The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
Recently, I received an insurance premium notice in the mail for auto insurance. I read the Declarations page and discovered I was being charged for insurance I didn't need (loss of wages) since I'm now retired. I e-mailed my agent about it. No response. I called him about it. No response. I e-mailed a general email to his firm - then, he responded. According to him, the change would only be a $3.00 difference as if I should pay that because after all - it was only $3.00. I said I still wanted the change to be put in. $3.00 is $3.00. I waited for about 2 weeks and no change came through. Emailed, called - no response. Emailed the general mailbox. Got an excuse for why the change hadn't been put through and a promise it had been put through the day after I e-mailed the general mailbox. Today, I received new bill with a drop in premium of $22.00 - not the $3.00 he told me it would be. I thought about another time I asked for a change and was told the same thing - only a $3.00 difference.
I could change agents and there would be no guarantee that that agent would look out for my interests any better than this one. What is guaranteed is that my agent isn't responsible for taking care of me and my finances. I am. I can look out for myself and meet resistance but it is still my job to look out for myself. That $22.00 difference wouldn't have happened if I didn't stick to my goal of doing whatever I needed to do to take legitimate and good care of myself. I know he didn't like my continued follow through on doing what I needed to do for me. I also know that I would like myself less if I thought it was his job to look out for me and put blind faith into his words which turned out not to be true - again.
I have hurt myself in my lifetime by expecting others to behave according to my value system and customer service behaviors. It has taken time to accept that others are never going to care about me and my life to the degree that I can do it. Recovery has helped me learn more about my business, others' business and God's business and I'm so grateful for that.
-- Edited by grateful2be on Thursday 6th of November 2014 03:35:28 PM
-- Edited by grateful2be on Thursday 6th of November 2014 03:36:11 PM
Great post and insight G2B When I finally accepted that I was responsible for ME and stopped expecting others to do it for me My life became much more manageable:)
grateful2be wrote: What is guaranteed is that my agent isn't responsible for taking care of me and my finances. I am. I can look out for myself and meet resistance but it is still my job to look out for myself. That $22.00 difference wouldn't have happened if I didn't stick to my goal of doing whatever I needed to do to take legitimate and good care of myself. I know he didn't like my continued follow through on doing what I needed to do for me. I also know that I would like myself less if I thought it was his job to look out for me and put blind faith into his words which turned out not to be true - again.
I have hurt myself in my lifetime by expecting others to behave according to my value system and customer service behaviors. It has taken time to accept that others are never going to care about me and my life to the degree that I can do it. Recovery has helped me learn more about my business, others' business and God's business and I'm so grateful for that.-- Edited by grateful2be on Thursday 6th of November 2014 03:35:28 PM
WOW!!! i had a similiar thing w/my agent....it was over my name misspelled...I called....emailed.....no response to both...called the MAIN office and i got a response and a change....THEN i emailed the boss of my local office and had to tell him the steps i needed to do to get my name correct....he apologized and i realized at that point, that cust. service isn't what it used to be, that said, i know its up to ME to take care of ME>..just like you, Catherine, you took responsibility for your insurance needs b/c these people, your just another name and account number...same as me....its not good, its not bad, it just IS...daily I am reminded that I have to take responsibility for my daily life.....from the little things on up.......and i, too, hurt me, thinking others would act according to my expectations, requirements, etc.....and i so agree....others are not gonna care about me like i am gonna care about me...that is why the slogan, keep the focus on me is so important...its up to me...my job to care for me..............I absolutely 1000% relate to what you just said....thanks for the reminder....and good on you........hugssssssss
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Live and let live and do it with peace and goodwill to all!!!!
I can be lazy about this kind of thing if im honest. I dont take responsibility for myself in this way and I sbould, its part of caring for myself amd about my self. Thanks for the post and enjoy your well earned money.x
Love this post... It reminded me of my dad...he use to tell us "when you buy your own shoes, you are responsible for your decisions" ... to this day my sister won't let anyone buy her shoes lol
Excellent!! Good for you! I have an auto insurance story too. A friend of mine was my agent when I moved out in March. I bought a car in May. She told me how much it would cost to add the car, plus an extra fee to do more paperwork. The amount was way too high. I questioned it over and over. No solution. I called a different company...15 minutes could save you 15% or more on your car insurance...and they don't lie!! So, the new company told me my premium, which was lower and it would be even lower if I signed up for automatic payments. Wow, really? So, I switched. I couldn't worry about the fact my friend was my agent. When I told her I was changing companies, all of a sudden she tells me "oh, yeah. We could have given you a lower price too if you signed up for automatic payments". What?? I couldn't believe my ears. She was so dishonest. She just thought I didn't want autopay due to my situation. She also tried to convince me to stay on our policy in case my AH didn't pay the bill. Ummmm....no thanks!! He can have his own policy and face the consequences of his actions. So...lesson learned for me too. Even a friend won't care about me like I will care about me!
Thanks for the share. We need to stick up for ourselves! Every person has their own agenda...I've learned that the hard way.
Glad to hear you were strong...sounds like your agent was dishonest too...maybe you could look into saving 15% or more?? Ha ha
"others are never going to care about me and my life to the degree that I can do it".
That speaks to me today, thanks for sharing it
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If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see? (Lewis Caroll)
Being a Purchasing Agent I quote out our parts all the time so I use the same principals in my life as well. I love keeping my insurance agents honest by getting quotes every now and then. They know me well....
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Lord, put your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth
Speak only when you feel that your words are better than your silence.
Grin, tpotterf: The point of the share for me really wasn't about insurance but about personal responsibility and taking care of myself without the expectation that others will look out for me and without care as to whether or not another likes the fact I'm looking out for myself.
I've learned that reading my policy (part of my professional life in my younger years was to process insurance claims so I learned early never to take what the agent says but to read it) is the best way to find those hidden costs and know for certain what will hold up in court and what won't. I hope you find some savings, too. I saved my former business about $4000 for almost no coverage at all by knowing to read the contract which ended up being stump the agent who told me what the policy covered when it didn't and couldn't answer any question I had about it while he stalled, stalled, stalled on following through on things that were necessary. My oversight board thought I was making too much of stuff and that I should trust the agent because he was the expert until they discovered we were getting manipulated, paying more than we needed to pay and if we had a claim would have ended up with it being denied. The policy was about 50 pages of wording which of course is written so we won't read it. When the Executive Committee saw for itself what I had uncovered, we found another company and agent who simply wrote the business and gave us policies that were very clear and exactly what we needed for a fraction of what the other agency and insurer wanted to charge us without all the hoops the more costly company wanted us to jump through. Of course, no one complimented my detective work but I knew I had saved us thousands of dollars and potential headaches just by reading the contract and not buying into what my gut said was the agent's bologna.
I do hope you save yourself some money, too!
-- Edited by grateful2be on Saturday 8th of November 2014 11:09:50 AM
-- Edited by grateful2be on Saturday 8th of November 2014 01:27:29 PM
Being a Purchasing Agent I quote out our parts all the time so I use the same principals in my life as well. I love keeping my insurance agents honest by getting quotes every now and then. They know me well....
me too, Cathy...I get bids on things i need done if it is over my handyman's head and i need outside help....oh yea, and i let them KNOW, I am "taking bids" on this or that job........yep....I am with ya on this one Hugs
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Live and let live and do it with peace and goodwill to all!!!!
So much truth. I am still a bit brain tired so my thoughts are disjointed, but you know this will keep percolating with me...