I’ve already complained about Liberty Mutual’s poor email marketing practices via my platform here at Benchmark Email. I wasn’t going to pile on with their latest error, but I’m simply too mad not to. I just received an email from my car insurance agent, and it’s possible that there’s steam shooting from my ears like a cartoon.

Last month I filed a claim for damages sustained to my car while in the parking lot behind my apartment building. When the appraiser came to look at my car, he told me it appeared that there were three separate incidents and I would have to file three separate claims and pay three separate deductibles. I didn’t appreciate being called a liar, and opted to have my car fixed without insurance, for far cheaper than the three deductibles the insurance company wanted to charge me.

This morning I received this email:

Hi Andrew,

I got a note from our claims department that you were pretty happy with the way we handled your claim. I’m glad that worked out for you. In reviewing your file I noticed that you do not have renters insurance with Liberty Mutual. I have attached a basic quote for your review. If you decide to get the coverage you will save 5% or over $100.00 on your auto insurance. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Happy New Year!!!!

Did they actually get a note from the claims department saying I was pretty happy with how my claim was handled? No. In fact, quite the opposite, to the extent of suggesting I would be looking for alternate options. Sure, it worked out for me - because I paid out of pocket! I also wasn’t thrilled when I received my latest bill and found out they were raising my rates by $200/year.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the up-sell is a great tactic. It works at restaurants when you ask if someone would like dessert after they tell you they enjoyed their dinner. It does not, however, work so well when you’re trying to ask someone to pay even more money to a company they aren’t particularly pleased with.

It angers me most that my insurance agent didn’t even look into how my claim actually went. I’m sure their system showed I’d placed a claim recently and that may have triggered an up-sell campaign for renters insurance. It would be a well thought out and excellent tactic, had any thought actually been put into the personalization aspect of it. Instead, I’m more motivated than ever to find a different provider for car insurance.