Amica Insurance Doesn’t Want Gun Owners Business?
By Nancy Snow
Executive Secretary, Gun Owners’ Action League
Can you imagine calling a company to insure the contents of your home, and being told we don’t want your business? That’s exactly what happened to Jeff, a legislative aide.
Jeff wanted to add “contents coverage” for his belongings in his condo. Because his car is insured with Amica, he called them first. He spoke to a man named “John ,” who asked basic questions about the type of dwelling, the number of roommates, the approximate value of his possession.
Then John asked “Do you own any firearms?” Jeff told him he felt the question was inappropriate, though one of his roommates is indeed in law enforcement “I need to have the specific make model and year of any gun,” said John. Jeff said that it was not the agency’s business to have specifics of the guns he owned, but did admit to owning x number of guns. John gave him two different price quotes, and said he’d get back to Jeff with more specific information in 48 hours.
In fact, he didn’t call Jeff back for nearly two weeks. Jeff answered the phone, and joked “Don’t tell me that you don’t want to insure me because I have guns.” As a matter of fact, John admitted that was why he was calling. Jeff immediately asked to speak to John’s supervisor.
She stated that “We don’t insure people that have guns in their home.” He asked her “are you telling me you don’t insure people with guns?” Well, no, she admitted. For example, “if someone had homeowners insurance, and then renewed, then we’d have no way to know they had guns.”
“Are you telling me I should have lied?” asked Jeff. No, the woman replied. “Then why do you want to insure my car?” he asked. The woman responded “because you don’t have guns in your car.” The fact that guns would be transported in the car never apparently crossed her mind. Nor did the fact that Massachusetts requires its guns to be stored in a locked container or with a tamper resistant mechanical device hold any interest. Jeff has since decided that Amica doesn’t need his car insurance either, and called GOAL to report what had happened to him.
GOAL visited the Amica website to see what it said under homeowners policy. It says “Certain categories of personal property have limited coverage in a standard homeowners policy. Some examples are: money, securities, business property, watercraft, and theft of jewelry, furs, firearms and silverware.” That clearly implies that they will insure firearms.
When you apply for a homeowners or renters policy, Amica asks you to fill out a “Personal Property Inventory Booklet” detailing your personal property which will be insured. This form is available on the internet. Guns are found under the category of Hobby/Sports Equipment, where it says “Guns (attach list).” The requirement for a list also appears for power tools, hand tools, ski equipment, bicycles and tennis equipment.
We dug a little deeper, and I called Amica. I simply stated a friend of mine had been turned down for a renter’s policy because he owns guns and said that didn’t make sense with what I read on the website. The woman I spoke to agreed that my friend’s story didn’t make sense, as Amica will insure people who own guns. “We will ask you why you own them and how they’re stored, whether the ammo is separate,” but Amica “would insure them.” (emphasis added).
Unbelievably, she then accessed Jeff’s record – a big security no-no in my eyes – and told me that it appeared it was because of Jeff’s roommate. “He owns a lot of guns and they are usually loaded,” she said. I pointed out that the roommate was law enforcement. At that point, she suggested I talk directly to the underwriter involved.
When I called the underwriter who had apparently dealt with Jeff, she said she would not discuss his case with me, which did not surprise me. However, I was surprised with her response when I asked “Would you feel comfortable clarifying Amica’s policy on firearms with regard to homeowners with me?” The answer was “No I would not.”
What is their official policy? It does not appear to be gun owner friendly, that’s for sure. Where does that leave you if you have home or car insurance with Amica? You may wish to seek insurance from another company, and then cancel your Amica policy.
Even if Amica does insure “homes with guns,” asking for the serial number of every gun (most insurance companies would generically insure x dollars of guns and not need specific serial numbers) is intrusive. Wanting to know WHY a citizen owns guns is not necessarily anyone’s business. And turning down a policy because a police officer keeps loaded guns in their home is an insult to our hard working law enforcement community. Don’t forget, even law enforcement is required to store their guns in accordance with the law, in a locked container or with a tamper resistant mechanical lock when not under their direct control.
