Frankenmuth Insurance

On the one claim, somebody said it's ins fraud because they didn't pay a claim where a guy was insuring and driving a van he didn't own but his sister did. He's right... it's fraud... by the insured! You can't insure something you don't own... if the agent says it was ok then your agent is an idiot and you could file an E&O claim against them. And the guy who said they just 'dropped him with no notice. You legally cannot do that... they don't work that way... there are laws against it!!

Then the genius who said they can't force you to spend money on your home. Right... so if your roof is about to fall apart because you've neglected it they should just cover any losses? Or the guy who said they don't offer replacement cost... they either do or they don't. You not knowing is shocking. But yes, you have to replace the things to get paid for them. They don't just blindly cut you a check!

The list goes on and on. People, you need to understand, your insurance is a contract. It's likely covering the things that are your biggest assets in life (home and vehicle or vehicles). Unfortunately most people pick someone because it was cheap and they think cheap is the best. But how about sitting down with an agent and asking questions? Nah... just ** about it and not actually understand what's your biggest need to protect.

Found a new home, needed to provide paperwork showing that I had the money for the house. Called Frankenmuth they informed me they wanted me to do a deposition, asked why they wouldn't say I had to hiring a lawyer to represent me. Went for the deposition April they said that 30 days from the date of the deposition I would finally know what they were going to do, but in the meanwhile their lawyer gave me 30 days to find somewhere to live for my family because after that day they were no longer going to pay for housing for me and my family. Even though I have a policy that pays for us extra living expenses they still put me on my family out on the street to find somewhere else to live. It's now January 2015 and we still don't have anywhere to live and the insurance company has still not made a decision on insurance claim!! Worst insurance company ever.

My wife and I are not rich people, we own a home and we both operate small companies, we have children and a quality of living we have been unable to maintain. Since I climb trees for trimming and haul wood, boats and outdoor service, these injuries have made these tasks impossible and our own ins has made this experience worse than I ever could of conceived. Our adjuster has spoken to us with disrespect and has attempted to steer the conversation for me to agree with her. I have unpaid bills from over 7 visits and treatments in the last 90 days from the accident. They are challenging. See I found out, for them, it's easier to refuse to pay and go to court later if you can because most people get lost in the wind and give up their rights. Not only has our bills suffered, but my medical state has worsened and is not being treated. And the last dr referred me to a spine center for a disc and pain pushing on spine. Frankenmuth denied me from going there and is mad.

I refused to see the IME they wanted me to see so they could close claim anyway. Our adjuster freely has spoken and yelled at me several times where we could not talk without an argument. Then it hit me... I'm not doing what her boss wants and they don't want to honor our policy and cover my treatments and work loss. They just want our premiums sent on time. Even get this, we cancelled our policy on my truck as it was totaled out. Instead of refunding my $100, they kept it, saying they are gonna credit 20 a month toward my other ins policy. I think this is un-American and I am American and have chosen to just go to court and have it all recorded and looked at by a jury like myself. I don't believe 1 person will agree with ins company and their action. This Accident could have been handled way better and professional and our family would not be in chaos. It has caused our family not only financial struggle but relationships have been tested with friends and family, and the stress level we believe our own ins has raised is unacceptable.

I guess if you ever need to open a claim in the future, don't use this company. They will make you feel like you are asking too much. They will start false fights and discrepancies with you all in attempt to close your claim, leaving you and your family in a mess of injuries and bills, if your family makes it through the injuries process. Oh, they offered me 10k to close the claim. I declined, not knowing the amount that would be the final cost. 2 weeks later they closed my claim. 2 weeks later I got a lawyer. In 2 more weeks I'll be in-front of the ins building holding signs and communicating with pedestrians, with friends and family.

They told me who was assigned and her extension. I called and left a message. She finally called me back and was anything but pleasant. She first acted put out, since there was only one claim number and of course it was tied to the car with the least damage and my low priority. I explained that I was told both cars would be under one claim. She said the person was wrong - how was this my issue? I asked her if I would need to pay $500 deductible on both cars. She said she would need to ask her supervisor. I then told her the estimate was ready for the one vehicle and again she acted displeased because I went somewhere already and the estimate was for the car that according to her, had no claim. She asked me where I took it and then said she didn't see them on her two lists.

I again explained that I asked the girl in the morning if I could take it to my dealer and she told me "yes". The adjuster mumbled something I couldn't understand and told me to have the dealer send her the estimate, which he did on Friday afternoon. This woman never looked at the estimate until Monday afternoon, conveniently just when I called again to see what was going on. She said she didn't have the estimate for the other car. Now I am getting really confused, since I have told her clearly I wanted the one car addressed first and since she insisted these be two separate claims. I didn't understand why she was holding anything up because she was missing the one estimate. I again asked her about the multiple deductibles, since in my mind it was one accident and should only be one $500 deductible.

