US Security Car Insurance Claims
US Security operates as a property and casualty insurance underwriter. The company writes non-standard private vehicle, commercial, general liability and garage cover under its auto policies, as well as cover for fire and flood.
History of US Security
US Security Insurance Company Inc was established in 1985 in Florida as part of corporate owned Hamilton Risk Management Company. This company is affiliated with the following subsidiaries: APPCO Premium Finance Company, Auto Body Tech, Insurance Management Services, Inc. and Corporate Claims Services. The Hamilton Risk Management Company, which has estimated annual revenues of between $500,000 and $1 million, was subsequently purchased by Kingsway Financial Services, Inc. in 1999.
In 2001 the Department of Insurance of the Treasurer of the State of Florida examined the company’s activities for the period January 1997 to December 1999 in response to numerous complaints by policyholders. It was found that the company committed various violations:
- Use of unlicensed or unappointed agents
- Failure to comply with Unfair Trade Practice Requirements
- Failure to comply with the rules of cancellation and/or non-renewal of policies
- Failure to communicate properly with its policyholders
- Failure to put denials of coverage in writing
- Failure to correctly adjust the Claim per Policy requirements.
US Security was fined $2,000 and charged administrative costs of $500.
As a result of this examination, between December 2002 and May 2003 the company reduced the number of insurance agencies it worked with from 492 to 425. Today, each of the company’s agents is expected to fulfil a quota of new policies; and all policies written by agents who no longer work with the company are not being renewed.
In September 2003 the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Office of Insurance Regulation (Market Conduct Bureau) conducted an examination of the company, again as a result of a high number of consumer complaints against US Security. The company’s open and closed claims handling methods were analysed, as well as verification of the company’s compliance with Florida Statutes and Rules. The results of this examination show that in 8 cases, the company did not give specific reasons for non-renewal.
In 31 cases, the company failed to adopt and put in place standards which would enable them to properly investigate claim processing delays. The company continued to fail to communicate with their policyholders in a timely manner and to disclose policy information. The investigation found that it misrepresented salient facts or provisions of policies. As a result of these violations, the company was instructed to inform is policyholders of the reason for non-renewal of their policies.
At the time of writing, it is to be noted that the company’s website (www.hamiltonrisk.com), as reported by the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Office of Insurance Regulation in its examination report, leads to the home page of Kingsway Amigo Insurance Company. Numerous other sites on the internet relating to the company were blocked because of virus and spyware risks.
