PEMCO uses the local company angle to sell its insurance coverage.

Summary

Commercial opens with two vehicles approaching a four-way stop at the same time.

Announcer: Politeness is nice.

One driver signals to the other driver to go ahead through the intersection first. The other driver signals back for him to go first.

Announcer: It’s gracious,

Both vehicles start to go through the intersection at the same time and both come to a sudden stop.

Announcer: It’s well-mannered.

First driver once again signals to the other vehicle to go first, this time not looking as cheerful.

Announcer: But, no one ever said it was efficient.

Both vehicles once again try to go through the intersection at the same time and both come to a sudden stop again.

The words “Northwest Profile #4” come on the screen.

Announcer: 4-way stop you go, no you go, no you go guy (word appear on the screen as announcer says them), you’re one of us.

Jogger now approaches the intersection.

Announcer: And you deserve a local insurance company that doesn’t hesitate to put customers first.

Now the two cars and the pedestrian are doing the “you go first” dance and everyone is starting and then stopping again.

The screen goes to an olive green with the PEMCO INSURANCE logo and “We’re a lot like you.” on the screen. Under the sign are the 3 insurance products they write, their phone number and “call your local agent or visit PEMCO.com”.

Announcer: We’re a lot like you; a little different.

Point of the Commercial

PEMCO Insurance is making two points in this commercial. One, they are making the connection with drivers in the Pacific Northwest that they are from here and they know how life is in this part of the country. Because they are from this specific area, they can take care of you better than a company that is headquartered back east and probably thinks the capitol of Washington is Seattle.

Two, the politeness issue isn’t just funny, it’s making a point about the PEMCO Insurance company. In fact, they directly address it at the end of the commercial when the announcer makes the connection that PEMCO is just like the polite driver , but instead of letting the other car go first, they put you the customer first.

What They Want you to Do

They want the drivers in the Pacific Northwest to trust them because they are local. They want these drivers to switch to them from the large national companies for the same reason. PEMCO is actually playing a very strong card here. In the Pacific Northwest there is a large “Buy Local” movement to encourage people to keep their money local and help out the economy in the area that they live in.

My Opinion

I’m not sure if this is what happens in the other parts of the country, but PEMCO hit it right on the head for those of us that live in the Pacific Northwest. I have played the part of both drivers and the pedestrian, stuck in this overly, polite intersection stand-off.

Aside from that, PEMCO has a whole series of “Northwest Profile” commercials to make the point that they are a local company and that they understand what it is like to be a driver here. The commercials are simple, they are different (in other words it doesn’t mention being better than GEICO) and it makes a point.

Overall, even though it isn’t my favorite commercial; I would still give this PEMCO Insurance commercial a thumbs up.

A U.S. car insurance policy is only valid if you are visiting Canada.

If you are living in Canada, the Canadian government requires that you carry Canadian car insurance. It is understandable that as a student you may still be a United States citizen and only in the country temporarily, but you are still living there.

The only time that the Canadian government will accept United States car insurance as proof of proper insurance coverage is if the driver is in the country as a tourist. Even then they still have to have a special card on hand issued by their U.S. car insurance company as proof of insurance extending into Canada.

If you find your car insurance dropped, there is really little you can do to retaliate.

Rejection is hard to take, even if it is in the form of your insurance company cancelling your policy. You wonder what you did wrong, how you could have made it work out, and then you get mad that they don’t want you.

Seriously? This is an insurance company we are talking about, not a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Insurance companies are everywhere and there is usually another company willing to take your money if you find your car insurance dropped by another.

I know that it still makes you mad that they are dropping you and you want to get back at them. Honestly, once you have had your car insurance dropped, there is nothing you can do to make the insurance company change their mind.

However, here are some ways to prevent having your car insurance dropped in the first place.

Car Insurance Dropped Right at Beginning

You walk out of your new insurance agent’s office with your new insurance policy in hand and very proud of yourself for the great deal you just got on your new insurance. That is until a couple weeks later when you receive a letter in the mail that your new policy has been cancelled.

What happened?

The primary reason for an insurance policy to be cancelled soon after it is initially issued is that all of the information was not given when the policy was written. This means that you either lied about previous accidents and tickets or they were forgotten. Either way, this additional information can disqualify you from being eligible for insurance with a particular company. At the very least, if you don’t find your car insurance dropped, you will see a large increase in your premium.

A lot of people with accidents and tickets think that if they don’t disclose the information that it will never be found out. However, the insurance company pulls a DMV record and C.L.U.E. report on every single person it insures, so even if you don’t disclose it, they will still find out about it.

It’s always best to be open right from the start to prevent finding your new car insurance dropped.

Car Insurance Dropped at Renewal

When you have received a letter from your insurance company that you will find your car insurance dropped at renewal, this is called a nonrenewal. It means that something happened during your last insurance term that makes the insurance company no longer want to insure you. The biggest reason behind a nonrenewal being issued is an accident or traffic violation happening during the last insurance term.

You can also see your car insurance dropped at renewal for the following reasons:

• Change in insurance company ownership, leading to a change in underwriting criteria.

• Change to the insurance company’s finances that have led to stricter underwriting criteria.

• Drivers being added to your insurance policy that make your policy a higher risk than the insurance company is willing to take.

• Getting older and no longer fitting the company’s definition of an acceptable risk.

• Changing vehicles to one that the insurance company does not insure, such as a high, price sports car.

In baseball, the tie goes to the runner; in insurance, the money goes to the loaner.

When you take out a loan to buy a car, the company that gives you the money is actually the legal owner of the vehicle that you now get to drive. Your name will be on the registration and on the insurance policy. However, they are the ones on the car’s title and listed as the lienholder on the insurance policy that you purchased.

Their listing as the lienholder on your car is what protects their interest in your vehicle. It also tells the insurance company that they are to be paid first in the event that your vehicle is a total loss. This is so that the money is used to pay off the money that you owe them on your car loan.

The only time you will see any money from a total loss, if you have a lienholder, is if the insurance company deems the vehicle to be worth more than what you owe to the lienholder. For example, if the insurance company determines that you vehicle is worth $5,000 and you owe $3,000, you would only receive $2,000 from the insurance company.

Even though you are out of a car, your loan (or at least most of it) will be paid off.

Don’t let your insurance company get out of paying an accident claim on a new vehicle.

You have up to 30 days to add a new car to your insurance policy. As long as you are within that time period, any accident that you get into with your new vehicle should be covered.

Now, if you do get into a car accident and the insurance company challenges you on who the registered owner of the vehicle is, you need to be prepared. Because the vehicle title will most likely not be completed yet, you will have to depend on the bill of sale. The bill of sale will show that you are the new owner of the vehicle, even if it has not been registered yet.

If your insurance company still refuses to pay the claim after you have proven ownership, you may have to get the Insurance Commissioner or the Department of Insurance in your state involved with this one. They will be able to give you any additional advice you need, or step in on your behalf with in the insurance company to get your accident claim paid.