I have been keeping up with Nick Russell's problems with Poliseek and National Interstate. Can I expect any better treatment from you and National Interstate should I need service.

A simple Yes or no answer is all I need.

Tony, one of your customers

I am also having second thought about Poli-seek and will be looking at alternatives. If insurance companies (agents) won't help fulltimers when there is a claim, then fulltimers need to drop them.

http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=79280&hl=

Hi Tony,

We do appreciate your concern. You can be assured that we have been in contact with National Interstate to discuss this unfortunate situation. Our goal at PoliSeek is to provide the highest level of customer service to our customers and we will do our best to make sure that we are here for you if you ever need us.

Thank you,

I don't have that insurance but if I did I would be looking for another company. The way Nick was treated was just the way insurance companies do buisiness. Talk is always cheap

It would be FAR better if someone from your company had come forward and admitted that they dropped the ball and that it wouldn't happen again. Talk is cheap and since you guys didn't "Walk the Walk" you will have to demonstrate to a lot of us that you deserve to be considered as someone to deal with - actions always speak louder than just words.

Barb

You didn't really expect to get a Yes or No answer did you?

Sounds remarkably like the "I don't know, I'll have to get back to you on that" responses that Nick has been dealing with except it was dressed up in "we will do our best" and we all know how well that's worked out for Nick.

Greg, soon to be ex customer.

Aon was a bad company and I don't think Poliseek is any different

I noticed Ms. Silverman said Poliseek had been in contact with the insurance Co. What about their customer who was going through the aggravation? You would think that would have been a priority contact. It has been my observation that Poliseek had no interest in customer service till they started feeling a little heat. I just took out a new policy with them but am now researching other insurance agents and companies.

I am a new fulltimer and am looking for insurance to cover my fifthwheel. I sure am glad that I read Nick Russell's blog and this forum so that I can avoid doing business with National Interstate. After reading this thread, I am appalled that this has happened to several other people, too.

The excuse Nick was givien for not honoring the "disappearing deductible" is unscrupulous at best.

In my opinion, PoliSeek is just as negligent as National Interstate. They say they have been in touch with National Interstate "to discuss this unfortunate situation." They need to be in touch with their own people too, to discuss their lack of concern for a customer in trouble.

We called them for help, I told them that we were getting nowhere with National Interstate, and, and they just switched me back to the same guy at National Interstate. Finally on Friday, fourteen days after our crime was committed, and after this was all over the internet, someone from PoliSeek called me back. By then two agents from other companies who sell for National Interstate but have never made a nickel off my business, had already contacted National Interstate to get the ball rolling for us. All it took was one phone call from each. A phone call that PoliSeek failed to make on our behalf.

PoliSeek has been my agent for years for our bus conversion, our Winnebago, our van, our pickup, my motorcycle, and for insurance for our RV rallies. As soon as I get this all wrapped up, they will no longer be our agent for anything!

Well, this has kinda made up my mind, as I will be looking for insurance after the first of the year. I just can't see how some company's will talk the talk, but down the road will not walk the walk.

At least I can take PoliSeek and National Interstate off my list of future company's to do business with.

Kevin

We have Poliseek Insurance as our RV agents with Progressive for the insurance. Our experience with them has been neutral since we've had no claims. Our policy is up in Feburary and they're going to have to PROOVE with more than mere words why I shouldn't be seeking another agent. Miller Insurance is looking better and better. OK Poliseek, now is the time to step up to the plate and earn my hard earned money. I'll moniter this thread or await personal contact from you. As always, Orvil Hazelton (orvhazelton@gmail.com).

I would guess Poliseek Insurance and the Democratic Party will have one thing in common in 2010 and that is they are both going to lose a lot of seats because of stupidity.

I sent an e-mail query to Poliseek, because they are my agent , and recieved a phone call from Poliseek customer service manager, Ms Silverman. During the course of the conversation I asked her if there was going to be a change in Poliseek policy in regards to them becoming more of an advocate for their customers when dealing with an insurance issue after their very negative handling of Nick Russells claim. After rephrasing that same question a couple of different ways to Ms Silverman, I could not seem to get a straight answer as to policy change. I have come to the conclusion, based on a lack of a clear affirmative answer, it will be business as usual. This is my personal view on her phone call to me and I realise there must be some folks out there who are satisfied. I do not want to go through what Nick and Terry Russell went through if I should ever have a claim. Nick has done a great service to many of us because of his drawing attention to these insurance issues.

It maybe time to look for someone, agency, that cares about service!! Not just when you pay them. Thanks - Nick!

Safe Travels!

Is Escapees going to continue to promote Poliseek as an Agent of Choice ?

