What entity did the assigning? Sometimes it is the insurance company sometimes..

Oh, you know what that means..... oh ya,,,,, you know exactly what that means. OK, so ....... let's say you have this "friend". And that "friend" got a strange letter from their insurance company and had the words "assigned risk"......

What do you do?

I need to know this so I can help my "friend".

Peace
Bruce in Philly

the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.

Next why the assignment? Driving record? Too many tickets? Accidents? Points?

Is there a way to challenge the classification?

In a worst case scenario one needs to find out what is required, how to climb out of the assigned risk classification.

Also, be aware that if one is insured via an assigned risk coverage may be less and the driver may not be insured if he drives out of state or even if he say rents a car and is used to letting is insurance cover him while in the rental car.

Did you "friend's" letter indicate the reason for the "assigned risk" classification? Was the letter "strange" as in possibly a scam?

My friend noted that he got a "refusal to renew" from his insurance company and it listed the reasons as being citations and claims. The information is provided to the insurance companies via LexisNexis and you can obtain a report of what they have by going to www.consumerdisclosure.com. You are entitled to a free report. This is the first step in challenging but frankly given the maturity of this system, I am skeptical of success at this and timing being favorable.

Lessons learned: Don't file minor claims..... they are listed as "at fault", and always retain a lawyer to get your points knocked off no matter the violation. There is a violation for a stop sign back in Jan 2012 where "friend" passed through a very depressed steel town in Western PA and clearly they were looking for revenue and a speed violation not addressed with a lawyer because it was just a "notch" over the limit so no big deal. Stupid.

Another old friend who is in the insurance industry noted that whatever happens, re-shop the new policy each 6 months because as these incidents drop off, the trigger for assigned risk may drop off also.

The current insurer quoted an assigned risk policy of over $6,500 for six months of coverage and because homeowners is no longer linked, home insurance is going up over $1,000 also. This clearly is a "go away" price.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Sorry to hear of your "friend's" experiences. Some valuable lessons in what your "friend" has shared.

Wish I had some advise, but nothing I can think of at the moment.

Hopefully, your friend finds a reasonable alternative in this situation.

Get this.... oh umm.... my friend called and told me this.....

The insurance agent called and apologized and said the auto policy is NOT being dropped... she made a mistake and misinterpreted some internal stuff. The umbrella policy was dropped but the auto is "flagged" and one more violation will trigger cancellation. The umbrella and auto were not co-terminus contracts. The auto is up in August.

The insurer will not issue a new umbrella. To get a new umbrella, the entire package of home/auto must be shopped.

I suspect the auto will be dropped in August..... dropping the umbrella limits their risk.....

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Bruce,

Somehow, my wife failed to pay the premium on our PUP (umbrella); the new PUP is actually less, but is linked in price to our auto (and other claims) insurance, and could dramatically increase should my claims go up. While not directly related, I feel your pain.

I'm in NJ, and AllState has always been good to/for us. They are our sole insurer; we could probably shop it and save, but it's never made it onto the radar.

Andrew