, FL (02/25/06)
I was told my insurance was being non-renewed because of my dog (a rottweiler).  I have been insured with Nationwide insurance for about 10 years.I have owend my dog for almost 8 years.  He has arthritis in his hips and he stays inside most of the time.  My yard is fenced and my property is kind of remote.

I believe I am being non-renewed because of hurricanes in Florida and they don't want to insure me. I have only filled 2 claims in ten years, both due to hurricanes.

I never had a problem until I filed a claim - isn't that special!?!

Jo-Ann of Bristol VA (6/6/02):
We have had insurance with this company for many years. Someone was sent out to each insurance client's home recently to take a survey of the home and premises. We received a letter demanding that we remove a Rottweiler from our premises in order to remain eligible for coverage.

We have until September 9, 2002, to remove him. This dog is old, sick, and has not been a threat to anyone. Just because he is in the list of breeds that they want to do away with, he has been discriminated against. It is not right for dogs of a certain breed to be subjected to this treatment, just because they decided to do this lately. A lot of dogs will be put to death because they can't be relocated. A stop needs to be put to this discrimination.

This Rottweiler is a mixed breed, but because he looks like a Rottweiler, he is being discriminated against. I understand that this onsite inspection is going to continue for three (3) years. Think of the devastated owners of these animals, and the stress that it will cause the animals.

Michelle of Lorton, VA, writes:
My parents were living in their dream home at Sandbridge Beach, Virginia Beach, Virginia, when their home caught on fire on March 31, 1999. My father ran into the house to save my mom. We lost them both when they were killed in the fire. The home and all of its contents were a total loss.

Our adjuster, Olden, told us many times he would make sure we got the amount of the policy on the home and the policy for the personal contents. Olden Moore has since required a detailed household inventory from us. He also insisted we we be deposed on the inventory we submitted. We also submitted affidavits to verify the personal property contents.

Nationwide is refusing to pay the amount of the insurance on the home so we (the children of the deceased) can pay off the mortgage, forcing forclosure on the land. Mr, Moore also refutes our claims of the personal inventory damages. Every time they make us an offer it goes lower and lower. They are trying to wear us down and force us to take an offer that is unjust and unfair.

The estate does not have that much money in it. We cannot even pay off the mortgage with it and everything was lost. We have nothing left - family photos, videos, personal items, nothing to remember of our family. This has put a huge strain on us kids. Preparing the inventory for Olden took us months. Now he claims were are lying about it. My brother lost his job trying to do everything Nationwide has asked.

I, the executrix, had to find a new job because I used so much leave at work. I have submitted the inventory, been deposed, had to attend grief counseling and am being treated for major depression as a result. Nationwide is costing the estate a fortune in legal fees because they know at some point we will have to give up because we have no money.

Everything my mom and dad worked for their whole lives is being drained away because Nationwide refuses to pay the policy. Dad had Nationwide for over twenty years and had a million-dollar wrap around policy for everything, Mom is a former employee and this is how they treat their customers. The have not "been on our side" since the accident occured.

James of Wellsboro, PA, writes:
Two and a half years ago we had a fire in our home. The house was rebuilt. The problem is our furniture and clothes. They were supposedly cleaned to pre-fire condition but they were not.

We told the adjuster that our daughter has a severe asthma condition. He said it will be no problem. We went to where the furniture was being cleaned. The smell of smoke and cleaning fluid was all my wife and I could smell. We looked through our items for about an hour. We both left with very bad headaches and my wife was having chest pains.

Then the clothes came back from the cleaners. My daugther was at school; my wife and I put all the clothing in the upstairs closets. A short time later when our daughter came home it took her ten minutes before she had a major asthma attack. We got her outside and she had to use her inhaler.

While my wife took care of her I took all the clothes out of the house and put them in a detached garage. We had to open all the windows to let the house air out. It took a few hours until she could come back into the house.

When I called the adjuster he said he would come check it out. When he came a few days later of course he did not smell anything. He said we were trying to rip off the insurance company and we will never win. He said we were plain liars and thieves. I asked him to leave and we called an attorney.

The past two years we have been stalled, lied to, and blown off. We had two arbitration hearings. The last one was May 16. Right after that the adjuster resigned!

