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WARNING!! WARNING!!
| Before you decide to insure your vehicles or anything else with
ZURICH NORTH AMERICA INS.See How They Handled a Liability Claim That Almost Resulted In a LAWSUIT Against Their Insured Danone Waters of North America |
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THIS DAMAGE TO MY SUV HAPPENED BACK ON AUGUST 26TH 2002...
IT WAS HIT BY A SPARKLETTS® WATER COMPANY TRUCK
IT'S NOW OCTOBER 10TH 2003, MORE THAN ONE YEAR LATER!!! THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY:
ZURICH NORTH AMERICA
Did not make any attempt in good faith to effectuate a prompt, fair and equitable settlement of my claim in which liability was clear and never disputed.UPDATE!OCTOBER 10TH 2003I received a phone call from Sparkletts a few days ago, I had a very nice conversation with someone who was able to convince me that Sparkletts Does Not Suck. If you have been to this site before you already know that it's their Insurance company, Zurich, that Sucks. If this is your first visit read the story below and I think you will agree that Zurich American Ins. Sucks!The timing of the call was a bit interesting as I had recently posted on this site the fact that I had filed suit against Sparkletts. However, Sparkletts had not been legally served notice of the suit prior to their call so I have no reason to doubt they were sincere.
The person that called was in a position to care about the problems caused by Zurich and willing to do something about it!
They indicated they had only recently become aware of my situation and by the time the call ended it was clear that Sparkletts Does not Suck.
If you do a search online for Sparkletts you will find I was the only one that had a problem with them. This was because of the way Zurich handled my very small fender bender claim and turned it into more than it ever should have been.
Famiza, I know you and Jackie are reading this along with Kathy. The three of you have spent way too much time at this website! Dont you have something better to do?Kathy, Just looking at this website did not resolve the issue!
No lawyers were involved, no threats and no bribes. Just one friendly phone call to make it right. Sparkletts pays Zurich to take care of the unknown, Zurich failed to do this!
THE STORY!
- MY SUV WAS PARKED IN MY DRIVEWAY WHEN IT WAS BACKED INTO AND DAMAGED BY THE SPARKLETTS COMPANY TRUCK. THE DAMAGE CAUSED IT TO BE INOPERABLE.
- A FORD FACTORY AUTHORIZED AUTO BODY REPAIR CENTER GAVE ME AN ESTIMATE IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,721.83 TO CORRECT THE DAMAGE.
- THIS ESTIMATE WAS FAXED TO THE CLAIMS ADJUSTER OCTOBER 14TH 2002
Update!
Nov 12th the adjuster left a voice mail saying that my Bronco is a TOTAL LOSS! and put an ACV "ACTUAL CASH VALUE" of just over $1,600 on it!
A search on Autotrader.com for my area found a number of comparable Bronco II 4X4's going for around $2500 to $5000
When I told the adjuster this she did not ask me to forward the information to her for review or even acknowledge that I had said anything to her about the value of my Bronco. She obviously did not want to listen to any REAL WORLD market valuations that were higher than the CCC Information Services Inc. Computer Database generated lowball figures ZURICH was using.
After I informed the adjuster that I intended to keep the Bronco and have it repaired, she said they would deduct a Salvage Fee and get back to me the next day, Nov 13th.
Update!
It's now Nov 17th and there has been no further contact from Zurich North America concerning a reduction on the already low end valuation of $1,600 !!
Update!
NOV 18TH 6:06PM
The Adjuster Left a Voice Mail With a Lowball offer of $1,496.12!! She Said I Did Not Return Her Call Last Week? I Had No Contact From The Adjuster Between Nov 12th and Nov 18th!
Update!
NOV 18TH about 6:30PMI returned the adjuster's call and reached her voice mail. I left a msg. informing her that I was REJECTING the offer of $1,496.12 To make my position clear I suggested she visit this website. Update! NOV 23RD Today I received the FIRST and ONLY letter, so far, Dated NOV 19TH, from Zurich. Here is what it says word for word. (unedited) "I received your message advising us of your website. Please be advised that I have issued payment to you for the amount of $1496.12 and will be happy to discuss the local value report that was ran in determining the value of your vehicle. please give me a call should you wish to discuss this. Please be advised that if you feel your vehicle is worth more than the above amount, then you need to provide us with supporting documentation including an explanation of why you feel your vehicle is worth more." "We are notifying the Department of Motor Vehicle that your vehicle is a Total Loss, and if we do not receive any supporting documentation from you within 30 days from today showing that your vehicle is worth more, we will close our file." Thank You. Very truly yours,
Zurich American Insurance Company.
