New car on Wednesday that is now insured

Yesterday, I got word towards the end of my workday that my new car will arrive next Wednesday. My hope that it would be ready next week came true!

The last time I had to deal with my insurance company, I was on hold for nearly two hours. This time, I decided to call at 7 pm. I got a representative immediately.

The downside? There was so much feedback on her end. I could hear a male colleague and a female colleague more clearly than my representative. It was frustrating and difficult, but I managed to get through this call that lasted nearly fifty minutes.

At least it's done. Some cool things happened:

• Because I use an app to monitor my driving habits, I got at 25% discount on my insurance rate for the year. I saved roughly $1,100.
• My insurance rate has dropped $13 a month with the new car.

I thanked the woman for helping me out. I let her know that it wasn't her fault that the background was super noisy, but her manager may be able to do something.

I hope to get a survey. She'll get a high rating, but hearing all that noise in the background and envisioning the call centre's sound setup needs help.

It's the Labour Day long weekend coming up. I'm glad that I can spend some time with my car before it gets traded in.

Anticipating a new car delivery

I am getting a new car within the next week or two. I signed for it with my sales representative back in late June.

Originally, the car's delivery date was scheduled for four to five months from late June. I was thinking that having my car in October or November would give me plenty of time to save up.

Nope, the delivery date's estimate is sometime next week or early September. Thankfully, it has been enough time to put down what I owe upon delivery. 

The most painful part of switching cars is dealing with my insurance company. I don't like being placed on hold with my insurance company to get my policy switched over. Luckily, I don't do it often, but it can take up to a couple of hours. It's not great, but the company has been good to me.

I started clearing out my car last week. There isn't a whole lot. The last thing that I will dismantle will be my Sirius XM satellite radio, which is separate device with cables. I wish that it were built in to the car's stereo, but it hasn't for years.

Winter tires and appraisal

When I filed my insurance claim on Saturday, I decided to give uploading photos of my car's damage to an appraiser a try. I was supposed to get a link to upload them within 24 hour. I never got it.

I got my insurance advisor's name and sent him an e-mail. He was kind to not only write to me, but also call me.

He let me know that there are problems with this link. He first offered to get an appraiser to come to my home to inspect my car's damage. He then asked where I wanted to get my car fixed. I had a shop that I worked with in the past. He let me know that it does both appraisals and the actual work.

He arranged to get my claim information to them and I could simply drop by. After getting my winter tires installed, I drove over there.

The man helping me was nice, but not all there. He couldn't find my claim number after we verified it three times. He finally found it in his system.

He then couldn't get the printer to work. His counterpart wasn't wearing a mask when the sign on the door clearly stated that everyone needed a mask. Hmm...

He then asked whether I knew what my deductible was. I said that it was waived because I had reported the incident to the police. He asked me to check with my insurance. I said no. I got that fact from my insurance advisor this morning.

Sure enough, this guy saw the note that my insurance advisor had made on waiving the deductible. Yes, I don't need to do any checking.

Weird. I had a better experience my first time at this shop. Maybe he needed some caffeine.

Hit-and-run bumper scratches

On Friday night, I went out for a drive-thru event. After it was over, I went to order some pizza for dinner.

I parked in a plaza that I hadn't been in over a decade. It was raining and windy at around 8:30 pm. I got my goods and headed back to my car. The rain had stopped.

There was enough light for me to notice that my passenger front bumper had yellow scratches on it. A yellow vehicle must have grazed my car.

On Saturday, I went to file an accident report. It went smoother than I had anticipated. I then went ahead and called my car insurance to create a claim. I am waiting for a link to upload photos of my car's scratches and then find out when I can get my car fixed.

Ah, the joys of a hit-and-run incident. Luckily, I wasn't in the vehicle and this issue can be fixed.

Safe dental appointment and a day off today

My dental appointment went well. I felt extremely safe. There were tons of safety precautions in place. I ended up sanitizing my hands four times!

The insurance procedure was better explained to me. The dental office asks that you pay for services upfront. It files a claim on your behalf instead of filing a claim yourself. Nice!

