Not a VW backed Fidelity warranty I take it?

 

Basically it's the insurance firm who financially backs the policy that you have to worry about,so do a little homework on the backer of the policy. We're living in difficult financial times I'm afraid.. Love to hear how you claim goes to get the money back. JP

 

Warantee

File a complaint with your State Insurance Commission. Often insurance companies have posted a bond or some other security to cover future losses.

 

I had the same thing happen for my Cayenne warranty... they were BBB recommended and bonded by Traveler's so I thought I was safe. They went bankrupt, and the bond was only valid for certain states (CA not one of them). Waiting on the courts to see if I get any money back.

Company was Great Lakes Warranty and was what the dealer offered when I bought the truck.

 

It is a VERY common theme. "Insurance" company sells a lot of 'extended warranties' usually through a used car dealer who gets a VERY GOOD commission; saturates a market; decides they can't sell too many more and go bankrupt. It is called "bust out". A purchaser who has a claim is usually out of luck.
Buy extended warranties ONLY from car manufacturer's approved or sponsored companies. Even then check to make sure the company has a high AM Best rating.

 

Ya this was Great Lakes... those bastages!

anyway, Ive been talking to the dealer in TN and he offered to sell me parts at cost, so that will help. and the bankruptcy court is working on the company's assets to maybe offset some of the premium lost.

has there ever been a case where a another insurance company would take on a failed contract? technically, my car is still "covered", so I would even be inclined to pay another premium to have the actual coverage be worth something...

 

and the bankruptcy court is working on the company's assets to maybe offset some of the premium lost.

I lol'ed! going bankrupt is how they make sure they won't have to pay you back.

simple process:
1) create a service company
2) milk it as long as you can
3) once it's starting to stink, go bankrupt
4) start again

the executives from you're warranty company probably got some nice bonuses this year...

 

FWIW, always stick w/Manuf. warranty programs (I know, hindsight being 20/20 and all). GLW was one of the worst (along w/their short lived followup, Stonebridge Warranty). They always claimed BBB rating - but never pointed out that their rating was slightly below whale snot.
Here's part of their writeup from "Warranty Week" online:

But what caught our attention was this sentence in the cancellation section of the contract: "Great Lakes Warranty Corporation is bonded by Travelers Casualty & Surety Company of America." And the Travelers name was in both a bold and underlined font, like we did here.
Getting bonded is a process that VSC administrators can use in certain states that require sellers to demonstrate some measure of financial stability. They're given a few choices: get a reimbursement insurance policy, qualify on the basis of their parent company's net worth, set aside some cash, or buy a bond instead, for a few hundred or a thousand dollars. And that's what Great Lakes Warranty did: It bought a bond from Travelers to avoid having to post the full amount required in its own cash.
The question is, could a reasonable person read that single underlined sentence and mistakenly jump to the conclusion that the highly respected and A+ (Superior) rated Travelers Indemnity Company was going to pay claims if Great Lakes couldn't? We're not lawyers, but maybe that's the proof: it fooled us

FWIW, some dealers claim that "Preferred Warranties" (also out of PA... heh) is working w/GLW customers. Might be worth a shot.

Good luck.

 

definitely worth the time to call these people and see if they can help. Ive found that just by asking sometimes, people really open up and get you going th right direction.

like this forum. thanks

 

very helpful.

 

I understand this is not what you wanted to hear and I am sorry for your situation

The whole point of going bankrupt is to protect an entity from creditors and obligations so....its unlikely any assets remaining would be paid out to warantee claimants as they are likely last in line to get paid.

I'm not a laywer but typically employees are first payees, then you go down the list of major creditors (ie: banks, etc), then minor creditors or debt obligations (in this case a warranty claim) are last in line. The assets are usually exhausted pretty quickly, and after the execs and other employees are paid, banks take the remaining funds.

In any case it sucks bigtime as you're pretty much left holding a prvoerbial bag of S^$T

exactly what I meant

 

The whole point of going bankrupt is to protect an entity from creditors and obligations so....its unlikely any assets remaining would be paid out to warantee claimants as they are likely last in line to get paid.

I'm not a laywer but typically employees are first payees, then you go down the list of major creditors (ie: banks, etc), then minor creditors or debt obligations (in this case a warranty claim) are last in line. The assets are usually exhausted pretty quickly, and after the execs and other employees are paid, banks take the remaining funds.

In any case it sucks bigtime as you're pretty much left holding a prvoerbial bag of S^$T

 

I understand bankruptcy. in this country and especially in this case, it is very much taken advantage of.

some companies have legitimate claims and have been producing something of value when unforseen conditions force them to go out of business.

what GLW has done is a crime.

so back on topic, i have called all of the companies that I could find dealing with this sort of thing and it boils down to this...

it is not unheardof for the DEALER who sold the defunct warranty to work with a new warranty company who will "help" honor a warranty that is still within term.

so my chances of getting any help again are back to how reputable the Dealership is. as I mentioned earlier, he said he would sell me genuine parts for cost, and that aint bad... but I havent called him back to see if he will approach his new warranty company for help on my claim... assuming he offers warranties still..

its looking bleak from here. with the season being one of "cheer", i think Ill put this little project aside until things mellow out after the holidays... being on indefinite hold, and getting the runaround with these types of people will turn me absolutely poison inside.... who is john galt?

 

I have said on many posts do not take out an extra warranty for many reasons but obviously this is a good reason. Sorry you lost your money

 

I guess I got lucky... within 3 months of owning my Cayenne the transmission valve body went out and my warranty covered the costs. Pretty much paid for itself at that point. Still sucks I lost out on the coverage remaining though.

 

so I found a third party insurer that will take on my Touareg.

has anyone had experience with a company called AUTO-ASSURE?

the rate seems kinda high, they quoted me about $3K for 5years and 100,000 miles beyond what the car presently sits at (94,400). with a decent payment option of $255 to seal the deal and 18 payments of 120 or something...

the guy seemed sympathetic towards my situation and gave me a 20% discount...

what do you guys think???

 

IF and ONLY if Auto-Assure appears VERY HIGH on the AM Best rating system (the standard of insurance company ratings gurus) would I even consider the company. If the company has a very sound financial position, has been around a long time, and consistently meets their obligations they will be high in AM Best's ratings. If they don't meet those criteria, you risk throwing more of your money away. The company may be listed in some states insurance company bad boy lists. This would happen if the state attorney general ever had to take the company to court for misbehaving or cheating customers. Obviously that is not a good thing.

 

I would do a google shearch on the Co and see what shows up. Let's not compound the situation with another problem. JP

 

and read in detail the coverage and coverage limitations.

if you think about it, $3k to cover your touareg up to almost 200k miles is really not that much. I would bet the coverage is not going to include transmission valve bodies (you need this), or that your driveshaft is going to be considered as part a standard maintenance / wear items

 

Wear and tear is going to be main cause of any breakdowns now I would think so this is the element of the policy to read and read again.