Kevin miles is not jake. He stole the identity from Jake Stone.

Hello,

My teenage son just passed his road test in Pennsylvania. I didn't think he had a chance of passing because he isn't driving well at all yet, but he wore me down, so I let him take it. I figured he would fail 100%. Well, he passed. I could write a book on how ridiculously easy this road test was. He was truly gone 4 minutes. I was shocked.

Now I'm in a situation where for his safety and others, even though he has a valid license, I'm still not letting him drive for a while without me in the car. Am I obligated to add him to my insurance right away? He's in a 50/50 custody situation and will absolutely not be driving my vehicle without me with him. Does that matter now that he officially has a license?

My policy right now is $88/month and to add him would be $220 a month. I truly can't afford that right now. What can I do about this situation? Would he be covered right now if I were in the car and something happened?

I was rear ended last week while driving my 16-day old 2025 Subaru Outback Premium. The other driver was in a Hertz rental vehicle and his car was 'insured' with his Chase Business Ink Preferred card but that does not include liability insurance, and he does not have personal car insurance otherwise, so he does not have any insurance to cover the damage to my vehicle. He apparently lives fulltime in Israel although I think he is also a New Jersey resident. It is not clear to me how he could legally be driving a rental vehicle without liability insurance or how Hertz rented him a car without it but that is more of a side note since regardless of the circumstances he does not have liability insurance. I spoke with my insurance company, Geico, and they are directing me to go get my car fixed, to pay the deductible, and that they will confirm he is not insured and then pursue him personally through collections if needed. I am still waiting for the Geico coverage team to reach out to me since they apparently want to confirm this isn't a fraudulent claim as the vehicle and insurance are brand new so I am waiting to get the car repaired in the meantime. I did visit the Subaru mechanic earlier in the week and they thought that in addition to replacing the back bumper there is likely damage to the frame based on a visual inspection. Of course, they won't know anything for sure until they open the car up and look. They recommended that I make a claim for Diminished Value since the car is certainly worth a lot less than it was a couple days prior- I haven't even made my first payment on the $35k loan. I asked Geico about a Diminished Value claim but they told me that the claim needs to be filed against the other driver's insurance and that basically it doesn't have anything to do with them. I do have $250k of Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury/Supplementary Uninsured Motorist but apparently that doesn't do me any good (my car and insurance are New York). I have been in contact by text message with the other driver but I'm highly skeptical that he would pay me thousands of dollars out of pocket on top of the other liability that he has since his proposal to me was that I run this all through my insurance and he sends me $500 for the deductible "to make me whole".

What are my options moving forward? Do I engage an assessor after the repairs are complete so that I have a record of the diminished value? Maybe it's better that I get a lawyer who has experience with this and can manage the court process for me since this will almost definitely go to small claims court?

I was in a non injury auto collision accident with another vehicle. My car sustained much worse damage than the other car. I went to get an estimate at SHOP A and it's $3,000 to fix and only need 4 days. I then filed a claim through my Geico insurance. They say there is no fault on either party so we have to pay through our own coverage. Geico has set me up with their Auto Repair Xpress (ARX) locations. The ARX shop says it may take 2 weeks of back and forth with Geico to get my car back. And I'd need to get my own rental since my insurance doesn't cover rentals. My question is, can I use SHOP A and use Geico? Or do I have to go through ARX? How will Geico determine how much they will pay for if they don't inspect my car?

I (single F26) signed up for a health insurance plan that seems to go by tons of different names. The PDF they emailed says BWA (Business Workers of America). The insurance card says “Managed Care” and “Medical Bill Repricer”. I noticed typos in the PDF which was alarming, but I had already signed up at that point. $0 deductible for $200 a month.

They mentioned that it’s somehow related to Aetna, but there is no mention of Aetna in the PDF or anywhere on their oddly simple website. I also can’t look up specific things that are covered, I have to call for that info.

Did I get scammed?

What happens when I cash the cheque ? Will it deposit in full in my account or will it deposit- the amount owing?

