Insurance companies don’t really have the best reputation, especially because many see them as money-hungry, corrupt entities. That said, a Michigan couple was out on a Christmas Eve drive with their 1-year-old and 3-month-old children in their car. When they came up to a roundabout, another driver failed to yield, slamming into the front of their vehicle. Fortunately, no one was reportedly injured, but the couple had other concerns: “This is going to completely ruin our financial situation,” they thought.
According to WFLX, Geico more or less stated the Michigan couple wasn’t eligible to be covered for their crash because they failed to list their two babies on their insurance plan. It goes without saying that the dad thought only people of driving age had to be listed, but the insurance provider argued that everyone’s names had to be put down, regardless of age. After all, the Michigan Personal Injury Protection states that every single household resident has to be on a car’s insurance policy, even if they are an infant.
Luckily, this story has a good ending, with Geico finally deciding to cover the car crash despite the young children not being listed. Instead of paying $5K to $15K, the couple was only left with a “cautionary tale.” According to some Reddit users, Geico only folded to cover the claim after a news agency contacted them regarding the denial. Others argue that Geico only said it “could have denied” the claim, but that’s all besides the point. Plenty of online users still find it outrageous that the parents almost lost thousands of dollars because their very young babies weren’t added to a car’s insurance policy.
“How is this protecting consumers?” questions one commenter. “Which insurance companies paid off which state legislators to add this requirement to the law?” Another person pointed out how this whole ordeal is actually very specific to Michigan, as the state’s lawmakers came up with the Unlimited PIP medical coverage to prevent fraud.
In the end, though, it’s still probably a very good idea to thoroughly read through and understand all of the fine print of the forms these insurance providers give. Otherwise, you might end up unnecessarily paying an extra couple of thousand dollars.
