My husband and I moved to Iowa and made the grave mistake of trusting Onward Insurance Group to obtain for us both home and auto policies. Unknown to us, at the time, the agent they set us up with was a newer employee and totally lacked any experience. Instead of insuring us with a Reputable Home Insurance Co, he set us up with Heritage Mutual Insurance Company. We only found out, much later on, that Heritage has dozens of consumer complaints against them from 2 online websites where customers can leave reviews. He also set us up with Grinnell for Auto (a policy that was never even issued.) The Home policy was started on April 4, 2023 and the auto policy was supposed to start April 21, 2023.
Here is our story which reads like a Horror Book. The quote for the Home with Heritage was supposed to be $137.66 per month. We paid $ 275.32 to cover us for 2 months. April 4, to June 4, 2023. This novice agent told me that I was now set up for monthly payments to begin June 4. Later, we found out, this was not the case. He also told me to contact him a few days before April 21, to set up the 6 month auto policy with Grinnell insurance - a total of $ 207.22 to be paid all at once, directly to him.
Well, things started going wrong around mid-April. The policy from Heritage arrived in the mail. I looked it over and it was just a policy - nothing else. Except for the fact Heritage had the wrong square footage of the house at only 1/2 of what it was supposed to be and failed to take into account the partially finished basement. The agent did not see this error and I made him correct it.
Around April 19, I called the agent to tell him that we would come to his office to pay the $ 207.22 for the 6 months of auto insurance coverage. He was fine with that. Now, let me be clear on something! This agent knew that we still had a valid drivers license and plate from another state, and NEVER told us we had to get an Iowa drivers license and plate BEFORE a policy would be issued. Now the next day, on April 20, I get a phone call from his "supervisor" who now informs us that we do NOT qualify for the auto policy because we did not have both an Iowa drivers license and plate here and now. I told this guy that the agent never informed us of this. He replied, WELL YOU DON'T GET THE AUTO INSURANCE AND IT IS NOW TOO LATE TO GET THE DRIVERS LICENSE AND PLATE. Dear Readers: There was no time to procure these things 1 day before the policy was to go into effect. This is the fault of Onward Insurance Group, but they denied it saying that the agent informed us, which he certainly did not.
Thus, we lost a good 6 month rate and we lost the multi policy discount. This is when I called the inexperienced agent, and yelled at him. He sheepishly told us, that now we would have to pay about $ 177. and some change per month beginning June 4th. An increase of $40 per month - all due to his not informing us about the auto insurance. I had to keep the auto insurance we had, at the time, with another carrier.
Then, in mid May, I get a text from the agent who tells me that OUR HOME POLICY IS BEING CANCELLED ON MAY 28, 2023 BECAUSE WE FAILED TO SIGN AN AMENDMENT REGARDING REPAIR LOSSES, (where Heritage only wanted to use drywall for any repairs and not plaster that is in the older house.) I was not aware of this, and he claims that a letter was sent to me by postal mail, which I did not receive.
He came over and I signed the amendment. The next day, the letter finally arrived with the Cancellation Threat.
Now we come to the latter part of May. I called this agent to tell him that we put the home on the market for sale and would only need the home policy until the home sells. I thought there would be an automatic payment for this now $ 177. amount on June 4th. The agent, again sheepishly, tells me that the policy is now NOT on auto payment. As you will recall, dear readers, he told me that he set up auto payment himself.
He then informs me that he would take care of everything and that he was going on vacation June 1, and would assign someone in the office to call me and take the $177. payment for June 4 to July 4. Well, no one called me on June 1. I called the office and no one returned my call. Again I called the office on June 2 - a Friday, and finally spoke to a lady who said, YEAH, I AM TO COLLECT MONEY FROM YOU.
Now comes another shock! She tells me that she has to collect $ 383.93 from me. I told her that the amount is supposed to be $ 177. for the 1 month premium. Then, to add more shock here, she says to me SINCE YOU NEVER SIGNED UP FOR A 'MY ACCOUNT' ONLINE THAT THE COMPANY SET YOU UP ON QUARTERLY PAYMENTS. Then she tells me that the Quarter is for April 4, 2023 thru July 4, 2023.
I was livid with anger and told her WHAT HAPPENED TO THE $ 275.32 I paid for 2 months already. She replied I DON'T KNOW. Of course, the agent is now on vacation and the policy was to expire June 4, a Sunday. I told her this is a mistake and that I would NEVER pay $ 383.93 and that whoever set this up on quarter payments made a grave mistake. She did not care about the mistakes the agent made, only told me this:
TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND FORGET ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST AND CONCENTRATE ON THE NOW. (What nerve she has, as I am sure you will agree.)
