My Husband was laid off due to the economy and we took a real hit financially. We were not able to pay our premium right on time and received an intent to cancel notice with a required postmarked date for the payment. I mailed the payment before the postmarked date, but received it in the mail 8 days later with a return to sender label.
I was in an accident a couple days before the payment was returned and found all of this out when I called to report the claim and had no idea the payment had not made it to the company. The Insurance Co. asked me to fax them the envelope with the postmarked date and a copy of the check. I did... They came back 5 days later saying they are not going to cover it because they didn't receive the payment. Is this legal when I have no control over the post office?
I understand, I was at fault for having to send the payment late. But the notice clearly stated a postmarked date in order to prevent a lapse in coverage. I don't know what to do. I will loose everything if my insurance company doesn't back me up. I owe $20,000 on the car and the damages are way more then I can afford. I've always paid them.
I just wanted to let people know that here in the Chicago area I know of several people who have gotten mail back for no apparent reason. Mail that was going in to a company in that company's pre-addressed envelope and that had proper postage on it. I don't mail any of my bills that are date sensitive anymore - they all get paid online.
I have never heard of an insurance company refusing to accept mail? Usually there are people that just sort the mail and distribute to the correct people. You imply that your envelope was returned and unopened?? So can only mean that you might have forgot to put on the stamp and was returned by the post office, not the insurance company.
Or there is a 2nd scenario and that is your accident happened before the post mark date, or that it happened after your policy was cancelled, thus you not being covered for this accident.
Your only recourse at this time is to find a lawyer to determine your legal rights. Bring all of your documentation with you and he can tell you if this is legal or not.
good luck
Yes, they are under no obligation to give you free insurance. Yes, you have no control over the post office. They had to RECEIVE the envelope with a postmark on the date. They NEVER received that envelope - maybe you forgot the stamp?
You are not going to win this. Sorry.
The way to avoid post office problems, is either pay your policy in full, or set up to have the payments automatically taken from your account. Of course, if there's not enough money to cover the payment in your account, it will still cancel.