Famiza Ahmed.
CLAIM CASE MANAGER Included with this letter was a check in the amount of $1496.12 I have not and will not cash this check. Doing so would mean that I had accepted their settlement offer! It is obvious that no matter what documentation I could provide, they intend to NOTIFY the Department of Motor Vehicle that my Bronco is a TOTAL LOSS?! Update! DEC 19TH Today I received a letter from the State of Washington DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING!
It reads as follows. This letter is to inform you that an insurance company has submitted a Total Loss claim settlement report to the Department of Licensing regarding the vehicle described above. This information has resulted in the CANCELLATION of your current Vehicle Certificate of Ownership (title) and registration. Well now, this certainly seems to be a fair way to handle a claim!
I REJECT their offer and ZURICH has my Title & Registration Cancelled. The photos of my Bronco on this site clearly show that it is not a TOTAL LOSS! On the Washington DOL website I found the Total Loss Claim Settlement Report, Form # TD-420-074. It states at the top of the form.
When an Insurance company Settles a Total Loss claim on a vehicle, they must notify the Department of Licensing within 15 days of settlement. There has been no Settlement of my Claim! My Bronco is not a TOTAL LOSS! By submitting this report to Washington DOL, It appears ZURICH has acted in a Retaliatory manner resulting in further loss to my person and property.
Update!JAN 3RD 2003Today I had a useless conversation with the adjusters superviser, Jackie Grebitus. She insisted that the claim was settled, That I had been paid and the claim was closed! The End! I asked her if she had anything with my signature on it showing I had accepted their offer? She stated that they did not need anything! Click, She hung up!Ok, I think I will give them one last chance before calling my attorney. Before Ms. Grebitus hung up on me I asked to speak with her supervisor, that's when the line went dead.I already had the name and # for her boss but I was going up the ladder step by step. Later that day I had a very nice conversation with the manager of the claims department and he did not try and brush me off or insist the claim was settled.Up until this point I had nothing from ZURICH other than the 1 and only letter I received from the adjuster dated Nov 19th. The manager said he would fax me the market value reports they did on my Bronco and also the Audited estimate they had done on my original estimate. Within an hour I did infact receive the faxed info. He asked if I would take the audited estimate, $900.94, to another body shop of my choice and determine if the vehicle could be repaired for this amount, and if not, what the actual amount is. If it appeared that it cannot be fixed for less than they already sent me, He asked that I send copies of the market value research I had done.In the interim he said, we will notify the DMV that we have not yet reached a settlement with you and that you are disputing that the vehicle is a total loss.We will request that the DMV stop any salvage title action until we have reached a settlement and determined if the vehicle is indeed a total loss.UPDATE!JAN 14th 2003Called the DOL and they had not yet received anything from ZURICH. I called the claims manager the next morning, JAN 15th, and informed him that the DOL had not heard from them? He said he would check on it right away. UPDATE!JAN22nd 2003Today I received from ZURICH a copy of a letter they sent to the Washington State DOL. Dated JAN 15th 2003 Here is what the letter says.Dear Insurance Destroyed Desk. We sent you a letter dated 01/10/03 asking you to place on hold any salvage action for the above-mentioned claimant. Please be advised that we have reached a settlement with "my name here" and have concluded that his vehicle is repairable, therefore, not a total loss. Please cancel this notification of salvage in its entirety, as it has been determined that a total loss does not apply to this claim.This letter was signed by the original adjuster, Ms. Famiza Ahmed.A Very interesting turn of events as I have not Settled the claim and had not yet sent my second estimate to ZURICH? But that's ok for now, as I had intended to demand that they not only reverse the Total Loss Claim Settlement Report, But also to put in writing that my vehicle was not a Total Loss. UPDATE!FEB 20TH 2003I have not yet received written notification from the Washington DOL that my Cancelled Title/Registration action has been reversed. Next week it will be 6 months since ZURICH started their version of the "Insurance Claim Game" UPDATE!MARCH 1st 2003Today I received another letter from the WASHINGTON STATE DOL. Dated February 27, 2003This is what it says.This letter is a follow-up to our phone conversation regarding Zurich North America Insurance Company submitting notification to the department in regard to a insurance destroyed claim reported on your 1984 ford.
