Hi. I have to decide whether to accept or reject a lump sum offer from long-term disability insurance. I ran some numbers and after taxes, I think the lump sum offered is equivalent to almost 9 years of monthly benefits. In this math, I reduced the monthly benefit by 35% because I think that if I turn down the lump sum, I will have to get a lawyer to help me through whatever else the insurance company will try to do to reduce or deny benefits going forward. I had to appeal a denial a few years ago and back then, disability lawyers were taking about 33-40% of benefits. (I had decided to pay a flat fee for help with the appeal only.) I became disabled at age 30 so I have quite a long ways to go and don’t know if I have the mental, emotional, and financial resources to get through another denial. I still have PTSD from that period, which was also during COVID. Even though I don’t see how I could suddenly start making money, I feel like at least the lump sum is a sure thing. If I reject it, what kinds of things will the insurance company do for the rest of my benefit period in order to balance their books? I am especially worried about extra uncertainty with SSDI. If my SSDI payments get cut, my long-term disability insurance payments are supposed to go back to the pre-SSDI amount, which is more than double what they’ve been paying since offsetting for SSDI. If this happens to a lot of people at once, what kinds of things will the insurance company do? Right now, rejecting the lump sum feels like I would be subjecting myself to a scary black box of strategies to reduce or deny my benefits. I appreciate any information that could help me make a more informed decision. Thank you!!

Hi, I cancelled my policy with Allstate on July 29th after paying my July 1st bill with my next bill date being August 1st. Cancelled my renters and auto in one swoop through the online chat, though next day I realized they hadn't cancelled my auto. Only my renters, I contacted them again. They backlogged the effective date for the auto to the 29th as the renters was. I already thought they were trying to get an extra payment out of me there, hoping that I wouldn't catch it... The reps on chat assured me that I wouldn't owe my next payment on the 1st since I cancelled my policy previous to the payment date. The next day I checked to ensure the auto cancellation went through and it did show effective so I went ahead and turned off auto-pay. Next day there is a charge on my account for $302. Today I had the time to call so I called Allstate. First rep asked me some questions and then put me on hold for 40 minutes, only for another rep to answer. Second rep told me that my bill has been sent to collections and gave me the number to call. I called collections and they haven't received anything due for me.... I called Allstate again.. Last rep told me that the extra $302 was due to the cancellation of auto-pay on my already cancelled policy.. Also stating that technically my due date without auto-pay would've been on the 18th of each month, which she said if i hasn't have turned off auto-pay they would've owed me money. This is genuinely not making any sense to me and feels like a gigantic scam. None of the reps at Allstate are willing to waive my balance due to an incorrect charge. Do I just wait for the bill to hit collections and then dispute it? What can I do about this? I'm also infuriated that I spent in total two hours on the phone for this.. lots of misinformation all around and no resolution.

A couple months ago I rear ended someone. They were waiting to turn right and I was behind them doing the same. They looked like they started turning, so I pulled up to the crosswalk and looked left to check for traffic, then started my own turn when the coast was clear - only to bump into their rear corner and realize they hadn't actually turned when I thought they did; they were still just waiting there in front of the crosswalk. I was at fault for beginning my turn without looking and rear ending them (I know you're advised to not accept fault at the scene of an accident but I'd never been in an accident before and I was pretty flustered). I apologized to the other party and we exchanged insurance and contact information. Neither of us wanted to call the police and they assured me they weren't hurt. The other driver asked me to call them in about an hour after they got home, but insisted I don't leave a voicemail if they don't pick up. I agreed but the more I thought about it the less sense it made to me if we were just going to go through insurance anyway, but I called regardless and sure enough they didn't pick up. They filed a claim later that day, I was found 100% at fault, and I thought that was it. Earlier today, however, I received a voicemail from that other driver asking me to call them when I could. I didn't see a reason to if our insurance settled it, but against my better judgment I went ahead and called them back. They told me that my insurance had refused to pay for their rental car, and wouldn't give them a "satisfactory reason" for the denial. They asked me if I could get in touch with my insurance company about it, and while I wasn't really sure what I can do about that, I told them I'd try. They did \*not\* ask me if I would be willing to pay for it myself, and I did not offer to do so, but I kind of got the vibe that they might have wanted me to if my insurance doesn't cover it. They also gave a specific number for the amount of the rental, leading me to believe they'd already rented it and were seeking reimbursement. So my question is, do I actually bother contacting my insurance company about this? I assume that they had a reason to refuse to cover it; the amount the other driver paid sounded like too much to me, but this is just my speculation. Even if it's just my insurance being stingy, this seems like an issue that the other driver should be settling with them or going through their own insurance for, rather than something they should be contacting me about personally. What could I even do? Calling my insurance company and asking them "hey uhh could you cover the rental for that person I rear ended a couple months ago, they said you won't for some reason" doesn't strike me as a good idea. My gut instinct is that the other driver is shit out of luck for getting an expensive rental before confirming that it would be covered, and I should refuse further contact, block their number, and let them deal with in

