Unfortunately my husband was a victim of car theft but was thankfully not harmed. Having left his car in a gated driveway, his car was stolen. We imagine they had an antilock system/software or found his keys lying nearby as there was no 'evidence' of forcible entry and/or tampered with the gates when trespassing on private property. * Criminal sophistication these days is unparalleled so to say there is no evidence of forcible entry is naive, outdated and simply irrelevant in this case. Period. Doing the right thing, he called the police and his insurance company immediately and handed over the CCTV footage once he obtained this. First insurance DENIED this claim. First Chigaco admitted/agreed that the car was stolen, absolutely there was no speculation surrounding this- its on the CCTV footage. You can clearly see the thief robbing surrounding cars and then managing to enter his car (still unknown as to how). However, First Chicago decided that the car was not stolen 'aggressively enough' to warrant a claim. We were sent a denial letter stating that they will only cover forcible entry of a stolen car, not just simply a stolen car. The car basically has to be stolen in an aggressive manner only, not just stolen....Now, you can only imagine the devastation this can cause to a human life. Not only did that car still have a balance owed (which the gap insurance would cover if First Chiago would pay out something- $100 even but of course they didn't), but my husband would now have to buy another car. A young man, doing the right thing to be smacked in the face and laughed at by Chicago First. To witness my husband for the first time in his life break down, shut down and panic beyond belief was one of the most traumatic things to witness. A sudden shock of looming debt, inability to travel 'aggressively' changes the course of his next 5 years perhaps. It is sickening to think that your company would proudly KILL off a human financially just to not have to pay out on a comprehensive cover policy. I am dismayed at the lack of sheer understanding, empathy of solution offering on this matter. A simple denial letter and I'm sure a celebration of a target reached to NOT take care of your loyal customers. Utterly sickening. Thank goodness the Lord himself witnessed your FOUL play and the car was eventually later recovered by CPD. Now, CPD did not notify my husband nor the insurance company that the car was found....yep the bad luck continues. Only by chance, did we call every tow company in Chicago to be surprised with the fact that the car was actually recovered a few weeks prior. A bill of $2K from the tow company (CPD even stated the facts of not notifying), and some obvious physical damage to the car interior/exterior- we thought to call Chicago First with the GREAT news of this new/adjusted claim would be a wonderful solution. NO, denied again because the car just wasn't stolen to their liking. The tow company were even that dismayed at the fact that you denied his claim they even gave us a discount.... And before you sit and reply with "under section 6 of your Policy we need to know there was forcible entry before we submit a claim" PROVE to us that an antilock system wasn't used, tell us how trespassing isn't forcible entry when you cannot prove the gate wasn't tampered with and for the love of god, why a stolen car needs to be stolen aggressively to even warrant a claim on COMPREHENSIVE cover. How about a THEIF entering a car without permission being aggressive? He's hardly there to provide a valet service. Would you advise us to go out and fight the thief before the car is robbed/stolen? We need to prove forcible entry (and how are we meant to do this when the car is stolen...), how about YOU prove there wasn't forcible entry?! Why does forcible entry even matter? The car was stolen. FACT.Also, the full policy was not ever set to my husband when buying insurance from you. What a further kick in the teeth that was. We were sent the full policy after the denial letter... So Chicago First, why would ANYONE come to you as a customer if the above is how you respond to claims? Why do you find it ok to devastate someone financially/emotionally when they pay their comprehensive car insurance?To the decision maker and everyone else who denied his claim, (I will not put her name in here because we embody respect and empathy for human beings) I hope you go home happy knowing you almost devastated the life of a young man who was subject to an unfortunate car theft and did the right thing by turning over all the evidence he had. You are no better than the man who was eventually arrested for the car theft.To those reading this review, spread this message. You yourselves could be the next victims of Chicago First, the real thieves in this world. Shame on you.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
First Chicago Insurance specializes in developing affordable auto insurance products for good drivers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
