Pick up the phone / the call is free

Free indeed.

I always wondered how certain car insurance companies could afford to be so much "cheaper" than other companies, and then I found out. With apologies to any WTtMH readers who may have this company...

FUCK SAFE AUTO.

There. I've said it. Pick up the phone... the call is free. Then just pray to God you never, ever hit someone (or get hit by someone who has Safe Auto).

Two weeks ago, I had the misfortune of being rear-ended while waiting to get on the freeway. The woman that rear-ended me basically ended both of my bumpers (by pushing me into the car in front of me). Estimate: $1500+ to get both bumpers fixed. According to the police officer at the scene, I was not at fault at all, because the woman behind me hit me and pushed me into the car in front of me. No big deal, right?

Not so much. Her Safe Auto insurance guy called me the Monday after the accident to tell me that they were "conducting their own investigation" into the accident. Investigation?? Of what? She hit me. It doesn't take a team of MIT scientists to conduct physical experiments to figure it out. There's a yield sign. There were cars coming with the right of way. The car in front of me stopped to yield. I stopped behind him. She fucking hit me square in the center of my bumper, going at least 25 or 30 MPH (enough to pop one side of my bumper off of the back quarter panel, at least).

Then, the answer was: "Well, the car she was driving wasn't on her policy, so we may not be covering the accident damages." EXCUSE ME? Duely noted. And allow me to retort: FUCK YOU. Insurance covers the driver, and any other drivers on the policy. That's how it's always worked, since the dawn of time. Otherwise, no one's insurance would ever pay for any accident they had in someone else's car, and someone who had no fault in the accident would get stuck with a higher premium. I know that if I wreck my wife's car, MY INSURANCE is paying for it, and MY RATE is going up... not hers.

What's worse is that, if I didn't follow up with Safe Auto, they'd be content to ignore this claim. He told me to "give [them] a week to finish [their] investigation," and now I can't get the jabroni on the phone anymore. Nor has he called me to update the investigation.

And, of course, I could have the good people at my State Farm office go after Safe Auto, except that then I have to file my own claim and pay my $500 deductable. To which I reply with: BULL SHIT.

The light at the end of the tunnel is that 3-C Body Shop (they also of the annoying commercials) are pretty good at going after insurance companies themselves, since they're the ones that get the money for the repairs at the end of the day.


In summary: Fuck Safe Auto. Fuck their commercials. Maybe it's just me, but you can't put a price tag on customer service. Maybe my State Farm insurance costs more, but I also know that I can call or walk into my agent's office any time of any day and speak to him within 15 minutes, and get a satisfactory answer to my question. Sure, Safe Auto gives you the minimum coverage allowable by the law, thus making you "legal for less," but as Stan said in Office Space, "What do you think of someone who just does the bare minimum, um kay?"

With respect to anyone who has Safe Auto, I personally think they suck. My insurance company told me they suck. The body shop told me they suck. And in this case, I'm the Decider.