WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Stuart man contacted WPTV after his auto insurer of five years did not renew his policy due to several claims he filed, leaving him now with a high premium.
Gabriel Shames spends a lot of time on the road.
"I'm a truck driver here, locally," Shames told WPTV.
Lately, Shames told WPTV he's been logging extra miles, because of a new expense.
"I'm paying close to $700 a month for insurance, six-month premium is close to $4,000, and I can't get written with any other company," Shames said. "I have to have a company that is for high-risk drivers."
That's after he learned USAA was not renewing his auto insurance policy, leaving him with a brief lapse in coverage.
"It's sad because I was a USAA customer for five years," Shames said.
Shames said he was told by his finance company in October that USAA dropped him due to too many at-fault accidents. When he reached out to USAA, they told him they sent Shames a letter in September, but he claims he never received it.
"I had an at-fault in August of 2022 or 2021. But then I had hit a pothole when I was living up in Orlando coming home from a rainy day from work, and my car had pretty much started to freak out," Shames said. "Wound up canceling the claim I filed with them, and they still considered that an at-fault collision even though there is no other party. It's a pothole."
WPTV spoke with a USAA spokesperson over the phone about Shames' situation and they confirmed the policy was not renewed, because of several at-fault accidents.
Shames filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Financial Services and they sided with USAA.
According to Florida law, insurers are not prohibited from "nonrenewal of a policy under which the insured has had three or more accidents, regardless of fault, during the most recent three-year period," which Gabriel admits he had.
"We hear about this a lot and it’s for this very reason," Carl Gould, business analyst and founder of 7 Stage Advisors said. "A lot of instances, although small, those add up for the insurance companies and it becomes harder and harder for them. They’re a business like any other business."
Gould said his best advice for drivers is to keep as clean of a driving record as you can and only file claims when necessary, which is something Gabriel told WPTV he’s learned through this process.
"They have to show that they're making money, and when they see that an individual or a county or a state or a city is too high of risk for them," Gould said, "they're going to respond."
