Business ProfileforVolan Insurance Agency, Inc.

I was an easy-going, loyal home/auto customer (since 2012) of Rich ***** until December 2021. Rich, the agent who is supposed to be looking out for and helping me, was the proximate cause of having Erie Insurance cancel my homeowner's policy. A roofing contractor replaced a neighbors roof and offered to inspect ours. They said there was enough hail damage that our insurance company would replace the roof. I was skeptical there was enough damage, but since other homes in the neighborhood had their roofs replace via insurance claims I thought I'd ask. I e-mailed Rich photos of the potential damage to see if it was worth filing a claim. He said he didn't know, supposedly asked someone else with more knowledge (he's been handling these types of claims for 30 years, how does he not know!). They were indecisive, so Rich suggested we file a claim to see what Erie would say. Well, not only did Erie deny the claim but they would cancel my insurance immediately if I didn't replace my roof. Mind you, there is no leaks or anything of that nature in this roof, just some aging. They gave me less than a month, I told Rich I was looking into it, they cancelled my policy without another word from Rich. I didn't want to have to write this review of Rich but I've had so many bad customer experiences the last few years I can't ignore issues like this anymore. Also, I've come to find out insurance carriers hate T-Lock shingles and they aren't even manufactured anymore. Every other agent I've talked to since notices the T-Lock shingles immediately, yet somehow, Rich who's been doing this for 30 years never even brought it up. Please don't expect anything other than someone to collect commissions to place your insurance policies and only provide assistance when you ask for it (and horrible assistance at that).

I am not certain where to begin. ****** did ask how a claim would affect his policy, and I told him any rate increase would be negligible since he hadn’t had any other claims. He also sent me four small photos of what the roofer claimed was hail damage, although I did not ask him to do this because I am not an adjuster. I explained that I’m not a roofer (who would be qualified to assess the damage), and he replied in an email dated 11/3/2021 that “he didn’t expect me to be a roofer”. I believe ****** may not totally understand my role as an insurance agent. My duties do not include adjusting claims as the company has their own staff to do that, and I have never had any training to do so. When a client inquires about a potential claim, I have a duty to act in good faith to report the claim to the insurance company. In addition, if ****** had been honest with me and told me that his roof was not in good condition, I would have been obligated to inform the insurance company regardless. Once the insurance company inspected the roof, it was entirely out of my hands. ****** did not tell me he was looking into a new roof- he told me in an email dated 12/16/21 that he had hoped to replace the roof in 2023 which was more than a year into the future. He did not respond when I emailed him that the company probably wouldn’t be okay with it taking so long until after he received a non-renewal notice from the insurance carrier. ****** states that he also had many bad customer experiences in the last few years, however, prior to this, he never expressed any dissatisfaction with our agency. In fact, I’d describe our relationship as more than amicable prior to this. He also says that every insurance carrier “hates T-Lock shingles and every other agent he has talked to since notices the T-Lock shingles immediately”. These types of shingle are not referenced anywhere in the insurance carriers underwriting guidelines. They non-renewed his policy because of the roof's condition- not because it had “T-Lock” shingles. In conclusion, I’m somewhat confused as to why ****** is angry with me rather than the professional roofing company who misled him and/or his wife into thinking they had hail damage when it was simply wear and tear- particularly when this company has 49 complaints on the BBB in the last three years. ******’s review is my first complaint in 33 years. Lastly, all the communications between ****** and myself regarding the above were through email, so it can all be documented.