Again I told her that I would not pay this and will look for another insurer. Then she tells me that For July 4 to October 4, 2023, I would owe anothr $ 383.93. Again, she denies knowing anything about the $ 275.32 I already paid.
I called Heritage Insurance and spoke to the President, who agreed Onward was at fault and would help solve this that day or Monday.
Well, it never got resolved. On Monday, I got a bill for the $ 383.93 - which I did not owe, and also a bill for $767.86 for an additional 3 months ending in October, which I also did not owe.
I was lived with rage, and called the President of Heritage and left a message that I would be cancelling this worthless policy due to the grave and stupid errors made by Onward and Heritage. I would do this as soon as I found new insurance. I began calling around and found a policy with another carrier - the same one who has the auto policy and the agent is in town here.
To my surprise, I get a call that same Monday, June 5, from the same lady I spoke to on June 2, saying I AM GOING TO SEND OVER THE OFFICE MANAGER TO HAVE US SIGN A CANCELLATION EFFECTIVE 'YESTERDAY' JUNE 4. I told her that my new policy would not take effect until June 7th. She did not care if we were without homeowner insurance for 3 days.
To make a long story shorter, on June 6, the male office manager came over with the Policy Cancellation Request to be effective June 7. Good Riddance to Onward and Heritage - with all the misery they put us through.
By the way, we did file a detailed complaint with the State of Iowa Division of Insurance telling them the whole story, as I am relating here to you.. Guess, what, The Iowa Division of Insurance found No Wrong Doing.
I had filed, a separate report on the Iowa Division of Insurance, on this website regarding our negative experience with them and the fact that they are nothing but a Rubber Stamp for Insurance Companies, always have their backs and Never find for he citizen.
This is why Insurance Companies and Agencies get away with wrong doing and mis-treatment of customers, negligence and so on. They have nothing to fear. They know the State Insurance Commissons always HAVE THEIR BACKS.
What a tremendous Rip Off This Is for ourselves and all citizens out there in the United States of America who have suffered from wrong doing by their own insurance companies, who only have Dollar Signs in their Eyes. In short, we the people pay good money to these companies, and we get the short end of the stick in return.
Onward Insurance Services Reviews
My husband and I moved to Iowa and made the grave mistake of trusting Onward Insurance Group to obtain for us both home and auto policies. Unknown to us, at the time, the agent they set us up with was a newer employee and totally lacked any experience. Instead of insuring us with a Reputable Home Insurance Co, he set us up with Heritage Mutual Insurance Company. We only found out, much later on, that Heritage has dozens of consumer complaints against them from 2 online websites where customers can leave reviews. He also set us up with Grinnell for Auto (a policy that was never even issued.) The Home policy was started on April 4, 2023 and the auto policy was supposed to start April 21, 2023.
Here is our story which reads like a Horror Book. The quote for the Home with Heritage was supposed to be $137.66 per month. We paid $ 275.32 to cover us for 2 months. April 4, to June 4, 2023. This novice agent told me that I was now set up for monthly payments to begin June 4. Later, we found out, this was not the case. He also told me to contact him a few days before April 21, to set up the 6 month auto policy with Grinnell insurance - a total of $ 207.22 to be paid all at once, directly to him.
Well, things started going wrong around mid-April. The policy from Heritage arrived in the mail. I looked it over and it was just a policy - nothing else. Except for the fact Heritage had the wrong square footage of the house at only 1/2 of what it was supposed to be and failed to take into account the partially finished basement. The agent did not see this error and I made him correct it.
Around April 19, I called the agent to tell him that we would come to his office to pay the $ 207.22 for the 6 months of auto insurance coverage. He was fine with that. Now, let me be clear on something! This agent knew that we still had a valid drivers license and plate from another state, and NEVER told us we had to get an Iowa drivers license and plate BEFORE a policy would be issued. Now the next day, on April 20, I get a phone call from his "supervisor" who now informs us that we do NOT qualify for the auto policy because we did not have both an Iowa drivers license and plate here and now. I told this guy that the agent never informed us of this. He replied, WELL YOU DON'T GET THE AUTO INSURANCE AND IT IS NOW TOO LATE TO GET THE DRIVERS LICENSE AND PLATE. Dear Readers: There was no time to procure these things 1 day before the policy was to go into effect. This is the fault of Onward Insurance Group, but they denied it saying that the agent informed us, which he certainly did not.