You know they will come up with some story BUT it's all about money.

Poliseek is listed as a Major Sponsor for this years Escapade in Goshen. Greg

Who ever is in their booth better wear their big girl panties.I 'm guessing they are going to get an ear full.
c u on the road

I hope you don't mean Escapees, because that simply isn't true. I'm working on polling various insurance agents to see how claims should process. How long is a reasonable? What is the normal timetable for the various stages? Does the agent help or do you have to deal directly with the company? Etc. I can't hold anyone accountable without educating myself on how the process should work in a best case scenario.

Regarding sponsorships, advertisers, etc., Escapees purposely limits (yes, limits) our magazine advertising to 38% or below. Where the norm is 75% or highers, we made a decision early on that we would not be "in bed" with our advertisers. Our loyalty is to our members, not advertisers, endorsed vendors, etc.

Additionally, we have contracts with all our endorsed vendors (so you are sure to receive the discounts they promise) that state they must be given a 6 month notice of any contract changes and vice versa. So, if we ever drop a vendor, it takes a bit to do so.

I'm not saying we're dropping Poliseek, just that I'm looking into how the process works and corresponding with them as well.

Take care,
Angie

I was told by a very good former Poli-seek agent that they (poliseek) was not going to do any more shows and that is why he and a few other agents left them for other companies recently. This agent has not told me wrong in the past six years.

Considering Angie's post:

I started the thread "Why have an agent" and now realize I should have done more. As a member of Escapees as well as FMCA and Good Sam's I should have asked each of them if there was anything they could do to get straight answers from the insurance company or prod the agency into talking to the insurance company. It is amazing how poorly you sometimes think in the midst of problems of this sort.

I think it is important to come up with some sort of advocate in dealing with insurance companies. Not all of them but some. My experiences with the car and USAA and well as house and USAA have spoiled me. We looked at a lawyer late in the game but didn't continue. It seemed the lawyer would probably have delayed things longer and cost a bunch.

We were formerly with Explorer RV Insurance and our policy was through National Interstate. In the summer of 2008 we experienced two major power surges while at Hart Ranch. The first one fried our Autoformer; the second one took out our inverter and several appliances. Hart Ranch took no responsibility. Then, less than a week later, at another locale in South Dakota, we had a severe thunderstorm and were at the tail end of a tornado that took out our big awning -- this was in the middle of the night and was an incredible experience in itself, but not nearly as scary as dealing with our insurance company!

Dealing with National Interstate and their adjuster, Jason, was an absolute nightmare. We had to fight all the way and Jason never returned phone calls. During one call he told me "you just can't keep calling me" and which point I demanded to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor was of some help in getting part of the claim paid, but the claims were definitely not resolved to our satisfaction -- the awning we had was no longer made and we had to get a newer style with different awning arms -- National Interstate called this "betterment" and would not pay for most of the cost. Our 27-inch TV was no longer made, and there was no other TV that would fit in our existing cabinet, so we got a flat screen -- National Interstate called this "betterment" also and did not want to pay the cost of any cabinet retrofit. The folks at the two repair facilities we worked with said that National Interstate was one of the worst companies to deal with, and I have no doubt that is true based on our experience.

When we called Explorer RV and pleaded for their help, our cries fell on deaf ears. Needless to say, we are no longer insured through Explorer RV Insurance or National Interstate. I don't care what it costs, there is no so-called "savings" on an insurance policy that is worth the amount of frustration, increased blood pressure and heartache we went through. I would rather pay twice the price and have insurance through an honest, reputable company who does not treat their paying customers like thieves. Oh, and National Interstate also said we were not eligible for the disappearing deductible because we had a "glass claim" a year earlier.

National Interstate and/or Explorer RV Insurance could sell policies at half price and I would not be a customer of either one. You never know just how good your coverage or your agent is until you have a claim. Our insurer and our agent both failed us, which is why we are no longer with either of them.

Here's a link to Dave's blog of our experiences if you want the full rundown of our dealings with Jason and National Interstate: http://www.beckestravels.blogspot.com/

My Poliseek/National Interstate insurance is up in the 3rd week of February.

Based on the poor performance of Poliseek/National on several cases involving Escappees members I would like to pick a better agent and insurer. I don't want the heart ache or hassel others have experienced if we ever have a claim.

Can you good folks recommend a agent/insurer who earns the money we spend insuring with them by providing decent service?

SOooo, who is the "go to" insurance company ?