I am fortunate that my dental appointments are uneventful. I thought that not having been to the dentist for a year would require a ton of plaque being scraped off my teeth. Nope, my hygienist said that I've been doing a pretty good job in that department.

Today, I have a day off. I'm taking my car in to get my winter tires installed. I then have to run an errand. Other than those plans, I have the rest of the day to casually figure out what else I'd like to do.

Bounced car insurance payment and a $50 bill in the parking lot

Life works in mysterious ways.

My chequing account was short $6. My car insurance payment was supposed to automatically come out of that account. However, since there were insufficient funds, I ended up getting slapped with a $40 charge. It hurts, but I'm okay about it.

After a long day at work on Thursday, I walked out of the office and to my car. I was on hold with my car insurance company. Someone had called me, likely to follow up on my payment.

I was looking down at my phone, to make sure that the call was still ongoing. In the underground parking lot, I saw a $50 bill on the ground. I picked it up.

It's funny how things unfold in my life.

Car insurance - it boggles my mind

A week or two ago, I got a renewal statement for my car insurance. Normally, I glance over it and call it good. However, I decided to do a comparison between my current policy and the new one.

One of my deductibles ended up being reduced to $50. I also ended up paying an extra $35 a month on the new plan. If you multiply that increase by twelve, you would understand why I ended up calling my insurance company.

I asked about the reduced deductible. I was told that since I was a good customer with a decent driving record, my deductible was reduced. I went on to say that if I was indeed a good customer, why am I paying an extra $420 for the upcoming year? I can understand that rates go up every year, but this increase just boggled my mind.

My policy was changed such that I am now paying paying an extra $11 more a month by installing an app that tracks my driving habits. I tried it for the first week and hated that it drained my cell phone's battery life.

Naturally, I had to ask what happens to the data collected. Apparently, it stays with the company and is perfectly secure. Still, the fact that my battery drains by the end of the workday is ridiculous. In the past, I could be just fine charging my cell phone overnight. My battery would last the entire day. I am a medium user.

Anyway, I just uninstalled the app. I feel much better.

Bronchitis

On Tuesday, I went to see my doctor. It was my regular quarterly appointment. I was also coughing, so I had to get this issue taken care of, too.

I spent nearly two hours at the doctor's office. While waiting there, I called my car insurance to make a claim on my windshield damage caused by a stone. Fun! There is far more to this story, so I will save it for another post.

Anyway, when I finally saw my doctor, she determined that I have bronchitis. I am now on an antibiotic and am using an inhaler to clear up my airways. I sometimes find that I can't breathe as well as I should. So, it's my first experience using a puffer.

Ah, the joys of coming home from a vacation sick.

I slept for most of the day when I got home. There were a number of annoying phone calls that I had to take from my windshield guy, the insurance woman, and more.

I technically go back to work on Wednesday, but will be working from home. I will likely be taking a sick day, depending on how I feel. Perhaps I will extend my sick absence, so I can rest properly.

Dealing with incompetent insurance and drug representatives

I dread talking to both my insurance company and the drug company program these days. It seems that every time I have an upcoming appointment, I get annoying calls from them. I then get all worked up dealing with their stupidity.

Today, just before a meeting at work, my cell phone rang. It was from my insurance company. I let it go to voice mail. I then let it sit there for over three hours before I decided to listen to it.

It was from my assigned case manager at my insurance company. She was the one who gave me the option to either have my insurance company dispense the drug for my eye injection or go with my ophthalmologist's pharmacy. I elected to go with the latter when I was asked a couple of weeks ago. Instead, both my insurance and this drug program went with the former. Um, so why call me to ask what I want and then not respect what I want?

The case manager asked me to call her. She had more questions for me. Again, I wasn't thrilled.

I was driving over to Starbucks. It is frappuccino happy hour and I managed to get my order in before the 18:00 cutoff time. I decided to call this case manager.

She seemed friendly. She didn't annoy me as much as the first time I had spoken to her, simply because I asked her the question that has been on my mind for a while. Why wasn't my decision to go with my ophthalmologist's pharmacy honoured?

She advised that she had told this drug program what I wanted. For some reason, it assumes that everyone wants to go with the insurance company's pharmacy. I flat out said that I get stressed out dealing with all these people who cannot communicate with one another. I told her that these calls get me all worked up, which is contrary to what I need to do. She understood and apologized, saying that she would fix everything.