We received notice from Zurich North America, dated January 10th 2003 recinding the insurance destroyed claim, as a settlement had not yet been reached. Our office has removed the insurance destroyed cancellation flag from your vehicle record.Our office has also received a copy of Zurich North America's letter dated January 15, 2003, verifying that a total loss does not apply to the above mentioned vehicle and requesting the department to cancel all previous notifications of total loss for this vehicle.I still have yet to settle the claim with Zurich, but as far as the DOL is concerned my title and registration have been returned to their previously undamaged condition. This has been an absolute waste of time for all party's involved. I will now try to actually settle this claim with Zurich once and for all, But im not holding my breath! UPDATE!JUNE 19TH 2003Today I received a letter from ZURICH, dated MAY 29 2003To Whom It May Concern:Our records indicate that check # 1620117162 in the amount of $1496.12 was issued to you on 11/20/2002 Please help us to determine the disposition of the above-mentioned check by marking the appropriate response below.
Option # 1: I have already cashed this check. I give Zurich authorization to correct this record.Option # 2: The check was misplaced or not received - please research for reissuance.Option # 3: My records indicate these funds are not due for reasons listed below. Please correct your records.They left out Option # 4: Our offer was REJECTED!Please respond within the next 30 days. If we receive no response to this letter, these funds MAY eventually be remitted to the payee's state as unclaimed property. If it is later determined that these funds have been remitted to the state, payee will have to contact that state to recover the funds.UPDATE!JUNE 25TH 2003Today Zurich offered an additional $600.00 to "Settle" my (loss of Use) claim. This amount almost covers the period from the date of loss, AUG 26TH 2002, until Zurich first contacted me, nearly 30 days later. The law states that I am entitled to "Loss of Use" from the date of loss until the claim is settled. In my situation the minimum compensation would be calculated at $25.00 a day.
Zurich obviously did not settle my claim in 30 days!Zurich has indicated they will re-issue a check in the amount of $1496.12 since the original was only valid for 6 month's and I never did cash it! They will also issue a check in the amount of $600.00 for the loss of use claim. Zurich will have to do better than that before I go away!!
UPDATE!JULY 7TH 2003The checks showed up today, a re-issue of the first one Zurich tried to get me to cash in the amount of $1496.12 and one for LOSS OF USE in the amount of $600.00
Will I cash these? NO! $600.00 is not a reasonable amount for 6 month's LOSS OF USE! 3 month's before Zurich made ANY offer and another 3 month's with a CANCELLED TITLE! That's about $3.33 a day, WOW!UPDATE!AUGUST 1ST 2003Last week I filed a complaint against ZURICH with the Insurance Commissioner's office. Today I received a copy of the letter they sent to ZURICH, this is what it says."Enclosed is a copy of a complaint our office recently received. Please review your policy and/or claim file and respond to the service, claim and delay issues raised in the complaint. Your response should include all supporting documentation that would help resolve any factual disputes.If the claim has been resolved, please indicate how the claim has been resolved. If not resolved, please explain your position and indicate your plans for resolution.A detailed response within 15 working days of your receipt of this letter is required under WAC 284-30-360 and WAC 284-30-650. We presume a maximum of 5 days for delivery of this letter. Accordingly, we expect your answer by September 2, 2003."I forgot to mention that ZURICH never looked at my Bronco! Thats right, Zurich was able to determine the ACTUAL CASH VALUE without Actually Inspecting It! In November of 2002 they said it was a TOTAL LOSS, But in January of 2003 they changed their opinion and concluded it was NOT A TOTAL LOSS! The only photos Zurich had were taken by the drivers supervisor and limited to just the damaged area, almost indentical to the image on the upper left side of this page. That image along with my estimate could be enough to figure out a repair only situation, But certainly would be insufficient to determine the overall condition and true market value. Zurich did not inspect my Bronco last year when they said it was a TOTAL LOSS, and Zurich did not inspect my Bronco this year when they said it was NOT A TOTAL LOSS! It appears