She still didn't know the answer. Tuesday morning she calls to tell me the car with the least amount of damage ($725) is approved and she is ready to cut a check. I asked her about my other car, which she has had the estimate longer. She said that was going through audit. So I ask her about the deductible again and she said that I needed to pay for it on both cars. I told her I didn't think that was fair and she said to call my agent. I asked the timing for my other car to get approved, since that was my top priority, since I could drive the other car. She snipped at me about not knowing and asked what I wanted to do about the claim for my other car. I told her I wasn't sure and she again told me to call my agent. Side note - this woman works out of her house. Does she really put in a days work? She seems to be out of touch and slow to get answers.

She certainly does not like her job or have any customer service skills. Another concern, the people who answer the phone tell you one thing and the adjuster tells you something totally different. I am not trusting what is happening here. As soon as I get out of this mess, I am switching my insurance. I don't trust these guys. I think if both cars would have been put on one claim like the original person told me, I would only need to pay one deductible. I also don't like the fact she had to get approval from her supervisor about this. Why wasn't it approved? I was never told the basis for the decision. I have had a couple claims over the years with other insurance companies and have never been treated like this or dealt with people with so little knowledge and customer skills. Everyone was always so pleasant and helpful. Maybe other insurance companies spend the money to train their people.

Not only did Frankenmuth support everything I wanted to do, they put central air in my house because she required it. They paid for 24 hour in house nursing when that became necessary. I could not afford to pay for her prescriptions up front so they contacted my pharmacy and set up an account so they would be billed directly. My mother successfully got off the ventilator and lived several years more. I cannot say enough about my agent and my adjuster. I never worried about money and everything was handled beautifully.

1) Conflicts of Interest between board/executive staff are flagrant. Specifically, each year the annual board meeting is held in the first quarter at luxurious resorts in places like Cabo (The one and only Palmila) or Vegas at the Wynn. The executives host the board members and spouses, and executive spouses for week-long trips where all expenses are paid, lavish entertainment, meals, and penthouse rooms are covered. The last day of the trip, the board members attend the meeting wherein they vote on executive pay and bonus. This reeks of a conflict of interest.

2) The board members themselves are the best friends of the executive staff. They are all locals to Frankenmuth. Frankenmuth executives stack the board of directors with their friends on purpose. A Senior VP admitted that this was the only way they could ensure that they got everything they wanted without questions or anyone contesting/challenging.

3) Canned meetings vote in the board. The policyholder meeting is annually and only employees who hold policies are invited. They purposefully do not want policyholders showing up. They know that employees will never risk their employment by asking questions or challenging a vote or membership election.

4) Misuse of policyholder funds is frequent and egregious and solely for the personal pleasure/use of the executives. As a mutual company, their policyholders own Frankenmuth and its subsidiaries. They are accountable for being corporately responsible with policyholder surplus yet they ask the State for premium increases because they claim they cannot make profits. This company generates about 350 million in premiums annually. The executives spend disproportionately on themselves.

Policyholders would be outraged if they knew of the spending and lifestyles of these folks. I would strongly urge a forensic audit of the Frankenmuth books and in particular, the board and executive travel, gifts and tax evasion tactics. I would also urge to make public the information regarding pay structure, bonuses, golden parachutes etc. Frankenmuth is not a large company in the overall insurance business, however the executives spend on themselves as if they are a global conglomerate with Enron ethics.

If you could get a policyholder to write current CEO John Benson and ask to attend a "policyholder" meeting you would see how canned the meeting is. It's ridiculous. Demanding them to disclose their travel expenses, relationships with the board and trips with the board prior to voting on executive pay/bonuses would be eye-opening for the public.

I hope you have the power and courage to demand accountability from them and/or get other people of power to look hard at what's going on at this company because it is costing policyholders money via increased policy premiums that are going in to the pockets of greedy executives.

The spouses are not 1099'd this "gift". It's no wonder this little company that flies under the radar has executives building multimillion dollar homes - they don't pay claims - look at the percentage of disputes they file in proportion to competitors on the DELEG website for work comp. This company and its executive staff and board members need to be investigated because they are always crying to legislators that they need premium increases - but it's to fund their lifestyles, not to cover claims. They spent 5 million dollars on a trip to the Greek islands for 90 people. That's about 53K per person for a one week trip! This corporate malfeasance needs to be stopped. These folks are worse than Enron but no one pays them any attention because the company is only about 390 million in premiums annually. Consumers should still be outraged and politicians should care because corruption is corruption.