Our homeowners insurance is up for renewal and we had a slight jump in premium so I'm doing the annual "call around and look for a better rate". I contacted Ameriprise (we're Costco members). Their quote was very competitive on the homeowners. They also offer a 10% home discount if we move our auto insurance (and that rate is comparable to what we currently pay). When the Ameriprise rep was quoting, he said "just so you know, we don't offer pain & suffering coverage on the homeowners nor the auto insurance". Meaning, if we're in an accident and are at fault, the injured party would get their medical bills paid and their property damages covered, but they can't file a claim with Ameriprise for pain & suffering. So I'm thinking... 'great, they'll come after us personally'. We do not have an umbrella policy. We have assets.
The Ameriprise guy said this "no pain & suffering" clause is applicable to our whole state. For the record, even tho my FW name is SunDiego, we moved from California 3 years ago to Alabama. I've done a little research and Alabama is NOT a no-fault state (Calif isn't either for that matter).
So my question... is this "no pain & suffering coverage" common, or should I stay away from Ameriprise? We are claim-free, accident-free, and have good credit, so I have other companies to pick from, but Ameriprise is the cheapest so far.
TIA.
Edit: not to turn this into a "what do you pay for coverage" thread, but the savings here is significant, almost 30% (from $855 annually to $610 if we also give the auto coverage to Ameriprise).
Message edited by: SunDiego123 on 2009-11-03 09:49:23 CST
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Very interested in the answers you get. I'm with Ameriprise also. I've never been able to find anyone even close to their premiums. I was in AL now I'm in NJ. No claims, No accidents, great credit also. Ameriprise is quite a bit cheaper than others I've checked (USAA, MetLife, Travelers).
We currently have home & auto through Travelers written through an independent insurance agent. I called her and we discussed this. She confirmed that my Travelers policy would pay pain & suffering damages (under the liability coverage). She's never heard of excluding pain & suffering claims but she did mention that Progressive will not pay punitive damages and Progressive is the only company she knows of with that exclusion.
Excluding punitive damages (pain & suffering) is relatively common, but you should be able to find companies that either give you the choice of covering such damages, or simply cover the damages in their policy. As you may expect, you will pay more (maybe around 5%) to buy coverage for punitive damages.
It's no wonder that they have no coverage for "pain and suffering". Seeing how Ameriprise = ScamEx, you'd need to make claims for pain and suffering every time you deal with them.
SunDiego123 said:Progressive will not pay punitive damages and Progressive is the only company she knows of with that exclusion.ALL insurance companies out there exclude gross negligence and intentional conduct from coverage, which is what typically gives rise to a punitive damages award. If I were you, I'd double check to see whether in your case Progressive specifically excludes punitive damage payout regardless of the cause of such an award or whether they exclude gross negligence and intentional conduct from coverage. If it's the latter, you won't find any insurance company that will cover it.
Message edited by: geo123 on 2009-11-04 08:33:26 CST
SunDiego123 said:So my question... is this "no pain & suffering coverage" common, or should I stay away from Ameriprise?.This has to have something to do with the peculiarities of damage awards in your state, so I am not sure that replies from people located in other states will help (it's also possible that the Ameriprise rep was just confused). In my state, for instance, it is not possible for an insurance company to exclude pain & suffering from coverage since they are calculated as part of general liability awards. So, in my state, any insurance company that provides liability coverage has no choice but to provide pain & suffering coverage.
Message edited by: geo123 on 2009-11-08 13:43:21 CST
LtWaldo said:Buy umbrella liability insurance. It's cheap.I wouldn't necessarily assume that in this situation umbrella coverage would drop down to cover pain & suffering from the first dollar, as opposed to picking it up at the standard $300K homeowners liability limits. If it's the latter, the OP would still be responsible for the first $300K in pain & suffering award and may not even have any legal defense coverage with respect to it.
Message edited by: geo123 on 2009-11-04 08:45:31 CST
I have Ameriprise auto. My premiums on the same cars and coverage choices have decreased each of the four years or so I have experience with them. My only claim was a few months ago related to hail damage, which was handled ok.
I'm more interested in knowing the truth whether a hit&run or UIM/UM accident where I am not at fault but am injured will be covered by my health policy. I have liability only at the moment.
In NJ, there is "verbal threshold" - you essentially agree not to sue the person who caused the accident for your own pain and suffering, unless injuries are severe/permanent. Last time I looked, choosing this option cut my premium almost in half.
Message edited by: lampy2k4 on 2009-11-08 13:17:23 CST
lampy2k4 said:These things are very state-specific.
In NJ, there is "verbal threshold" - you essentially agree not to sue the person who caused the accident for your own pain and suffering, unless injuries are severe/permanent. Last time I looked, choosing this option cut my premium almost in half.
Anybody knows CA rules?
It seems there are some people who have good experiences with Ameriprise.
OP here. Just stopping by to thank everyone who responded. FWIW, we decided not to go with Ameriprise. They did end up being the cheapest, but not the best option for us.
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