Now we are told we have to wait for another adjuster to get up to speed. Well, last week we got his list. It was only a third of what we estimated. Now we have to wait till we can set up a meeting with him to go over all the lists again. My wife and I have spent hours and hours getting all the information they wanted, doctor notes and numerous trips to the warehouse which is an hour drive each way. I feel we have been more than patient. I believe they think they will wear us down. Well, they are mistaken.

We put out a lot of our money for items that were in the warehouse but were needed for our daily lives such as dishes, utensils, bedroom sets, kitchen table, all of which is down in the warehouse and has been for over 2 1/2 years. Emotionally we have been through the ringer and back. I do not know how much more we can take or when this whole situation will end. We were told by the adjuster that if we tried to sue that we would lose.

We referred this complaint to Richard Gunter, who has 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, including positions as President and Vice President of five major companies. His response:

In this instance the claimant may be pushing the limit by asking for too much and the insurer may be overly cautious. In either event, the company may be playing games via the adjuster, who sometimes is an independent being paid something like a commission to save the company money. It could be that Nationwide should be made aware of this problem directly by going over the head of the adjuster or the adjusting service, as the case may be.

"We went to where the furniture was being cleaned.The smell of smoke and cleaning fluid was all my wife and I could smell" ...

This was possibly the claimant's first mistake. Once they smelled the cleaning fluids there is no way they would ever be able to disassociate the furniture from the smell. It is pretty much the same with the clothing. My folks were in the cleaning business and frequently it would take more than one dry cleaning to remove the smell of smoke and any clothes dry-cleaned are going to retain the smell of the cleaning solution unless aired out completely. Perhaps the claimant had never dry cleaned anything of his daughter's.

I wonder why they didn't accept the items that would not have retained the smoke or cleaning smell, such as dishes, utensils, etc..

On the other hand if two arbitrations have proved fruitless, why don't they have a court date? Is the attorney dragging his feet?

For me, the next step would be to provide the Commissioner of Insurance and/or the Attorney General of the State of Pensylvania, if that is the state of residence, with copies of all proceedings. Both these offices are there for the consumer and will take action. They will go directly to Nationwide.

James replies:
Your Question: Possibly we were asking for too much? I had a replacement cost policy and I only received less than 50% that was deemed by the insurance company. Where can you go and tell someone that you want to buy an item but you only have 50% of the value, then you have to send the receipt to the insurance company and when they get the time they will send you back the difference! Are we asking too much? All we asked for was to have the damaged items replaced.

Your Question: When we went to the place to see our items that were cleaned and we smelled the chemical and smoke odor we could not separate ourselves from this? We have several different items of clothing, items from our home and cassette tapes and disc that to this day still smell like chemicals and smoke. It has been 2 1/2 years - how much longer do we need to give the items to lose the odor?

Your Question: Your parents owned a dry cleaning business and the items do smell a little bit when they come back? We have had clothes dry cleaned in the past and they have "never" come back to us smelling so strongly of chemicals and smoke. Once again, 2 1/2 years should have helped get the smell out but it hasn't.

Your Question: Why didn't you take the dishes, utensils, glassware back? We were told by the owner of the cleaning place that they usually do not clean the dishes or glassware due to the heat of the fire causing them to crack. When we went to the warehouse we noticed numerous items of glass already cracked and/or broken or had spider cracks throughout.

Your Question: You had 2 arbitrations so why haven't you had a court date or is your attorney dragging his feet? We requested back in February 1999 to our attorney that we would like to have a court date. He advised us that the arbitration hearing was a much faster way to go. We would be more than glad to go to a trial and put Nationwide's former adjustor, Patrick Cassidy, on the stand. Mr. Cassidy no longer works for the company.

Your Question: What about going to the insurance commission? Our response - what a joke. We sent them the entire form with all our documentation and absolutely nothing was done. We received a form letter from the insurance commission stating that Nationwide was doing all that they were required to do.

The last 2 1/2 years we have been made to feel like criminals and we are not. We just want what we paid for and that is replacement cost, not what their adjustor thinks he can get away with. We feel the adjustor kept the payment down so that he could get a pay raise or promotion.

A final observation: Everyone is always eager to go to trial but they tend to overlook the enormous expense involved. It would cost many thousands of dollars to try this case and the outcome is at best unpredictable. James' lawyer may have a good reason for dragging his feet. Insurance companies lobby the state legislatures very effectively and have the laws and regulations set up just the way they want them in most states. It's hard to win against them.

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