I’ve been catching commercials from two major companies that offer supplemental car repair insurance for your car and wondered if they’d be of any value.
I called the one I see most often—US Fidelis. Their ads are pitched to us by NASCAR star Rusty Wallace.
As soon as I landed in the voicemail system I knew I was in for trouble. It explains that you’re about to receive a quote for insurance on your vehicle and that the quote is only good for the duration of the call. Any subsequent calls will require some sort of authentication/verification process that will drive the cost and time up. Nothing I hate more than the hard sell.
The rep comes on the line. She starts by getting all the particulars for my vehicle. She then mentions a price I find a bit high. For me it was $88 and they mentioned five years. So I do the math. $5,280 to cover me for possible repair? Then the fun part came. The quote was for $220. Why $220? Because they want their money in two years. So now I should add another car payment to the mix?
It gets worse. She then starts to talk about coverage and I say, “Well, tell me what it doesn’t cover.” Her response was classic, “Um, this will go a lot faster if I tell you what it does cover.” Oh boy. She starts reading off the list and literally seconds after starting she’s finished. The things on the list are so obscure and unlikely to break that it’s all a joke. Nothing you’d want covered is covered. Sign me up! Not….