that ZURICH has Psychic Powers?Is it just me? Am I alone in this type of situation? The result of a "one time" error by an insurance company? NO! A friend who lives right next door to me received on JULY 15th 2003 the exact same letter from the Washington State DOL that I did, Informing him that "an insurance company" "USAA" had submitted a "Total Loss Claim Settlement Report" indicating they had "settled" his claim on a 1997 Honda. He has "NOT" settled any claim with USAA! He rejected their lowball offer and they pull the same crap on him as Zurich did to me!Coincidence? I dont think so, more like a pattern of bad faith claim practices. If the same thing has happened to you here in Washington State, Please EMAIL me with your story and or file a complaint with the Insurance Commissioners office online HERE
The Insurance Commissioners staff will be on
alert for any similar circumstances reported to them and have indicated they will make
that information a part of their tracking database that may support
future amendments to our Total Loss Rules. CLICK HERE To read about a U.S. Federal Appeals Court Opinion Last Year, 2003, concerning Free Speech Websites Just Like This One!!Another Federal Appeals Court Ruling handed down This Year, April 2004, Concerning Free Speech Websites can be found HERE And yet another Federal Court Ruling, May 2004HERE UPDATE! AUGUST 6TH, 2004 UPDATE!The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently
joined, August 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5TH & 6TH Circuit's in upholding the rights of members of the public to criticize corporations without being deemed to have engaged in “commercial speech” that can be enjoined under the trademark laws.Take a look at the Ninth's ruling HEREA Company/Corporation, No matter how BIG can no longer SILENCE A Website Critical of how they conduct business! The links above show they have tried and FAILED to do so! As long as your website is "Non-commercial" "Truthfull" "Critical" and or a "Parody" of a Person or Company, The Courts consider it "Protected FREE Speech! Big Bad Corporate Bozo's can kiss my ASS along with anybody else that wants to tell them where they can stuff it!!!
WAC 284-30-330 (6) Specific unfair claims settlement practices defined. The following are hereby defined as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the business of insurance, specifically applicable to the settlement of claims:Not attempting in good faith to effectuate prompt, fair and equitable settlements of claims in which liability has become reasonably clear. In particular, this includes an obligation to effectuate prompt payment of property damage claims to innocent third parties in clear liability situations. SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS
ZURICH NORTH AMERICA Employees Responsible For Inspiring The Creation & Continued Existence of This Website Are Listed as Follows:Ms. FAMIZA AHMED
The carefull handling of my claim by this person is why this website exists.
Ms. JACKIE GREBITUS
Ms. Ahmeds Supervisor: Im almost certain they ride the same bus.Mr. FRANK SAPIO
Director: Claims ExpressMr. WILLIAM DOUGHERTY
Regional Vice President:
San Francisco Regional OfficeMr. Dougherty Dropped the ball into Mr. Sapio's Hands and Frank FUMBLED!
Mr. JAMES J. SCHIROCEO Zurich Financial Services Division
Mr. JOHN AMORECEO Zurich North America Corporate Business DivisionMr. JAMES D. ENGEL
Executive VP Customer Services & Chief Claims Officer
Extra Special Thanks To The Idiot at Zurich Who Failed To Renew The "ZURICHSUCKS.COM" Domain Name Last Summer!! Zurich First Registered It July of 2002, But They Let It EXPIRE!Hello to all the Boys & Girls at WWW.MARKMONITOR.COM A lot of you kids from Markmonitor have wasted too much time here, did you run out of Spuds and get bored? You have! Oh that's too bad, Now get your butts back to work! There is nothing for you to do here at Zurichsucks.com ZURICH'S Official site is at. www.zurichna.com EMAIL Communications, E-mail, & Etc.
When anybody, anyone, any business & everybody else, sends an e-mail or other form of communication (including but not limited to Phone, Message, Beeper messages, regular mail, certified mail, carrier pigeon, etc.) to me, (site operator) it (The e-mail or other form of communication) becomes the Intellectual Property of the site's operator, and may, or may not, be documented and publicly posted for general inspection, at the site operators discretion. Any E-mail sent may or may not have all header and identifying information removed, depending upon the nature of it. |
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