Finally, I asked her whether I was going to continue talking to these various insurance and drug program folks every time I go to my next appointment. She confirmed that I would not.

I find that when you have too many parties involved in such a situation and they aren't as bright as you'd expect them to be, no one communicates effectively. The patient suffers the most.

I do hope that I don't hear back from any of them anymore. For the first time, I actually felt good after speaking to one of these folks. Let's hope that it was my last.

My vision is getting better

I am glad that the weekend is here. I am beat.

On Friday, I had my ophthalmologist appointment. I have good news.

A month ago, I went to my first ophthalmologist appointment. One of the tests consisted of wearing my glasses, covering my left eye, and trying to read the eye chart with my right eye. My right eye is the one that has blood blocking my central vision. I could only read the largest font presented to me. Everything else was blurry.

A week ago, I went out for a drink and appetizers with my manager after work. I recall looking at the TV over his head. Everything looked clearer. I covered my left eye and remarked that it did.

Switching back to my appointment on Friday, I read the eye chart with only my right eye. I was able to read up to the sixth row before things looked fuzzy.

My eye is getting better. My ophthalmologist is pleased. I got my second eye injection.

My third one will be a bit later than what we had wanted, simply because I am going on vacation and so is he. He says that it's okay to get my next injection in over a month. Getting the injection before I leave may be risky.

For nearly a month, I have been venting about my insurance company and my experience dealing with various folks there. Today, I got confirmation from the receptionist at the eye office that she, too, dislikes dealing with my insurance company. We both ended up venting. We both felt good that we were on the same page.

We both agree that it is best to go with my ophthalmologist's pharmacy to get the drug that I need injected in my eye. However, my insurance company insists on using its own, regardless of what I want when I was asked. My say meant nothing, so why did my insurance company pose the question to me? We both find that the process makes you do way too much work and gets you frustrated.

It was nice that it wasn't just me feeling this way. The reception has to fill out multiple forms every time I need an injection.

I am thankful that my vision is improving. Despite getting incredibly stressed out dealing with my insurance company, this stress hasn't stopped my vision from getting better. Let's hope that this progress continues.

Aggravating insurance question, farewell to a student, and hello to celebrating seven years at work

This week has been quite the mix. Frankly, I can't wait for this week to be over.

Late last week, I got a call from the drug program that I am on for my eye injections. This program will cover the remaining 10% of the drug cost that my insurance does not cover. That's good. I had to schedule a phone meeting with yet another person at my insurance company. It was on Monday.

We talked. She asked me whether I wanted my insurance to handle getting the drug from its own pharmacy or to go with my ophthalmologist's pharmacy. This question actually caused my stress level to go up. I asked what the difference was. Apparently, going with my own insurance's pharmacy would lower costs for my insurance.

I basically slammed this woman by saying that I shouldn't have to decide. All I am concerned about is showing up for my appointment next week and having the drug available for my eye injection. Can this insurance's pharmacy guarantee that it will deliver the drug that I need to my ophthalmologist's office on time? I told her that I should not need to be concerned about whether the drug will be there for me. I need to get better. My health is more important that dealing with such an odd issue that only benefits my insurance company, but could cause issues for me if someone drops the delivery ball.

I flat out said that I wanted to go with my ophthalmologist's pharmacy. It has worked fine for my first appointment. Why break it? Why add more unnecessary stress?

Friday is one of my co-op student's final day of her work term. She is a sweet person who gave me looseleaf green tea from China as a gift. She wasn't one of my better students, though. I think that she is young and needs to mature. She also needs to establish a better work ethic, which I hope will get better with time and experience.

On Friday, we have a farewell lunch for her. I also have three interviews to conduct that same day, as we are hiring new writers and can't keep up with the growth. It will be hectic, to say the least!

My guy and I talked about how long we have been with our employer. He started six months before I did. He hit his seven-year anniversary last month. Mine is in September. It's crazy that we have lasted this long and met at work. We are grateful.

Our next date is on Sunday. He has already requested my wearing a skirt. It's sweet that he asks ahead of time.

