Brad,
I've been with Nationwide for 25 years. We've had 3 claims during that
time, all of them "minor". Two involved my wife and son backing into
friend's cars that were parked in the general area (sigh. Life is good,
isn't it?). One involved my wife running over an improperly reinstalled
manhole cover, on a black, rainy night. The two involving parked cars were
handled very nicely. The other one had me jumping up and down and
threatening to cancel ALL of my Nationwide policies, before I got fair
treatment (they tried to force me to use a salvaged rear axle beam on a 2
yr. old car, and a few other things). Also, I had to raise hell with them
to get them to pay the shop that did the work. However, once they got the
idea that I would not accept shabby treatment, they treated me pretty well.
I rate Nationwide as better than most. You just have to "play the game" to
get where you need to go.
The simple fact is that insurance companies are just like dogs (sure, some
dogs are pretty sweet, but they're STILL "bad", when tempted with a dead
animal carcass or a pile of dung): they're ALL bad. They all have a
standard set of operating rules, which read something like:
1.) Deny
2.) Lie
3.) Stand by and testify.
If you are happy with your agent and are getting a good rate, that's the
best you can hope for. Just be sure to read all of the fine print and be
prepared to make the insurance company stand behind their policy.
One VERY important fact, in Nationwide's favor: The decision as to whether
or not to use an axle beam from a junk yard or a new part from VW was left
entirely to MY discretion. The deal was that, if the junkyard part was in
good, unrusted, undamaged condition, it would have to be accepted. I looked
at it (after the dealer had said it was OK, by the way) and found it to be
bent from improper jacking. The Nationwide claims agent accepted my
rejection of the part and agreed to a new axle beam from VW (a $1200.00
item). The process DID result in an additional week of down time and I let
them know I was not happy about it. But, bottom line is that I did get the
car repaired to original specification, with OEM parts, so, I'm happy.
Bud Osbourne
-----Original Message-----
From owner-spridgets at autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-spridgets@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Brad Fornal
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2003 10:59 PM
To: spridgets@autox.team.net
Cc: midgetsprite@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Nationwide Ins.
Anyone have any dealings with Nationwide insurance company? My wife is
considering making a change, and I wanted to ask about them before we
switch. TIA.
Brad
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