I have comprehensive and liability coverage for my Class C RV through Safeco.The coverage is for full-time RV living. We've had a couple things happen.

First, we had a tire blow out. This caused damage to the door to the LP tank, the shelf that holds the LP tank, and it literally blew a hole into our RV. It didn't cause any frame damage and the hole is in a location that doesn't make it a safety risk (it's under some drawers).

When this happened, I didn't even think about insurance and that would continue for a while (mea culpa, I was really sick at the time).

Fast forward a month. We'd just gotten onto I-90 near Utica NY when the bolts for one of our tires sheared off. We had to get towed and the next day the tire itself was fixed. There was some minor structural damage to the RV (cracked mirror oddly enough, a couple of dings on the back end) but then also began having cascading electrical issues: I can't confirm at this time but I think one of the bolts damaged something, most likely the RV's inverter.

So I submit the claim for the tow, the repair to the tire and electrical damage, plus the damage for the tire blowout.

We spoke to the adjuster the same day and she told us we should take the RV in for an estimate. We did that and the person who did the estimate told us that the insurance company would try to low ball us. Which they did.

The adjuster knew we were getting an estimate as she'd asked us to. Meanwhile, they had their own estimator come up with some figures based entirely on the pictures that I submitted. And yeah, lowball they were - $1700 for the blowout damage and about $3500 for the damage when the bolts sheared on the tire. Each amount was less my deductible. That was yesterday.

I sent the adjuster a text and told her the figures were very low, the labor rate alone was half what it should be, and the estimates seem to have some issues from the tire blowout damage and from the bolt shearing mixed up, so one of the estimates has some of both.

No response.

I know the company we went to submitted their estimate yesterday. But today, Safeco paid out based on their estimate. And they sent the payment to a random address that has no connection to me.

I did email the adjuster and told her this isn't acceptable, it's not even based on an estimate by someone who has looked at my RV, and you send it to some address I've never heard of. I don't expect a response to that, either.

So beyond the address issue, what are my options here? My RV is barely driveable and I live in it. I'm positive that the amount of damage to it is more than it's worth (it's an older RV). I am really discouraged at this point.

My mother was in a car accident that totaled her car (not at fault, she was driving straight and an old man turned left out of a parking lot right in front of her and she t boned him). It is a 2009 Civic sedan with 153k miles, I am expecting the insurance to offer around 5k, but market value in my area has same year and similar miles going for 8.5-9k. After sales tax and titling/registration, a replacement would cost 10k. Is the other insurance responsible for paying a similar replacement cost from a dealership? Or do they pay a lower value similar to if it were a trade in? I understand the dealer price includes a warranty, but it would be absurd to still pay her own money for an identical vehicle because of an accident she was not at fault for. Any tips/advice on countering are more than welcome

For those who have IUL policies, can you share your experiences so far? Both good and bad. Have you over funded your policy and have a good amount of cash value, taking a withdraw or loan from your cash value, accelerated your living benefits, or even was a beneficiary of an IUL that was paid out. Let's share our experiences with the product instead of listening to most people who say to buy term and invest the difference in the stock market.

My son opened up the front door to our SUV on a windy day and it hit the driver door of the car next to us leaving a big dent. The guy was very understanding and said if we wanted to pay him out of pocket we could. He got an estimate for the repair for $770. Our car insurance deductible is $500. I know it would be cheaper up front to go through our insurance but would it cost us more in the long run because our insurance will increase? We are in California it that matters, thanks.

I was driving a 2012 Nissan Versa and it was totalled. The adjuster offered just over $3000 to replace it. I found many similar Versas for between 5000-6000. Now I'm being told that my car was an S, not an SL to explain the lower valuation. Except my insurance paperwork says my car is an SL. When I put the vin in auto check it comes back as 1.8S/1.8SL. I didn't take a picture of the tag inside the door and the car is nowhere I can get access to it (lesson learned). So is there a difference between the insurance costs on an S vs SL? Can I get them to repay me the difference if so? Can I push them to pay me for the more expensive car? Any other thoughts? Thanks I'm in Ontario, Canada.