Thus, we lost a good 6 month rate and we lost the multi policy discount. This is when I called the inexperienced agent, and yelled at him. He sheepishly told us, that now we would have to pay about $ 177. and some change per month beginning June 4th. An increase of $40 per month - all due to his not informing us about the auto insurance. I had to keep the auto insurance we had, at the time, with another carrier.
Then, in mid May, I get a text from the agent who tells me that OUR HOME POLICY IS BEING CANCELLED ON MAY 28, 2023 BECAUSE WE FAILED TO SIGN AN AMENDMENT REGARDING REPAIR LOSSES, (where Heritage only wanted to use drywall for any repairs and not plaster that is in the older house.) I was not aware of this, and he claims that a letter was sent to me by postal mail, which I did not receive.
He came over and I signed the amendment. The next day, the letter finally arrived with the Cancellation Threat.
Now we come to the latter part of May. I called this agent to tell him that we put the home on the market for sale and would only need the home policy until the home sells. I thought there would be an automatic payment for this now $ 177. amount on June 4th. The agent, again sheepishly, tells me that the policy is now NOT on auto payment. As you will recall, dear readers, he told me that he set up auto payment himself.
He then informs me that he would take care of everything and that he was going on vacation June 1, and would assign someone in the office to call me and take the $177. payment for June 4 to July 4. Well, no one called me on June 1. I called the office and no one returned my call. Again I called the office on June 2 - a Friday, and finally spoke to a lady who said, YEAH, I AM TO COLLECT MONEY FROM YOU.
Now comes another shock! She tells me that she has to collect $ 383.93 from me. I told her that the amount is supposed to be $ 177. for the 1 month premium. Then, to add more shock here, she says to me SINCE YOU NEVER SIGNED UP FOR A 'MY ACCOUNT' ONLINE THAT THE COMPANY SET YOU UP ON QUARTERLY PAYMENTS. Then she tells me that the Quarter is for April 4, 2023 thru July 4, 2023.
I was livid with anger and told her WHAT HAPPENED TO THE $ 275.32 I paid for 2 months already. She replied I DON'T KNOW. Of course, the agent is now on vacation and the policy was to expire June 4, a Sunday. I told her this is a mistake and that I would NEVER pay $ 383.93 and that whoever set this up on quarter payments made a grave mistake. She did not care about the mistakes the agent made, only told me this:
TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND FORGET ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST AND CONCENTRATE ON THE NOW. (What nerve she has, as I am sure you will agree.)
Again I told her that I would not pay this and will look for another insurer. Then she tells me that For July 4 to October 4, 2023, I would owe anothr $ 383.93. Again, she denies knowing anything about the $ 275.32 I already paid.
I called Heritage Insurance and spoke to the President, who agreed Onward was at fault and would help solve this that day or Monday.
Well, it never got resolved. On Monday, I got a bill for the $ 383.93 - which I did not owe, and also a bill for $767.86 for an additional 3 months ending in October, which I also did not owe.
I was lived with rage, and called the President of Heritage and left a message that I would be cancelling this worthless policy due to the grave and stupid errors made by Onward and Heritage. I would do this as soon as I found new insurance. I began calling around and found a policy with another carrier - the same one who has the auto policy and the agent is in town here.
To my surprise, I get a call that same Monday, June 5, from the same lady I spoke to on June 2, saying I AM GOING TO SEND OVER THE OFFICE MANAGER TO HAVE US SIGN A CANCELLATION EFFECTIVE 'YESTERDAY' JUNE 4. I told her that my new policy would not take effect until June 7th. She did not care if we were without homeowner insurance for 3 days.
To make a long story shorter, on June 6, the male office manager came over with the Policy Cancellation Request to be effective June 7. Good Riddance to Onward and Heritage - with all the misery they put us through.
By the way, we did file a detailed complaint with the State of Iowa Division of Insurance telling them the whole story, as I am relating here to you.. Guess, what, The Iowa Division of Insurance found No Wrong Doing.
I had filed, a separate report on the Iowa Division of Insurance, on this website regarding our negative experience with them and the fact that they are nothing but a Rubber Stamp for Insurance Companies, always have their backs and Never find for he citizen.
This is why Insurance Companies and Agencies get away with wrong doing and mis-treatment of customers, negligence and so on. They have nothing to fear. They know the State Insurance Commissons always HAVE THEIR BACKS.
What a tremendous Rip Off This Is for ourselves and all citizens out there in the United States of America who have suffered from wrong doing by their own insurance companies, who only have Dollar Signs in their Eyes. In short, we the people pay good money to these companies, and we get the short end of the stick in return.
Signed,
A Word to the Wise