2 /5 Carson Summers: Many of the employees I have interacted at Mel Himes & Associates have been helpful and courteous, especially when it comes to understanding the complexities of insurance. When we originally set up our Stillwater policy, the agent we were with at the time was a pleasure to work with and went out of her way to help us get a policy that met our needs.
The issues started when we began to be bounced from insurer to insurer. When we were moved to Citizens in 2023, I think we were assigned to a different staff member. I contacted him on July 18, 2023 and July 25, 2023 to request details and share that we had not recieved any information in the mail. When I was finally able to log in to the insurance website, our policy was not completed and marked cancelled due to a documents issue. To his credit, our agent was apologetic and fixed the issue.
In 2024 we were again bounced to a new insurer. I emailed our agent on June 9th, 2024 asking what our next premium would be and if we needed to take action. Our agent responded on July 8th, 2024 and stated that he had reviewed our account, we were being transferred to Safe Point and that we would have "until October to decide." He made no mention of documents that would be mailed to me and did not inform me that they would not be labeled as "Safe Point" but would be labeled "Manatee Insurance Exchange." He did not mention the unpaid invoice on my policy that was issued June 6th, 2024.
When I spoke to him on the phone after recieving a cancellation notice, he was combative and insisted I was at fault for not recieving documents from a company I didnt know I was doing business with. In emails, he stated I "could have asked again to get clarity" when I didnt know I needed to get clarity. He said I "definitely recieved all the information" when I stated to him that I did not. I dont appreciate being accused of lying or being treated this way when I just want to pay for a service.
Denise was able to promptly provide me with documents and I was able to pay the bill that way, so I do appreciate her work.
Even my cats insurance contacts me when theres a name change or plan adjustment, and theres a lot less on the line with a cat than a house. I understand that working in insurance in Florida must be a stressful business, especially with the constantly shifting landscape. Still, it costs nothing to be kind and understanding. I think Ill be shopping around when its time to renew again, and Ill definitely tell my friends to go somewhere else.
