Here's the situation: I live in the Bay Area, and have had my cars/house insured by Mercury through the same local agency for over 30 years. We recently bought a place in Los Angeles, and my screenwriter son has been living there, driving my 18-year-old Toyota. He is 27 years old with a pristine record. All these changes were reported to our agent a few months ago, when they happened.
I was just informed — late on Friday on a holiday weekend — that Mercury is canceling insurance on the Toyota (which only had liability, no collision) and my son. I understand if he can no longer remain on our policy, but according to the agent, Mercury no longer wants to insure single people. The agent wasn't clear, but sounded as though the cancelation is effective immediately.
I've been scouring the California auto insurance code and other materials trying to understand the grounds for this cancelation. I should add that premiums have always been paid on time, and there have been only a handful of small claims over the many years I've been insured with them. I'm tapping the /Insurance brain trust in hopes that someone has ideas.
Posted by MangledWeb