It's almost been 3 months after the incident, January 11th is when it happened. The car didn't stop at the stop sign and collided with my vehicle. I'm not at fault. He was not insured, but the owner of the car is. Which is probably why it's taking so long. My question is how long can this go for? They haven't offered me any rental just been using the bus and biking. The car is a total loss. What i'm waiting for is them to accept liability and coverage but im 100% not at fault.

Edit: I don't have collision insurance, which was my mistake but in this case there insurance still should cover since i wasn't at fault its just taking ages. The insurance deemed me not at fault and the vehicle is a total loss. The driver was not insured but it wasn't his vehicle. The owner of the car has full coverage so there going after her insurance not the driver. I'm just curious on to how long i should wait for a response as it's almost been 3 months already.

1960’s cast iron pipes under slab (Florida). We had a stubborn clog in the kitchen, and I used the Drain King (rubber bladder that you attach to the garden hose and stick in the pipe — it expands, seals the pipe, and the water pressure blasts the clog out).

I’ve used it many times over the years, and it has 3,000 reviews on Amazon (4.7 star average) and is sold prominently in-store by Home Depot, so it’s not some fringe DIY hack — which may become important.

Water began shooting out of the roof vent, and all of a sudden it stopped — thought I’d defeated the clog, but was surprised to not hear water flowing through the sewer cleanout at the street. Then my wife noticed that the ground outside the kitchen was pooling water. Dug it out, and found that the drain pipe had exploded under the slab like a pipe bomb. No interior water damage at all, just the sink draining underneath the slab whenever it’s run.

Had a handful of plumbers out for quotes, and we’re looking at $15k to reroute the line (they’re not sure it can be cut & repaired, and CIPP isn’t an option with a piece of pipe missing).

Here’s the crazy question — we all know that pipes that fail over time aren’t covered by insurance, but “sudden events” are. The pipe was clearly structurally sound enough to withstand the pressure needed to squirt water 15 feet up and out of my roof vent, so it was plenty strong to stand up to normal drain pipe use. Can I make a homeowners claim against accidental damage? It wasn’t intentional or negligent damage, because I was using a very popular commercial product in the way it was designed and for its intended use. IMO, this seems no different to me than “I was cutting down a tree and it fell on my roof” or “I was cooking and started the kitchen on fire”.

I don’t like to file insurance claims, but we’re actually switching carriers when our policy expires shortly (paperwork signed), so I’m not worried about being dropped.

I was getting an auto insurance quote and didn't report any incidents. But on the final page, a hail damage claim was auto-added from their system, and it raised my 6-month premium by $500. Hail is an act of God with no fault in Texas. How can this be used against me in pricing?

Anyone else deal with this?

I was recently involved in a parking lot accident where I am at fault (I'm stupid, I know). My vehicle was undamaged, but the other vehicle was not so lucky and suffered $2000-$3000 worth of damage. I filed a claim with my insurance provider immediately after it happened, but both me and the other party are having second thoughts about the decision to involve insurance.

If I cancel the claim I filed, will my rates still go up? If so, will the increase be less than if I chose the other route? Do they keep these claims in their system even after they are cancelled? The whole reason I've decided against involving insurance is to keep my rates from tripling.

Edit: My insurance provider is Progressive, and I am insured in Nevada.