It’s hard to believe in this day and age you would find such blatant discrimination, but it exists. If Amica doesn’t want to do business with law enforcement or the military, then that’s their problem. For our part, GOAL will help spread the word.
http://www.goal.org/Breaking/amica.htm
By Nancy Snow
Executive Secretary, Gun Owners’ Action League
Can you imagine calling a company to insure the contents of your home, and being told we don’t want your business? That’s exactly what happened to Jeff, a legislative aide.
Jeff wanted to add “contents coverage” for his belongings in his condo. Because his car is insured with Amica, he called them first. He spoke to a man named “John ,” who asked basic questions about the type of dwelling, the number of roommates, the approximate value of his possession.
Then John asked “Do you own any firearms?” Jeff told him he felt the question was inappropriate, though one of his roommates is indeed in law enforcement “I need to have the specific make model and year of any gun,” said John. Jeff said that it was not the agency’s business to have specifics of the guns he owned, but did admit to owning x number of guns. John gave him two different price quotes, and said he’d get back to Jeff with more specific information in 48 hours.
In fact, he didn’t call Jeff back for nearly two weeks. Jeff answered the phone, and joked “Don’t tell me that you don’t want to insure me because I have guns.” As a matter of fact, John admitted that was why he was calling. Jeff immediately asked to speak to John’s supervisor.
She stated that “We don’t insure people that have guns in their home.” He asked her “are you telling me you don’t insure people with guns?” Well, no, she admitted. For example, “if someone had homeowners insurance, and then renewed, then we’d have no way to know they had guns.”
“Are you telling me I should have lied?” asked Jeff. No, the woman replied. “Then why do you want to insure my car?” he asked. The woman responded “because you don’t have guns in your car.” The fact that guns would be transported in the car never apparently crossed her mind. Nor did the fact that Massachusetts requires its guns to be stored in a locked container or with a tamper resistant mechanical device hold any interest. Jeff has since decided that Amica doesn’t need his car insurance either, and called GOAL to report what had happened to him.
GOAL visited the Amica website to see what it said under homeowners policy. It says “Certain categories of personal property have limited coverage in a standard homeowners policy. Some examples are: money, securities, business property, watercraft, and theft of jewelry, furs, firearms and silverware.” That clearly implies that they will insure firearms.
When you apply for a homeowners or renters policy, Amica asks you to fill out a “Personal Property Inventory Booklet” detailing your personal property which will be insured. This form is available on the internet. Guns are found under the category of Hobby/Sports Equipment, where it says “Guns (attach list).” The requirement for a list also appears for power tools, hand tools, ski equipment, bicycles and tennis equipment.
We dug a little deeper, and I called Amica. I simply stated a friend of mine had been turned down for a renter’s policy because he owns guns and said that didn’t make sense with what I read on the website. The woman I spoke to agreed that my friend’s story didn’t make sense, as Amica will insure people who own guns. “We will ask you why you own them and how they’re stored, whether the ammo is separate,” but Amica “would insure them.” (emphasis added).
Unbelievably, she then accessed Jeff’s record – a big security no-no in my eyes – and told me that it appeared it was because of Jeff’s roommate. “He owns a lot of guns and they are usually loaded,” she said. I pointed out that the roommate was law enforcement. At that point, she suggested I talk directly to the underwriter involved.
When I called the underwriter who had apparently dealt with Jeff, she said she would not discuss his case with me, which did not surprise me. However, I was surprised with her response when I asked “Would you feel comfortable clarifying Amica’s policy on firearms with regard to homeowners with me?” The answer was “No I would not.”
What is their official policy? It does not appear to be gun owner friendly, that’s for sure. Where does that leave you if you have home or car insurance with Amica? You may wish to seek insurance from another company, and then cancel your Amica policy.
Even if Amica does insure “homes with guns,” asking for the serial number of every gun (most insurance companies would generically insure x dollars of guns and not need specific serial numbers) is intrusive. Wanting to know WHY a citizen owns guns is not necessarily anyone’s business. And turning down a policy because a police officer keeps loaded guns in their home is an insult to our hard working law enforcement community. Don’t forget, even law enforcement is required to store their guns in accordance with the law, in a locked container or with a tamper resistant mechanical lock when not under their direct control.
It’s hard to believe in this day and age you would find such blatant discrimination, but it exists. If Amica doesn’t want to do business with law enforcement or the military, then that’s their problem. For our part, GOAL will help spread the word.
http://www.goal.org/Breaking/amica.htm
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