Well, finished dealing with the insurance company for the moment, and I got both the bad news and the worse news. The bad news is that due to the non-payment I was cut off as of April 1, and to re-start a policy I'm going to have to pay the yearly cost up front. So somehow over the next little bit I'm going to have to come up with 18,000 $ up front to have coverage for the upcoming year.
The worse news is that because I had no coverage at the time of the accident, I will be on the hook for all of the damage, and will have to get a hold of the other party and make some kind of payment arrangements, which will probably mean I will have to try and get a loan from my bank, which wont be easy with my credit history, if its possible at all.
My brother says I should't punish myself for my mistakes, but in this case I'm not going to need to - I'm going to be paying for this lapse in judgment for a very long time.
And yet he has a point that me calling myself names wont help me any, so somehow, I'm going to have to keep fighting the impulse to do so, which will be anything but easy for me.
Ah, well.
Comments
This will help you eventually.
I've had some lapses of judgement that helped me learn along the way.
G
I can barely understand...
... 18000 USD insurance policy if you're driving Ferrary Enzo when 18 years old. Otherwise I can't see a reason to pay that amount of money for car insurance (am I right that it's about car insurance?)
Anyway, there are hundreds of insurance companies around. I'm sure that at least one of them will be willing to get you as customer with upfront payment of 180 USD. Insurance to cover damages if you cause total destruction of LA and NY in the same day should be much cheaper!
sorry, I meant 1,800 $
not 18,000 $. Hugs.
1800 is better :-)
Anyway, in current economy there will be insurance company willing to go for less money with better payment plan. Do you have insurance brokers around?
Another thing is that you need to very carefully read your old insurance policy conditions and contract. I'm 90% sure that they can't just stop coverage for missed payment without written notice to you by they internal rules. Insurance companies are quite notable for tryind to bend they own rules if it means not paying money.
In many countries insurance companies are regulated by government and they can place fines on you for missing payment, or increases your premium next year but they are obliged to pay up if you have insurance policy. Sorry, I don't have time now to properly research subject, but there usually are car driver's forums or groups or even forums organised by customers of your insurance company that can help with proper ways to get money out of the insurers.
Anyway, get a quote for insurance from other companies. Where I live price of almost the same plan can be from 5 to 15% of the car price depending on the greediness of the company and usually in case of total insurers will try to reduce payment by 10 to 30% claiming "wear" and reduction of car price in the course of the year. And in most cases it's just attempts of intimidation and bulliing.
insurance
Alberta is not government controlled car insurance, However the insurance companys do have to notify you of lapsed insurance within 15 days. That said a single missed payment is usually not grounds for insurance cancellation if you continued to pay insurance after.
I think you have room to fight with the company here since they took your money for insurance policy.
Something totally stinks with this.
Even $1800 Sounds Way Too Much
You need some advice here, so find someone who knows a little about insurance in general and vehicle insurance in particular.
I cannot believe that the Insurer can cut you off for non-payment (I presume it's an instalment) without notifying you that they are about to do so unless you pay whatever is due within so many days.
When they tell you something is in the rules it always pays to say "Can you show me where it says that?"
I had a case some years ago where I received a demand from an Insurer for payment for the repair of damage that I had allegedly caused to another vehicle six months previously...something I had no knowledge of doing....and in fact I wasn't even in the country on the day I was supposed to have had this accident.
I rang the Insurer and spoke to a rather obnoxious man and explained this to him, and he dismissively told me to pay up or notify my Insurer. I told him I was notifying my Insurer. I was talking to him! Same Insurer. I never heard another word about the incident. I tell you this to show that they are totally untrustworthy on occasion.
Be cool, Dorothy, and do some checking before you do anything else,
Joanne
Opportunity
Since you have to start a new insurance policy, you aren't stuck with using the same company. Shop around and see if you can get a better deal from someone else. Tap into your feminine instincts for bargain hunting.