I’d like to know what insurance claims have been requested on a home I’m closing on. It just seems smart to understand what has occurred with this very large purchase I’m making. I asked my insurance company for this and they said they aren’t able to see that, which I know has to be a lie? Isn’t that the primary thing they look at when underwriting? Is there any way I can get this information?

hey all, I was with nationwide insurance for my 2 young cats for the past 2 years. Never needed to use them but the $50 a month was worth it for me. Yesterday I found out they discontinued the ‘whole pet plan’ policy they were signed up for in my state and did not notify me. They cancelled it end of December with no email/call/correspondence. They created a new policy similar to their original and discontinued the one my cats were on. I went in to double check the illness coverage for their policy because I was about to bring in my sick cat, and that’s how I found out they cancelled his coverage. I spoke to 3 different people and their supervisors for hours and they refused to reinstate their coverage on a different plan until the 2 week waiting period was over, and didn’t take any accountability for their failure to contact me before/during/after they cancelled his coverage. My cat is now entering early heart failure and the testing to diagnose what type will cost over $5,000 to get him into a specialist. He’s only a 5 year old cat with no signs of a heart murmur/heart and liver issues until yesterday. As of now, he’s on various medications to try to stabilize him until he’s healthy enough for an echo exam. I chose Nationwide because they appear to be a reputable insurance company in other regards, but I will never be enrolled with them again in any capacity. I’ve never really written a review on any experience that I’ve had because I feel like everyone has different experiences. PLEASE do not use this company for your pet insurance. I don’t want anyone else to have to go through what my cat is facing and the likelihood he will have to be put to sleep in the coming days. It’s devastating and the fact that there may have been a different outcome if he was able to get all the testing in the world without financial issues is something I’m going to be thinking about forever, which is the reason pet insurance is so vital for any animals we own. There are so many other insurance companies that will do better and care for your pets and nationwide isn’t one of them ♥️

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?

When I turned 18, my dad made my start a Roth IRA with Ameriprise because I had an unexpected source of income coming in that he wanted me to put away. Well, since then I have continued to put money into that account and I talk to my FA semi-regularly. Well, I am now 22M and going to be making some real money soon and after some research, I see a lot of people saying to avoid FA for a Roth, especially Ameriprise. I am glad my dad had me do this when I was 18 but now I am wondering if I should move my Roth to something else. For full disclosure, I have put in $19,000 total, and it has grown about $4,000 in that last 4 years or so. However, I do not really know where to begin. Should I move my Roth away from Ameriprise? How would I move my Roth? Where do I move my Roth? I have seen mentions of Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab and others. How would I choose one? Don't services like these also charge some sort of fee? Thank you so much for the help.

I opened my bank account yesterday and my jaw dropped to see a hefty bill of $519.67 from Healthy Paws!! I have been their customer for more than 10 years and they took care of my pets....They covered an expensive procedure about 3 years back and I felt nothing but grateful...Their claim submission process is very simple....No recent high amount bills from my end (just regular procedures in the last 2 years!!) ....I referred my friends to them...And I was a happy customer until today...I understand that companies sometimes need to increase their rate but to increase it by 323% !!! ... I am just sad and devastated...You value your kids'/pets' health more than yours...I just paid $160.49 a month ago..if they had to increase the rate to $200.00 or $215.00, I would have understood...But this rate hikes is truly unjustified...I am planning to report it...My heart is broken....I wanted to let people know..

I just had a Total Loss on my home which was insured by Amica Mutual. Almost all reputable insurance carriers pay out the face value of the policy. Amica decided to use an obscure New York loophole to "AVERAGE" out what THEY feel I should get instead of what I paid for. They offered me less than 50% of THEIR ADJUSTOR'S replacement cost with the balance paid out after "THEIR REVIEW AND APPROVAL".

I asked the Doc to send a simple urine sample to Quest. My insurance covers 100% labs with Quest. Today I see on my Florida Blue Cross account they sent it to a different lab and my portion is $3170. What to do?