bristol west insurance sucks

I was involed in a accdent where the other party was found at fault she had bristol west insurance. what a run around they have given me. It happened almost a year ago and And they still have not payed me. I have tried for 4 months now to get the adjuster to call me back leaving 1 to 2 messages a week. Ive asked to talk to her supervisor and get his voice mail and he does not return my calls aswell. I know the law states that I should be payed in a fastly mannor, what do you think

Oh crap! Don't tell me that. I just got into an accident with a person who has Bristol West as well and she was at fault. It's only been a few days, but I am having a problem getting the adjuster to call me back. I came home today and found an estimate for my grand cherokee and it was WAY below what the repair shop and I was thinking. They wanted to use used aftermarket parts to fix my card instead of OEM Jeep parts since my car is a new car. I would suggest seeking legal advice, I hired an attorney and also notified my insurance company(Amica) that her insurance company are not cooperating.

vicki wrote:

I was involed in a accdent where the other party was found at fault she had bristol west insurance. what a run around they have given me. It happened almost a year ago and And they still have not payed me. I have tried for 4 months now to get the adjuster to call me back leaving 1 to 2 messages a week. Ive asked to talk to her supervisor and get his voice mail and he does not return my calls aswell. I know the law states that I should be payed in a fastly mannor, what do you think

I think we should file a class lawsuit against this BRISTOL WEST INSURANCE. I got in an auto accident with this insurance co and Bristol told me that the policy was cancelled before the accident! It sounds like a modus operandi to me. I'm thinking they have this "cancellation paper" ready to be pulled out anytime at their convenience. Good for you guys at least you got some adjuster come and see your car. Me- Nothing-NADA! Zeth! MY chest is still painful after hitting the steering wheel and I don't know what to do. Just continue praying for a miracle.

I to have been screwed over by BRISTLE WEST INSURANCE. Last year one of their insureies parked in a no parking zone by a ramp for handicaped in front of my business (child care). Upon leaving abruptly they ran over a grape fruit size land scape rock (aprox 5 lbs) sending it flying 20 plus feet threw the front of my business window (WOW!!!). Luckly no children/employees were harmed. However Bristole West never contacted us after we submited a claim, and they formed their own opinion of what happened. After never hearing back from Bristole West we contacted them 1-3-07. When talking to very defensive Bristle West agent we were told they dropped the claim and would'nt belive us (we never told them our side of the story to begin with). Never did Bristol ever contact us by phone nor mail of there decision. Now I'm out of pocket for damages, and have a small claims case pending. Bristol West is only out to make a fast buck and have been doing it since 1973.

My daughter was sandwiched by a Bristol West driver and because he refuses to talk to the insurance company, they will not pay. We even had 2 other people involved in the accident and Bristol can only talk to their driver. I sent them a demand letter and am only waiting until the 20th to take them to small claims. I guess this is why they can insure the undesireable.

they have pulled the same thing here. the insured went bankrupt and now they claim they are no longer liable for the money they owe .

My son had Bristol West in Jacksonville Florida
he had an accident in November just after Thanksgiving. He has not been able to settle the
claim because the need some power of attorney from
myself and i'm overseas.He is the Insured not me.
I am however paying the loan on the vehicle which
my Bank can handle any crisis like this while i'm away. I'm having to leave Kuwiat serving the military just to see these jerks face to face. Guys your right. They won't answer your calls, i've tried at least 65 times since then. They will see me next week.

i got into accident it was not my fault the guy who hitpulled out of a drive way right into me i had a polce report saying it was not my fault. bristol west the guy who hit did not have insurance through them at the time that he purchased them the same day and it was after the accident had happened. and to top it all off i had insuance through them as well liabilty only and it did not cover because i did not have non insured motorist on my policly so i had a jusked car that i had to pay for some junk yard to tow away and i was unable to purchase a new car at the time so i was screwed for months.

ASHLEY wrote:

I FILED A CLAIM WITH THEM ON 10-31-2006 WHEN MY VEH WAS TOTALED. IT IS NOW 1-24-2007 AND THEY YET HAVE DONE ANYTHING. I AM STILL MAKING PAYMENTS ON A CAR THAT I DO NOT HAVE. MELISSA MY AGENT HAS NOT BEEN HELPFUL AT ALL. SHE WILL NOT RETURN PHONE CALLS AND IS NOW TELLING ME IT MAY BE ANOTHER MONTH!!!! SHE ALSO HAS NOT CONTACTED THE OTHER PERSON INSURANCE COMPANY...ALLSTATE. HOPEFULLY IF I GET HER MANAGER INVOLDED SOMETHING WILL BE HANDLED.

you didnt state if it was your fault or not but if it wasnt i would call allstate and file the claim with them

I have found just the opposite, Bristol was highly
reccommended to us and the claim service is out-
standing.

Contact your State Department of Insurance and check their website they may have information re this company and file a complain with them, plus request an investigation. Did Eastwood Insurance refer you to them? If so, contact Eastwood and file a complaint.

My husband was involved in an auto accident in January, where he was not at fault. The person driving the other vehicle did not have insurance but his brother, who owned the vehicle, had Bristol West. I have never seen an insurance company which was less helpless, less compassionate, or less speedy. In other words, we have had nothing but trouble with Bristol since the accident happened. Our car is completely totaled and Bristol is taking their time working on the claim. In fact, we have no idea whether or not they are even doing ANYthing. They will not call us back. In effort to have some of my questions answered, I tried to speak with someone else besides the person who was working on my claim. She was completely rude and defensive from the moment she picked up the phone and ended up hanging up on me! It has been 3 weeks since the accident and we are driving a rental car with no idea on when we may expect to be reimbursed for the car and no idea at all when this whole fiasco will be over. If someone hits you who has Bristol, I advise that you get the claim rolling yourself, ASAP.

