If your are like many of us living in Florida, you have received solicitation letters and postcards from People’s Trust claiming how they can save you money.
It seems that you almost need to be a lawyer to finds your way around the fine print to make sense of this mailer and not be deceived by the enticing bottom line quote premium savings it promises! When you follow around the asterisks and numbers contained after statements in the marketing mailer down to the legend it is quite interesting. It certainly makes strong statements to save money on the premium by giving specific examples of real People’s Trust premium quotes in your neighborhood that are a fraction of what most pay for their property insurance—and this letter comes right from the CEO of People’s Trust!
The mailer gives three quotes of “actual people’s trust home insurance quotes in neighborhoods.” Two example quotes are a fraction of the other one and a fraction of the premium that most pay for insurance with a different carrier than People’s Trust.
When you look at the statement in fine print on the mailer it states that the quotes provided may be for “Basic Choice coverage.” So what is “Basic Choice coverage” you say? When you follow the asterisk to the bottom of the back page, it states:
**Important note: Basic Choice provides coverage in the event of a catastrophic loss, such as fireor windstorm. It does NOT cover water damage, theft, vandalism, and some other perils. Please consult with your sales representative or agent to determine the best type of insurance for you.
The mailer does contain that caveat and statement within the fine print on the very bottom of the back page of the mailer, but I question whether many people ever even read the fine print.
I see policyholders that aren’t aware of coverages ending up with policies providing very limited or basic coverage and they often do not realize what they have until they are unfortunate enough to sustain a loss for which they have to file a claim. I can offer a tip to avoid this situation: Do not bottom line shop for insurance! You may pay greatly if you suffer a loss and find out that you have been duped by marketing mailers and do not have the scenario evaluated by an experienced professional.