Jim Finnegan of Euclid is issuing a warning if you're soon planning to switch auto insurance coverage to another company.
Finnegan told News 5 consumers need to verify coverage with their old insurance carrier has been dropped, and don't just rely on your local insurance agent to complete the switch.
Finnegan said he tried to switch auto insurance coverage on his four family vehicles from Allstate to Geico in October of last year.
Finnegan said his Allstate agent told him the switch would be made, but for over a year Allstate continued taking auto pay withdrawals from his bank account of more than $3,700.
Finnegan said he called his insurance agent and Allstate corporate offices dozens of times to drop coverage and get a refund, but he says he got nothing but promises, even though he showed written proof he was now covered by Geico.
"The anxiety, the stress that this has caused, has just been unbelievable," said Finnegan.
"Every time I made the phone call, they were fully aware I had duplicate auto insurance, and I had the proof in my hands."
"I called my local agent, I called the corporate office in Chicago. I did everything I was supposed to do."
Finally in May 2017, Allstate sent a partial refund of $1600, telling him that corporate policy would only allow them to give back half of the money.
Finnegan said he was still out more than $2,100.
Cleveland Better Business Bureau Director of Operations Ericka Dilworth told News 5 consumers need to follow through and get written verification that coverage from an old insurance carrier has been dropped.
"Keep record of when you talked, what you talked about, what was required of you to do, and what the agent said they would do," Dilworth said.
"Go directly to the insurance company and say look I spoke to my agent on, this is who I talked with, he was supposed to cancel it. It's still coming out of my account."
Dilworth said it's critical consumers drop auto pay on old coverage as soon as new coverage is established.
Finnegan admits he should have stopped payment through his bank account after the first unapproved withdrawal.
News 5 contacted the insurance agent and Allstate corporate offices about this case, and within 24 hours Allstate pledged to issue a full refund to Finnegan.
Allstate issued the following statement in response to our story:
"While we cannot discuss the specifics of individual cases due to privacy reasons, our ultimate goal is to deliver customers the best experience possible and react as quickly as we can when we learn of a concern."
Consumers who have concerns about insurance coverage can contact the Better Business Bureau or the Ohio Department of Insurance.