O is for odd customer service #AtoZchallenge

I am going to use customer service loosely as a term in this post.

On Friday, as I was driving home from work, I received a phone call on my cell phone. I picked up. I have bluetooth in my car, so the call went to my speakerphone.

This woman said that she was calling from an eye program. This program is a part of the drug used for my eye injection. The first injection is covered by this program.

I asked what the nature of the call was. She repeated herself by saying that I had my appointment on April 7th and that the injection was paid for by this program. Okay, I got that information the first time. It was obvious that she was reading from a script. I asked her specifically what she needed from me.

She said that she needed to ask me some questions. I asked her how long would they take. She said ten minutes. I told her that I needed to pull over and park. I was also starting to get annoyed with her constantly repeating April 7th (she is now at the fifth mention of my appointment date) and talking over me.

I was parked. I was getting so annoyed. I asked her point blank what information she needed from me. Clearly, my ophthalmologist gave her details about my date of birth. She was asking for my drug plan information. I fired back by asking whether she had it, as my ophthalmologist would have forwarded all information to her. She first disputed my claim, but then backtracked.

She then decided to call my insurance company and patch me in. I knew exactly what she was up to. She wasn't upfront with me.

I know that in Ontario (I don't know if it is Canada-wide), medical folks who need to know what coverage patients have on their medical insurance for whatever category cannot get this information directly from the insurance company. Patients need to either call and relay the information to the medical folks who need to know, or in my case, this woman decided to have me on the line, which would allow her to get the information that she needed by calling my insurance company.

She didn't get my consent. She just called. My drug plan covers 90% of the cost of all injections. I could have told her that.

We disconnected with the woman from my insurance company. This woman proceeded to explain that, should I get approved, this program would cover the remaining 10% of the cost, provided that the 10% does not go over $500 for each injection.

I basically let her have it. I gave her this feedback:

• Right off the bat, you should let me know that this program would pick up the cost of my injections, depending on my drug plan and my eligibility in this program that is sponsored by the drug used for my injections.
• You should point out that you need to know whether my drug plan would cover this drug. You should ask whether it is okay for both of us to call my insurance company to figure out what percentage is covered.
• You should then let me know that a decision needs to be made as to whether the remaining 10% will be covered by the program. That decision should take another week or two.
• When you call me, you do not need to repeat April 7th a grand total of seven times during the call. I am fully aware that I had an appointment with my ophthalmologist on Friday, April 7, 2017. I do not need it repeated seven times. Once is good enough, especially when this call is being recorded. Repeating this date so many times does not add value to our conversation. Perhaps your demographic is geared towards older folks, but it is patronizing and is not helping me relax when you won't tell me what information you need from me or exactly why you are contacting me right off the bat.

I flat out told her that I am going through enough stress that I don't need some woman to beat around the bush. Get to the point, so that I can get on with my life and you can get the information you need to continue processing my coverage.

This call, which would have taken ten minutes, ended up being 25 minutes. I vented. I told her that no patient should deal with such customer service. I am going through enough. I don't need added frustration from a woman who is reading from a script. 

I even told her to stop talking over me. This call is being recorded? Good. Let's hope that someone is monitoring it and she actually does indeed provide my feedback to her supervisor. I have worked in a call centre in my past. Often, it falls by the wayside.

She assured me that she would forward my feedback to her supervisor and apologized again. Well, thanks for delaying my drive home, making my blood pressure boil, and wasting so much time when all of this aggravation could have been avoided.

Frankly, I am at this stage where I don't care much about the 10% cost. Being stressed out isn't worth this company paying for it. I am perfectly fine with not dealing with the stress and paying for the 10%. I should be covered, but we'll see what would cause me not to be accepted in this program. My tearing a strip off her? If that happens, I'll be back again to file more grievances, even though I should focus on my health and not dealing with annoying small potatoes like this woman.

My favourite line was this woman repeating her name at the end. I told her that I already got it when she first introduced herself on the phone and when she did the same to the woman at my insurance company. Frankly, I want to forget your first name. I don't want to deal with you after this ordeal. Let's hope that I do not need to call and speak to you again. Ever.