I was contacted by an insurance carrier in Owensboro and they told me that they compared their car insurance rates to our insurance carrier and they said they offer better car insurance rates. They said they were looking at our insurance policy and said we could get a better deal with them. How is it possible that they have access to our auto insurance information?

Desiree

Owensboro, KY

Normally a competing insurance company is not permitted to have access to your current insurance policy. For marketing, typically an insurer will look at your current registered cars and try to rate it with that. Competing insurance carriers/agents can access general information about you like your age, where you live, tax status, etc., however they should not have access to your actual car insurance policy without your permission. They are in violation of insurance privacy regulations if they do.

Most likely the insurance carrier that called you was using a marketing strategy to get your business. As for comparing their car insurance rates with your insurance carriers rates overall, that is possible since some insurers do publish sample insurance rate quotes. For instance, you live in Owensboro Kentucky, here the Kentucky Department of Insurance (DOI) provides a consumer guide that lists insurance carriers authorized to sell auto/homeowners/renters insurance in KY and those insurers have provided rate comparisons for certain situations.

If you believe that the insurance company that contacted you truly did have a copy of your car insurance policy then you can have the KY DOI, the insurance regulator for the state, investigate the issue and you can file a formal complaint with this state agency.

Can you explain what a Guest PIP in Kentucky is?

Richie

Louisville, KY

Guest PIP is a type of coverage that must be bought if basic PIP has been rejected by the insured’s listed on an insurance policy. The state of Kentucky is a “choice no-fault” and this means that a driver can choose to insure their car under the tort system or the no fault system.

According to the Kentucky Department of Insurance representative, in Kentucky when you buy auto liability coverage you also buy PIP coverage for you, your family and guest passengers (choose the no-fault system).

Usually, guests are defined as those in your car that are not immediate family members. Normally, additional PIP is not afforded to a policy that includes Guest PIP coverage only.