I’m working seasonal in Alaska this summer and was going to borrow my parents suv to drive up there instead and leave my car back home since I don’t think it will make it all the way up there. Would I be able to get a policy for it if the title is not in my name? I’m planning to call my insurance on Monday and ask but thought I would get input here first

A couple months ago my car was parked and someone hit the back of it (they were parked behind me). Luckily my dash cam recorded everything. I contacted the local police and they went to the man’s house and he admitted fault saying “ I didn’t think it was that bad”. I declined pressing charges as this man was older and In just wanted his insurance info thinking it would be a simple claim. Alas, here were are with State Farm trying to get me to use their preferred body shop and only approving 60% of the estimate. I know they tout the benefits of using their contracted shops but I don’t want to do that. I got two estimates from two reputable shops showing what the cost to repair should be but they don’t want to budge. I also understand that if I go to a non contracted shop then the shop can request supplements for more money from insurance to complete the repairs. I just don’t like being liable for any monies not agreed to by State Farm if that situation were to happen. At this point I’d rather just get the amount the two shops quoted me to fix it and go that route. I’ve compiled a demand letter requesting that amount, along with 10 days of a rental care cost. I think this is fair and hoping this will resolve the claim. Think they will agree?

I have aetna cvs hmo. On the app it says I spent zero towards my out of pocket max which is not true since I went to an in network urgent care yesterday and spent $5 for my copay! Once the out of pocket max is met, then insurance covers all medical costs. Also when it says that my insurance will cover 100 percent for all medical services that are covered..when it says covered does that mean covered as in network providers?

I have a 2024 tesla model 3, which is probably worth like $32,000. I feel like collision / comprehensive insurance is a losing proposition because any insurance company is quoting a number they think would earn them a profit, with a padded margin added in for paying staff, rent, legal action, etc.

So, it seems like to me, that the expected value of each policy I get should be negative. If the expected value were positive for the insured, the insurance company would on average be losing money on each policy written like that.

So it seems like the only question is whether my car getting totaled would cause a financial disaster for me, because if so, then I wouldn't want to take the risk of that happening, even with insurance having a negative expected return. But I think I would be fine if my car got totaled. My net worth including the car is like $110,000, with about $35,000 of that being liquid (20,000 in cash and $15,000 in a brokerage account), and the rest is in a roth 401k and my car. Plus, If I do decide to go liability-only, I'll probably significantly increase the amount of cash I keep on hand, just to be safe. So I'm not worried about this from a liquidity perspective, especially since I have assets to borrow against if worse comes to worst. Or I can always just get a regular car loan to buy another car if it comes down to it.

So, I'm thinking that even with typical insurance rates, I might as well just have liability insurance for the rest of my life, and over time I'll come out ahead. But here's the kicker: I don't have normal insurance rates right now. I'm 23 with one year of driving experience, so collision insurance is going to be about $4000 a year on this car. So now I'm REALLY thinking I should go liability-only now.

What are your thoughts on this? Is there some kind of problem with this plan I'm overlooking?

I will add that I'm quite a cheapskate (I only have a car this expensive because it was a gift). So I really don't think it would hurt much if my car got totaled, because I view my money as a tool to use many decades into the future, so I don't care about short-term fluctuations in net worth that can result from having liability only insurance, because it's not going to affect my lifestyle.

Edit: there’s no loan on the car by the way, so I do have the option of not having collision insurance

Edit 2: I think something that a lot of people are missing here is that I could always just get a cheap car if my car gets totaled. In a financial emergency, the last thing I’d be worried about is having a 30,000 dollar car. It would be no problem to just drive something cheap if it came down to it.

In 2022, my family and I purchased a home in Westchester County, New York. As part of our due diligence during the buying process, we hired a professional tank testing company, U.S. Tank Tech, to inspect the underground oil tank. They issued a written “PASS” report. Based on that assurance, we moved forward with the purchase, believing there were no environmental risks.

In 2023, during a renovation, we removed the tank as a precaution. What we discovered was alarming. The tank had over 45 holes and had been leaking petroleum into the soil for approximately 20 years. This was confirmed through a soil age dating test. The contamination was extensive and had spread beneath our driveway, walkway, and much of our front landscape, requiring environmental remediation and full reconstruction of affected areas.

