PEMCO

PEMCO's website offered me a quote, and I answered all their questions, admitting my insurance had lapsed. The website formed a very detailed quote with actual dollar amounts and payment plans. But it said a real representative would have to follow up. The representative, [REDACTED NAME] Jolly of [REDACTED NAME] County, WA, emailed me back on the follow-up. She said, "It looks like your insurance has lapsed" and said that disqualified me. I already told the website my insurance lapsed - it was one of their first questions. But they formulated a decent quote anyhow. She refused to honor it.

I'm appalled by the conduct of the multiple Pemco employees I've been dealing with. It's been 1 year 9 months since I was hit by an uninsured motorist while stopped at a stop sign. The abandoned my car at the repair shop where it was taken apart. The shop was going to put a lein on it so PEMCO (after I contacted them) towed it and abandoned it in my driveway. This was after they insisted it was intact and I explained that if it wasn't my HOA would fine me daily. Because my car is rare and there are only 2 compareable vehicles nationwide, they are fighting me tooth and nail over the cost of the claim. The comp cars are for sale for 15k and 14k, their offer to me is about 4k with no explination. They're not only bad insurance agents, they're bad people. Throughout all of this, they invented a story that involved the other driver losing a child/pregnancy in the accident. For that reason they said they weren't going to pay out because in their minds it changed the fault of the accident to have been my own. When I explained that although that's unfortunate, it doesn't change the covereage to my car, they would only repeat that "she lost a child!" over and over with an occational mention that I will be liable and will have to go to court over it at which point I will need to pay damages to her out of pocket. They hung up on me countless times when I disagreed and asked them to explain their reasoning, provide proof for what they were saying, or show where it describes this exclusion in my policy. At some point during a several month period without contact, I learned that they "closed" the claim. I had to explain the criminal nature of their actions to a supervisor before they agreed to continue with the claim. Their lies have included inventing that the other driver had lost a pregnancy in the accident, that my car was already taken apart/totaled before I DROVE IT to the shop, denying statements made to me which I have recorded, and insisting they never got emails I've sent AFTER they've replied to them!!! For anyone considering becoming a customer - BEWARE! The rates are super low at first to draw you in, but they raise them constantly and for no reason at all! You'll only get a year at best for the price they quote you. But none of that matters when they refuse to pay out on a claim. I've only had to deal with them covering the cost of my own car, I can't imagine how much worse it could get paying out-of-pocket for another persons claim if you were actually at fault, but you'll be doing just that because there's no way Pemco is going to pay out!!

I love PEMCO. I love that I can call and immediately talk to a real, live person who can pronounce my name. I love that I can talk to a real, live person right after that who answers my questions about car and home owner's insurance and treats me like an adult worthy of respect. I have been with them for 7 years, and while I haven't had to file any claims, their customer service for my homeowners insurance has been awesome. So disclaimer: this high rating is just for their customer service, which rocks my socks.

I had a claim of a hit and run on my vehicle. I did follow the guy home and he ended up being a neighbor that was driving under the influence and with a suspended license. I called PEMCO and they told me to go right into any company I chose and get it fixed. I had to pay $100 for the claim. It was fixed and paid for in one week. I called the police and he was arrested. PEMCO followed up on my claim and 3 months later they refunded my $100. They have great customer service and low rates. My rates did not go up.

PEMCO has long been an excellent company but that has been changing recently. I do appreciate customer service that is available by phone or email but I dislike that one person says one thing while another person says another thing. I was signed up for auto pay and made a payment by credit card several weeks before the auto pay occurred. I was dinged for doing that, with a $35 charge. The PEMCO support person did not tell me I would be dinged. She accepted payment happily. You can also make the payment via their site without a "fail." I complained and asked for a return. I was told "no." Their premiums have continued to go up year after year despite cars aging and driving less and less. I was told it was because of the fires and the the legalization of cannabis in the state of Washington. I'm looking elsewhere.