Really? Maybe the 15 minute folks *are* better

OK, so I reported the accident to the insurance company yesterday using their 1-800 number. They started a claim, gave me the number, took a statement and handed it off to the local agent. Not at all surprising, that’s about how everyone I’ve ever dealt with starts things off.

So I called the agent/adjuster and she was out of the office (it was around 0800 when I called, it could be they aren’t open then but still) so I left a message on the voicemail and a few hours later got a call back. She’s not actually "local" she’s in Atlanta and doesn’t even know where the town I live in is. She seemed very hesitant and unsure about everything, wanted to know why there was a lien on the car (duh, because I’m still paying for it, it’s a 2012) and confused as to why I was in the area I was in despite the fact that the address listed on the policy is, you guessed it, in this area. She was flabbergasted that the place I took it to (the local dealer) didn’t have a body shop, and seemed to think it would be no problem for me to drive my undriveable car to another location that could do both the mechanical and the cosmetic work.

I really hope the local person (hopefully an actual local person) she passes this off to understands the dynamics of small town car repairs and why I took it to the dealer.

I think at the earliest available opportunity (i.e. as soon as it’s paid off and I’ve got the title) I’m changing insurance companies.