Re: Pulling a fast one on insurance company (archive)

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There is one proper and legally acceptable method and manner that will accomplish the wishes of VJ.

It clearly lies in the hands of his insurance agent. If VJ tells his insurance agent the truth, that he hates his insurance rates, that he is thinking of getting other insurance, that he is thinking of or planning on leaving the area, that he has a cousin, uncle, grandpa etc. living in another area that has cheaper insurance rates, that he is going to be visiting or staying with this relative for a time, that the time spent there has not been finally determined, that he wants to make sure that he is properly covered by all the necessary provisions as required in that area where his attentions now lie and that he wants to know if his agent will approve a move of his insurance under those conditions, knowing that he may decide not to go there, then if his agent agrees that it's within his companys requirements and and the agent approves the change is base location of the policy under those circumstances, then it is a legal and proper transaction for VJ.

If the insurance agent agrees that he has been properly infomed of the situation and that as his agent he agrees that it is a legal and proper situation in which the agent can properly move the base address on the policy by listing the new area as the base policy but showing two or three other addresses as combined usage areas, then it has become a legal and proper request and transition initiated by the insurance agent and is thus legally bound under those circumstance by the insurance company, therefore protecting VJ.

If the company decides later for whatever reason that they don't like or no longer approve of the situation created and approved by their liscensed agent then they must notify the agent to notify the insured and give him the normal 30 days to change his policy accordingly or find other insurance.

All these moves are proper and legal moves and should be considered as such. If you properly inform your agent of your thoughts and your intentions and your options even though your decision is not finalized or sure, your agent then has a legal responsibility to work with you based upon your past record with the company and the possibility that you may or may not move from location to location as the need or desire arises in your life.

These are legal and proper approaches to your insurance coverage and if your agent being fully advised of your intentions, decides to change provisions or base qualifying factors of your policy and decides to continue to offer you coverage, that is an agents perogative and you as the insured have satisfied your legal responsibility in the matter.

There is an old saying in the legal profession as told me by a few different relatives and friends both young and old in the legal profession, (one a highly acclaimed judge). It's not whats right or wrong that is the determining factor under the law, "It is whats legal or illegal that is the determining factor of the law"!

I think that most of us try to do whats right in life, but at times, and I am sure that all of us can attest to this, we much too often find that the requirments of our lives are thrown in our faces clearly against what is right and wrong and instead are controlled by the legal requirements of the situation however inane the reasoning may be. Then we are forced to change the law. That is the way our legal process works.

In this simple insurance case we could argue for hours over whether or not it is right or wrong that VJ would or should or could change his base location for his insurance coverage. But, the legal and governing factor involved is simply "that he can do whatever he wants to do as long as he does it within the legal system that has been established for insuring a person". That system is set up and designed so that any person must go to an agent. He must tell the agent the truth to the best of his ability concerning what he wants and needs for insurance coverage. Then the agent upon hearing this information must make a decision as the legal representative of his company, whether or not and how to insure this person with his company.

If VJ or anyone has told the agent the truth about how he feels, his disatisfaction, his intentions, his possibilities, his indecisions and clearly his desires for insurance etc. and the agent decides after hearing all of this that he feels that his company will continue to insure him with a base location change, then VJ has done nothing illegal, neither has the agent. If the company later wants to change the agents decision that is a matter that is legally and directly between the company and the agent, and the insured (VJ) is affected only by the final decision as long as he is properly notified and given proper time to find other insurance.

In case anyone is curious, I am not a lawyer nor an insurance agent. However, this information was at one time a direct and essential part of some thorough investigation I had to do for a particular project I was working on and I was left no choice but to dissect this particular area of insurance coverage as it pertains to the legal rights of the insured.

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