Getting your insurance company to actually insure your things can feel like an uphill battle, but persistence does pay off.
After losing their house in a fire, one mother found a way to flip the script on a stubborn insurance rep in an inspiring tale of malicious compliance.
You’ll want to read on for this one!
Won’t cancel the service plan? I’d like to file a claim, please.
My parents had a house fire recently.
While the house didn’t burn to the ground (this is important for later), it is basically a total loss due to heat, smoke, and structural damage.
Luckily, they have quite a few safeguards in place.
They have great replacement insurance.
While the long wait for restoration and replacement will be frustrating, they are in as good of a situation as one could hope for.
They also have one of those appliance service plans where they pay monthly.
If any covered appliance isn’t working properly, the service company will send someone out to troubleshoot, repair, and, if it can’t be repaired, replace it.
My parents have the total coverage plan, including everything from the kitchen to laundry to the freezer chest and mudroom fridge.
So they tried to make use of these plans.
Since the house is uninhabitable, they called to cancel the service and ask about prorating this month.
My mom explained the situation, and the rep on the phone said they couldn’t prorate this month or cancel the service for the next payment cycle, even though they are in the middle of this payment cycle.
Essentially, it would be 45 more days of paying for coverage.
The mom feels this situation should qualify for an exception.
My mom stated that they were dealing with the stress of a house fire and living in short-term housing.
“I understand you can’t prorate this month, but can you at least cancel the service for next month based on our situation?”
The rep responded, “Well, I’m HAPPY to cancel the service effective today if that’s what you really want, but you will still have to PAY for this month and next month.”
I can tell you from personal experience it’s a bad idea to get cute with my mom.
So the mom had a different idea.
My mom replied, “Ok, NO. We aren’t going to cancel a service we still have to pay for. Please keep the service in place. Instead, I’d like to file a claim on all of our appliances.”
There was a pause, and the rep said, “You can’t do that on appliances destroyed by fire.”
My mom responded, “Oh, no. The house was damaged, but the appliances weren’t destroyed. Since this plan is effective through next month, please start a claim to send a service rep out to the house for ALL of our covered appliances and do any repairs or replacements as needed.”
There was another pause, and the rep asked her to hold.
And that’s when things took a turn for the better.
A few minutes later, a supervisor got on the line and said that, due to the circumstances, they would be happy to make an exception to cancel the coverage early if she would like.
“Yes, thank you,” my mom replied.
Even the most rigid of rules can’t withstand a determined customer.
What did Reddit have to say?
This commenter commends this savvy mother for winning big against the powers that be.
This mother knew exactly how to exploit the insurance company’s biggest fear!
This user would have liked to see the story play out a different way.
Sometimes you don’t have to fight the system — you just have to know how to make it work for you.
If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.