While I agree that your dealings with Nat INT was terrible and what Nick & Terry went through was absolutely horrible I did have a claim with Nat Int/AON this fall and it was dealt with in a timely and efficient manor BUT the reason I'm posting is I have a question about your sentence:
" I would rather pay twice the price and have insurance through an honest, reputable company who does not treat their paying customers like thieves.
I don't know how you would know until you submit a claim whether you are dealing with a company as described above.
Please understand, I am not disagreeing with you or defending the insurance you but I think they are all hit and miss on whether you are going to get a fair shake or not on an insurance claim from any company. I was lucky, others weren't. It could have just as easily been me who was the unlucky one and you the lucky one.
Hugs, Di

I may have answered my own question. USAA is available to military, guard, reserves, family members etc. http://www.usaa.com

USAA is not doing RV insurance under the USAA nameplate. However, they are acting as the agent for Progressive as USAA General. The advantage to USAA members is that USAA will act on our behalf if we have problems with Progressive.

USAA writes many insurance policies directly, but not on RVs. I just did a quote with them, and will likely switch to them. I am a fulltimer, they are competive with Poliseek (used to be AON) who were the agent for my current National Interstate coverage. Several fulltimers on Escapees forums had bad experiences with Poliseek/National - and I want a agent who will actually assist if I ever file a claim.

The USAA General/Progressive insurance can cover full timers and also part timers. https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_utils/...nce_motor_home

My car insurance, banking, MH loan, and more are already with USAA, so this may end up being my solution. AON/Poliseek/National Interstate have had my business since yr 2000, but clearly they will not be there for me 100% if I need to file a claim. I won't reward bad service and plan to find a agent/insurer that will provide better service. The lack of details from Poliseek and National on what went wrong and what they will commit to changing to fix it speaks volumes.

I thought I had researched pretty thouroughly before we went with NI and Poliseek....
Part of what scares me is that the insurance co. picks the replacement RV if mine needs to be replaced? I don't think so!!!
I'll have to double check my policy to make sure...meantime....
has any one got the name of an insurer that they have had good experiences with?
(can't use USAA)

It sure is tough to determine who provides decent service. I am guessing MOST RV insurer's try to avoid paying claims and providing decent service by the lack of recommendations. They seem to only want our money - and then zero service in return if we have a claim? I am even more sure that "most" agents only want the fee to write and contract out the policy, and want absolutely nothing to do with you if you have a claim.

The silence from Poliseek on how they failed to assist fulltimers speaks volumes. They failed so badly, they cannot even begin to justify themselves on these forums - thus the silence??

Many of us are dropping Poliseek, and I think Escapees needs to drop support for Poliseek in turn.

Hey Poliseek - you still working in these forums? Why are you not speaking up? You lost me - and are losing more all the time. Do you only contract out the policy, collect the fee, then wash your hands completly of your "customers" ?? That is my full and complete opinion of you and your company unless you begin to prove otherwise.

Have you made any changes at all over your abject failures? Will you put those changes in writing? Silence is not always "golden".

X2 what Dan said - silence speaks volumes !

Our broker recommended Allied Insurance after I expressed concern about National Interstate. They also told us that what folks had run into with National Interstate was about average for all insurance companies. To date we have been very happy with our broker (Dougherty & Assoc in SD) as they have always been there for questions and assisted us on a small claim we had.

As both insurance companies would charge about the same, we are still trying to decide. Any good thoughts?

Thank you for your recent posting. We appreciate your concerns. While you may think that we at PoliSeek have gone silent, I assure you we (including senior management) have taken the matter seriously and have personally spoken to many of our loyal clients who have expressed concerns. Those that have taken the time to speak to us are reassured of our commitment to continue to be the leader in providing the best customer service, products and choice for our customers.

Keep in mind, while insurance companies are responsible to handle claims directly with the insured, we are an advocate and will assist our customers with concerns or issues that may arise with the carrier during the claims process. This has always been our policy, and was unfortunately not communicated by one employee in a single interaction with one of our customers. We receive positive feedback from our customers on a daily basis regarding our services, including how responsive and satisfactorily the claims process was handled.

PoliSeek offers RV insurance through several insurance carriers. We welcome the opportunity to review your policy with you and discuss all of your options. In fact, we are one of the only agencies that periodically shops your renewal to ensure that you maintain the best combination of price and protection.

In response to our customers, we have reiterated with our entire staff our commitment to be an advocate for our customers in all circumstances, including areas that are typically managed by the carrier. We have discussed claims procedures with National Interstate and provided customer feedback to improve internal processes. We have also implemented a customer survey that goes out to customers after they have had an interaction with one of our licensed customer service representatives to ensure complete customer satisfaction. Customers who are not satisfied with the interaction receive a personal phone call to discuss any concerns they may have. This allows us to be certain that we are providing the level of service that we have promised and what our customers deserve.