It's funny (in a not so funny way) because their recorded message says that they will call back in 24-48 hours. These people must have a warped sense of time because we have been calling them every day for 3 weeks and we have only had two call backs, both of which were voice mails.

I think you have one year, write them the request with how much then file a small claims. Your own insurance is charged with legally protecting you so what ever judgments against you may be paid by them.
At any rate the cost for them to send a rep to court is more than most claims are worth. Sometimes these things take a couple of years to iron out.
In the 'mean' time, you might inform your state insurance commissioner or complain to better business...
This is what I might say if I were an attorney which I am NOT!

Bristol sucks wrote:

My husband was involved in an auto accident in January, where he was not at fault. The person driving the other vehicle did not have insurance but his brother, who owned the vehicle, had Bristol West. I have never seen an insurance company which was less helpless, less compassionate, or less speedy. In other words, we have had nothing but trouble with Bristol since the accident happened. Our car is completely totaled and Bristol is taking their time working on the claim. In fact, we have no idea whether or not they are even doing ANYthing. They will not call us back. In effort to have some of my questions answered, I tried to speak with someone else besides the person who was working on my claim. She was completely rude and defensive from the moment she picked up the phone and ended up hanging up on me! It has been 3 weeks since the accident and we are driving a rental car with no idea on when we may expect to be reimbursed for the car and no idea at all when this whole fiasco will be over. If someone hits you who has Bristol, I advise that you get the claim rolling yourself, ASAP.

they should cover it, my sister was in accident with someone who didnt have a license he was a ilegal alien to top it off, my sister was at fault but the person who owned the car had insurance and her insurance payed, even though the guy driving shouldn't have been on the road in the 1st place...

On 2/9/07 I was sideswiped by a bristol west insured driver. He admitted fault then said he would cover the damages. I filed a claim on 2/9/07 an adjuster was out the next day. Adjuster said they will total out my veh once the investigation closes. I spoke with a rep for a week, he then leaves a voicemail stating that there was never a accident. I faxed over the police report and still nothing. The bristol west driver was sited for VC 22107 which states that no persson shall turn a veh from a direct course or move right or left upon a roadway until such movement can be made with reasonable safety. BRISTOL WEST STILL WONT PAY

Bristol West is the worst insurance around and I am glad they are not my insurance company. See the email I sent to their claim rep. I am so glad to see I am not the only one - I urge all of you to write to them!
"Dear Mr. Dickson,

I have made several attempts to speak to you today regarding the above claim number. We spoke this afternoon and you had requested I call you back once I contact the body shop completing my repair. I called you a few minutes afterward and since you were unavailable, I insisted to speak to another representative in order to ensure the urgency of the matter is communicated. I called a second time and I still have yet to hear a response from you. While I certainly understand that you are busy, I believe that you have a responsibility to address customer concerns in a timely manner. In this case, I have explained to you and your colleagues that time is an issue here, because I need to know what to do about my rental car. The body shop has completed the repair, and I am ready to return the rental car today, however, the body shop will not release my vehicle until they are paid the additional $91.56 they are owed, which reflects a difference in price in parts from your estimate vs their actual cost. Benny at Custom Car Crafters called the appraiser yesterday and they were informed that someone needs to come out to approve the extra cost. While we have gone back and forth about how many days of car rental you will allow me, in this case, I have been calling you to tell you that the car is ready and that I can return the car once you pay the body shop. I don't believe that any additional time it takes for your appraisers to come out and approve an extra $91 should be my liability. If you pay the body shop what is owed today, then I can stop incurring car rental charges immediately. However, I find it inexcusable that you expect me to shell out money on my end because of your company process and policy. The bottom line is that I cannot retrieve my vehicle because your company owes my repair facility additional money; the body shop refuses to release my vehicle until they are paid. Your appraiser has yet to approve the difference in price. Since I have no other vehicle, it is reasonable that I continue renting a car at your expense until your company resolves the issue. Hopefully, your company can guarantee payment to the repair shop today so that I may return the car today. However, since I have not heard from you and it is already late in the day here, I am forced to incur another day of car rental.

As an aside, please be advised that I am in the process of writing a letter to your Manager and to your company leaders because I do not think that you have been helpful, understanding or compassionate at all in this manner. The same holds true for your colleagues. You do not express true understanding of how much of an inconvenience and how life altering this situation can be. Your manner and your unavailability clearly demonstrate your lack of commitment to customers. I personally would not have Bristol West as my insurance company and I will urge others not to patronize Bristol West because of the way I was treated by you and your colleagues. It should be your goal to try to please customers and you should certainly learn to empathize with them."

I was recently hit by a driver with Bristol West Insurance as well. She pulled out of a parking lot crossed three lanes of traffic and t-boned my car. I had to call Bristol West 3 times a day for two weeks and my assigned adjuster never returned my call. Finally I started dialing random extensions and left voice mails on over 6 lines. That must have hit a nerve because I finally got a call back, and I was informed that they had changed my adjuster (without notifying me). The new adjuster said that they hadn't spoken with the girl who hit me and that they won't pay until they do. As an added bonus, if they don't talk to her within 30 days, then they close the claim without paying. Under that logic, why would bristol ever try to call their client?! Anyways, after I threatened litigation, they miraculously got in touch with her. Too the other drivers credit, she admitted that she hit me, however, the adjuster said that since "I should have been watching where I was going", they were only liable 90% of my damages. I'm still fighting with them to get my car fixed! This company is the WORST!!!!