The Hartford AARP Poor claims service and changed homeowner's deductible without authorization

We have had the Hartford for a little over a year now. So far, I am completely unimpressed with them.

The first problem we had was on a glass claim. We clearly told the rep that the windshield had cracked and was continuing to extend. She stated the crack could be repaired and the windshield would not need to be replaced. She transferred us to Kryger Glass and they stated, which I pretty much knew, that the windshield would need to be replaced if it was larger than a quarter sized chip.

A crack and a chip are not the same thing. A claim rep should be properly trained in order to know this information. Then, Kryger Glass stated because the rep set up the claim wrong that we would have to call them back to get it corrected before they would set up an appointment. In all, we spent more than an hour trying to set up a glass claim. And Kryger, the glass company they referred us to, didn't even bother to properly document our phone call when we called back.

They stated they would need to call the Subaru dealership to obtain a replacement windshield and would need to call us back once located. Five days later, I called them back and they didn't even have a record of our claim or the conversation. So, we had to call the Hartford back a third time for another glass referral.

The second problem occurred when I noticed they changed our homeowners's deductible to 1% of the property value from $1500. This changed our deductible to almost $3k. They never even bothered to send a notice. At this point, I filed a BBB report. They responded by saying their system made an error and changed our deductible and stated they would change it back to the $1500 amount. Right.

The most recent problem occurred when our HVAC servicer inspected our unit and determined we needed a new one. We have mechanical breakdown coverage through the homeowner's policy. The first rep asked about the damage and was instructed it was a leak in the coil, the freon for the unit was being discontinued in a year, and servicers in the area could not get the new freon in stock. Therefore, the unit needed to be replaced. The initial claims rep asked if the coil had been damaged by an animal. I said I didn't think so. The follow up rep asked for us to send pictures and an estimate. I stated we would send them when the HVAC team came to do the install.

Then, we received a call from an adjuster named Dena Anderson. She started off the conversation by asking if it was damaged by an animal, I said I didn't think so, laughed, and said how in the world could an animal climb inside to the coil to cause a hole. Next to impossible considering the narrowness of the area in front of the coils, but I said I couldn't be sure. Again, she said, "So it was damaged by an animal?" The call of course was being recorded for quality assurance purposes.

This time, I got mad, because she kept insisting it was damaged by an animal despite never being told it was by an animal and without supporting pictures of the damaged unit. I told her I had clearly stated before that I didn't know, doubted it was from an animal, and to quit putting words in my mouth. She backed off immediately and apologized, blaming the initial claims rep for setting it up as animal damage. I reiterated that I never told this to the original rep which could be verified if they listened to the recorded call.

Then, she stated she would need to refer the claim to someone else because this was apparently "mechanical damage" and would be covered. So basically they just opened a claim and logged in incorrectly in order to try to turn it down, forwarding it to someone who never had any intention on approving the claim. Unbelievable.

After the last incident, I filed a report with my state insurance commissioner and another BBB report. I would suggest others do the same if similar behavior is noticed. I also plan on filing a complaint with the AARP.