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Company, not agency, cancelled home policy

By NANCY PARADIS
Published July 29, 2005

We had our homeowners insurance policy with All Star and paid the premium every month. In April we found out our policy was canceled, although we were never told why. However, All Star went ahead and took our money for the premium payments through June.

We should get a refund for the months we paid when we did not have coverage, but Eric at All Star said the company is due some of the refund. We can't get an answer from All Star, which is why we're writing to you.

We received a faxed response from F. Blaine Panico, president of All Star Insurance, with offices in Tampa, Brandon and Plant City. He said that All Star Insurance is an insurance agency, not an insurance company. Consequently, it does not cancel polices. Rather, the insurance company, in this case Scottsdale Insurance Co., does. All Star tries to never allow a policy to be canceled because it is not compensated for canceled policies.

Panico said Scottsdale Insurance had a couple of underwriting concerns with your home. It told All Star that a request to address its minor concerns was sent to you, but you failed to respond. It is difficult to get homeowners insurance in Florida these days, he said, and the insurance companies have become very selective with their risk assessment. In past years, a damaged sidewalk or a broken window might not have been an issue to an insurance company, but with the losses these companies have experienced in Florida recently, such problems have become very important.

All Star represents Citizens Insurance, the state of Florida's insurer of last resort. In other words, if you choose to continue to have coverage, Citizens has to insure you. He said All Star has given you this option and a quote with Citizens, but that you have failed to take advantage of this option. If you carry a mortgage, you will have to have homeowners insurance, even if you go through a different agency.

With regard to any money you expect to get back, Panico said that by law any refund due must go directly to the consumer from the insurance company or finance company, if one was used. The refund would thus not come from All Star. He said he would follow up to find out whether you are due any, and if so, that you receive it.

On April 23, 2002, I made several mail-order purchases with my Discover Card. One such purchase was for $103.58 from a store in Boston. Around the same time, I became the victim of credit card/identity theft; someone made several thousand dollars' worth of purchases on my Discover Card. To stop further charges to my card, Discover closed my account and opened a new one. I also sent a fraud alert to all the major credit reporting agencies. After verifying which purchases were mine, including the purchase for $103.58, Discover made a balance transfer to my new card. All authorized purchases were then paid by me.

On March 25, 2004, I received a collection letter from an agency on behalf of the Boston store for $103.58. I sent it copies of my Discover bill that showed the store had been paid. I never received anything further, so I assumed the matter was closed. However, on May 12, I then received another collection notice from a different agency for the same $103.58 bill. I immediately sent copies of the paid-in-full Discover Card statement for this charge. So far, I have not heard anything more.

I should also mention that back in June and July 2004, I spoke with Discover Card, which stated that the store was indeed paid in full and that I owed nothing further.

I have a sneaking suspicion that in another few months or perhaps a year, I will get another letter from a different collection company for the same thing. The store's customer service department has been of no help, so I could really use yours.

We suggest that you get copies of your credit reports from the three major bureaus to find out whether this debt has been reported. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider are obligated to investigate any claims of errors and are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. As of June 1, residents of Florida are entitled to receive one free credit report a year from each of the major credit reporting bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion).

Free reports are available online at www.annualcreditreport.com or you can order one to be mailed to you by calling toll-free 1-877-322-8228. Free reports cannot be ordered directly from the three major credit reporting agencies.

Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, e-mail action@sptimes.com or call your Action number, 727 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

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[Last modified July 28, 2005, 08:54:03]