Awhile back, I wrote about the fact that John Hancock automatically renewed our term life insurance policies even though the credit card that they had on file was well past its expiration date (the account was still open, but the card itself had expired). In addition to sending in letters requesting that they cancel our policies, I also decided to dispute the charges with the card issuer (Chase) on the grounds that the charge had been made against an expired card. As of yesterday, I can now say that the credit card dispute worked. We still haven’t received a response to our cancellation requests, but we both just got letters stating that our policies had been “terminated due to non-payment of the premium.” Now we have a credit balance with Chase, but we’re not out any money.
Cancelling John Hancock Life Insurance, Resolved
4 Responses to “Cancelling John Hancock Life Insurance, Resolved”
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Jay is right, you should sent your letters to the insurance company are always sent by certified mail. I think, it is really sad, that all insurance companies are working this way.
Actually, it seems that most (all?) insurers simply cancel your policy if you fail to pay, as opposed to reporting you to a credit bureau and, eventually, turning you over to collections.
Which companies report missed premiums to the credit agencies? I have never heard of this
Make sure your letters requesting cancelling are sent by certified mail. If not, there’s a chance the insurance company will deny receipt of the request to cancel; if so, they will charge you for the unpaid period. This would amount to a mere annoyance but for the fact that many insurance companies report past due accounts to the major credit reporting agencies.