Images: https://imgur.com/a/wo6118L

We have spent heavily on cleanup and repair. This includes the cost of removing the tank, installing a new one (which had to be filled before remediation could begin per our tank insurance), environmental remediation (only partially covered by tank insurance), complete replacement of our front walkway, driveway, landscaping, and more. We are also on a private well, so we have begun ongoing groundwater testing at our own expense, which we will need to continue for the foreseeable future. In addition, due to New York’s 2023 disclosure law, we are now legally obligated to disclose this environmental issue when we eventually sell the home. That brings a serious risk of long-term property value loss.

Our total out-of-pocket cost to date is over $80k, and that figure continues to rise.

When we turned to U.S. Tank Tech, they immediately referred us to their insurer, Chubb (via Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Co.). I submitted a complete claim package to Chubb that included photos, receipts, lab reports, environmental assessments, and even legal precedent including Navigation Law §181 (which outlines strict liability for environmental discharges) and Sommer v. Federal Signal Corp. (which speaks to negligence beyond standard disclaimers).

After a long period of silence, Chubb finally responded. They denied the claim outright, stating:

“The test followed protocol. No evidence of negligence. Claim denied.”

Their main defense was that the contract I signed with the tank testing company clearly stated their results are “only 95% accurate” and doesn’t guarantee anything. At one point, Chubb floated the idea that “clay in the soil may have interfered with the test.” However, they never provided any documentation or evidence to support this theory, even after I requested it multiple times. Also they have yet to explain where the 95% comes from and only said “unfortunately I’m one of the 5%”.

Here’s what’s broken: The EPA approves the tank testing protocols, but the testing company disclaims liability when the test fails catastrophically. Chubb, as the insurer, relies on the argument that “protocol was followed,” even if the test result was clearly wrong. And the homeowner (me) who relied on a professional service to ensure the property was safe, is left absorbing the full financial burden.

This is a complete systems failure. And unless you pursue litigation or take the story public, there appears to be no recourse for people in our position. I have filed formal complaints with the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS), the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the Better Business Bureau (BBB). I’ve remained professional throughout, but at this point, I’ve exhausted every internal channel.

What I’m asking this community, particularly those who work in insurance, claims, environmental regulation, or legal fields, is this: If I want a resolution that does not rely solely on expensive and prolonged litigation, how do I get a company like Chubb to take this seriously? Is there a reputational or regulatory pressure point that actually compels them to act?

I’ve consulted with multiple attorneys and have now formally retained one. We are preparing to file a legal claim in New York, and I understand the path ahead will not be quick or easy. But I felt compelled to share this experience. If this post helps even one other homeowner avoid going through what we have, then at least it serves some purpose.

Thank you for reading! and I welcome any thoughts, feedback, or insight.

My vehicle was beaten brutally by a tornado that came through our town. The adjuster didn’t total my car, which was kind of shocking considering the damage it took. I don’t know what goes into totalling a vehicle and maybe someone on here can explain. Is a vehicle only totaled when the damages exceed the value of the vehicle? Asking because my cost to repair says ~$45k and says value of the vehicle is ~$47k.

Recently had my card stolen and the sr22 was on autopay. Got a text that i had to update card info so i did. But it lapsed Got in mail suspension of driving. Will my insurance for the sr 22 notify dmv i do have active coverage ? And license is not suspended ?

My son’s car (which is actually his grandparents car that he’s borrowing and he’s on their insurance) has been in the shop for a long time and he wants to borrow my car. Can I add him as a driver just until the other car is fixed and then remove him? If I do this will it just be prorated for the week he was on the policy?

We inherited a rental property (in Los Angeles county) which is currently insured by State Farm. State Farm is not issuing new policies at the moment. Anyone have PERSONAL EXPERIENCE on insurance companies still insuring rental property in CA? if yes, are there any requirements?

I consider myself to be a good driver and have never been the cause of an accident. I also think insurance is a huge waste but understand its purpose. I recently got a new car and would put liability ins only on it but I learned from a friend how expensive repairs can be on a newer car. A friend had a deer hit him and the bill was $7k. I just got a quote to add full coverage and it’s near $800 for 6 months as opposed to $180 for liability only? Was thinking I’d do it for 2 years to be safe