We understand that there are many choices when considering where to place your business and thank our customers for supporting us since 1966. We provide the best choice, products and services in the industry as part of one of the nation’s largest personal lines agency. To learn more about how we differentiate ourselves from our competitors, please visit us at:
http://www.poliseek.com/about


If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our management team at 800-521-2942.

Annette Ugalde, Customer Service Manager ext. 5079
Nicole Moreno, Customer Service Manager ext. 5476
Candy Silverman, Director of Customer Service ext. 5141

With all the folks who read this about Poliseek RV Ins., I would bet the negative word of mouth travels faster than the internet, golly if I was unhappy and told my two children and they then told friends and those friends told other friends etc. etc.it would travel faster than a wild fire. A business that does good gets business from word of mouth and same goes for complaints against a business. I'd like to be a CEO of a company that has to mend what has been broken. If it was caused by one or two employees, they would be unemployed and any supervisors who did nothing would also. I do not know any business who is in business not to want to make money. The negative impact will be result in loss of business. This is soley my viewpoint and mine only. Bill

It would seem most insurance co's SOP is to make money by selling policies and denying coverage,,,,"it's their resposnibility to their stockholders" ,,,, a direct quote of what was told to me when a car t-boned me and then pushed me across 2 lanes of traffic ( the police report found them at fault and that was still their insurance co's response)BTW USAA

To add a positive note into the process, I've received two phone calls from Ms Silverman seeking to see what could be done to hold my business. I truely believe that she is one who is willing to listen and would be responsive to customer needs. As always, oRV

The real question was never answered by Ms Silverman of PoliSeek. Why did they not respond to Nick Russell's request for help.
George

I think they did anwer it. An individual dropped the ball. That is one of the issues with larger organizations....it depends on who you get when you call. And how well they are trained, and how much experience they have. Ever try calling DTV or Dish with any issues that is not on their script? Granted, insurance should have more highly trained people, but things like that still happen. I'm not defending what happened to Nick - it was inexcusable - but it could happen anywhere.

It took them SIX weeks but they FINALLY answered it. This must be the same service Nick received - they were planning to answer his requests for the service he paid for, but had not reached their SIX week time frame to answer requests.

The extremely late response just proves to me once again that I do not wish to do business with them anymore - and they WERE my agent since 2000.

That kind of performace is not acceptable at an insurance company in my opinion.

Actually, it was fourteen days after we were robbed before PoliSeek called me back, as I recall. Then their call was just damage control, in my opinion. Which is pretty much what I see here. All they wanted to know was what they could do to help at that point. By then other agents, not from PoliSeek, had called National Interstate and gotten the problem resolved. But when the crime happened, when we were stuck in cold weather with our window broken out and our motorhome trashed, and with no idea what to do next, they left us to deal with the problem on our own.

In my opinion, if it were “one employee” dropping the ball with one customer, that is one time too many, whether the customer is me, you, or anybody else.

In my opinion, if it were “one employee” dropping the ball with one customer, that is one time too many,

I would certainly like to know where this "one employee" is working now. Actually, I think she may have been my server at the taco restaurant where I had lunch. It wasn't the ball that was dropped, it was my diet Coke with lime. As always, oRV

Don't get me wrong, I agree with what Nick said....even one employee not responding properly is one too many. I'm not defending Poliseek at all. I was just answering the question another poster asked.

I hate it when the responsibility seems to fall on ME to get an answer from a business that I pay for a service - like DTV or Dish. Why is that I have to do THEIR job.....

I've been with AON/Poliseek for a long time - 10 years or so. I will also be reevaluating my relationship with them when the time comes....which is shortly. If an agency does not provide any benefit to me, I can deal directly with most insurance companies. If I am responsible for doing that anyway, then what is the point of the agency....

I find it interesting that there is NO response from the agency. Or even an attempt to correct this problem. Someone should have been responsible for this mess!

But, it maybe that they just don't care??

Who know?
Safe Travels!

This post is slightly off topic.

I have been wondering, for over a year now, how much the Progressive customers are paying for all the advertising that we see on the TV nowadays. I think we all know goofy Flo like she's one of our kids.

The GEICO gecko reminds me of my old neighbor.

The "you're in good hands" guy wants to soft talk his way into your heart.

Television advertising is extremely expensive. Thanks to all the Progressive, GEICO, Allstate, and others for buying the amusing TV commercials for us.

Let's just sweep it under the rug and everybody will forget about it,NOT

Well, I for one did not forget about it. We left Poliseek and went to Farm and City. We have Allied Insurance for significantly less and with more coverage. Plus we have an individual agent that knows and understands our special circumstances (HDT) that we can deal with.

I'm with you Jack as soon as my policy is up I'll be looking for another company.