Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/21/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Our trucking company has been with this company over a year and a half. We have had trouble getting a refund on trucks that broke down and cannot be on the road, so we were forced to cancel insurance on them. We are still waiting for our refund from November 22nd. Also, we had to remove another semi and 2 reefer trailers. Reliance Partners was having some paperwork issues and want to charge us 4 extra days that our vehicles were broken and no longer on the road, and they are aware that our vehicles are no longer on the road on reported date. We reported the cancellation, however, because of their slowness -we are being penalized because of their lack of action, which is emphatically unethical.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/11/2025

  BBB

  I would like to take this opportunity to explain the process and clarify a few items regarding how policy endorsements work when multiple entities are involved.
  1. Role of Reliance Partners, LLC
  Reliance Partners, LLC, is not the insurance company, Managing General Agency (MGA), or finance company associated with the insurance policies procured for Ross Transport, Inc. Rather, Reliance Partners is the insurance agency that assisted Ross in obtaining the insurance coverage for its transportation business.
  2. Explanation of Billing Types
  When Reliance works with clients to secure insurance coverage, we utilize both direct-billed markets and agency-billed markets:
  Direct-billed market: The insurance company bills the client directly for the premiums, typically on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. Any policy changes, including additions or deletions, are typically reflected within 24 hours, including any additional or returned premium amounts.
  Agency-billed market: In this case, the agency (Reliance) is billed directly by the insurance company for the full annual premium. If the client cannot pay the full premium upfront, Reliance utilizes finance companies to assist clients by offering financing options, which allow them to pay the premium over time. The finance company pays the premium to the insurance company, and the client repays the finance company in monthly installments, usually over 9 or 10 months.
  3. Managing General Agency (MGA) and Endorsements
  When an agency-billed policy is procured, it is typically through a Managing General Agency (MGA), which is an insurance broker specializing in trucking risks. In this case, the MGA procured the policies from various insurance companies based on ****** coverage needs. Once the policies were bound, the MGA sent the bill to Reliance, which then requested that the finance company release funds as per the finance agreement signed by both the client and the agency.
  When a client requests an endorsement (policy change), the agency works with the MGA to submit the request to the insurance company. In this case, the requested endorsement involved removing coverage, which resulted in a return of unearned premium. Once the insurance company processes the request, the unearned premium is returned to the MGA. Depending on the arrangement, the MGA either returns these funds directly to the agency or to the finance company.
  Please note that Reliance Partners does not control the timing of these transactions. The process can take up to 90 days or more, as it depends on the timelines of the insurance company and MGA.
  4. Specific Case Details
  In this specific case, the returned funds from the endorsement were posted to the finance agreement on 02/03/2025, over 90 days after the request was processed. The MGA (***) returned the funds directly to the finance company, which took a longer period than expected. I have attached the proof of the returned funds from the MGA (***) to the finance company on 02/03/2025 for your reference.
  We understand that the delay may have caused frustration, but I hope this explanation provides a clearer understanding of the process and the role of each party involved.
  Please feel free to reach out if you have further questions or concerns.
  Sincerely,
  ******* ******** *** ** ********** *** ****** ******** ********* *** ************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/08/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am a independent commercial truck driver and I made a down payment of $657.14 on July 16th to Reliance Partners for bobtail insurance coverage. I sent the insurance binder a copy of my declarations page so that he could write the policy exactly the same way. After binding the policy I sent a copy of the new declarations page over to the company I contract for and soon after learned there were a couple of things that needed to be changed because it was not the correct coverage. After numerous emails between myself, Reliance Partners and the company I contract for (****** ***** ** *** ***** **) I was informed by ****** ***** that they could not provide me work until I had the right coverage. I lost a week of pay because of this. In addition I had to find a new company to write and bind a new policy which I had to pay additional money out of pocket for. I feel like this is not my fault because the people at Reliance Partners could not do their jobs. And it costs me more money when I was trying to save money! I do not feel any of this is my fault at all and would like a full refund of the money I paid for my insurance binder that was for the policy that they could not write correctly!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/21/2024

  I am investigating this BBB complaint and am working on a reply. I have been out of the office since Friday, Oct. 11th on vacation, therefore have not had an opportunity to respond yet. I will get a response submitted ASAP! 

  ******* ********

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/25/2024

  Dear ******* ***** and BBB,
  Thank you for the extension on this reply. From my investigation into this matter with the Producer, ***** ********, it appears the complaint from Mr. ****** ******* ******* is inaccurate. Yes, Mr. ****** ******* ******* did get insurance through Reliance Partners for his business, and according to the producer, he was trying to save a few bucks on his insurance by shopping it out with other agents. He did not have a clear understanding of what he needed to present to the company he was working for, ****** ***** in St. Paul, MN.
  So, you are aware, in commercial trucking insurance, there are a couple of possible Auto Liability type policies available. There is primary auto liability insurance for when you are responsible for having if you are going to be carrying loads across State Lines on Federal Highways, as required the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). This is to ensure ‘public safety’. The requirement is for $750K at a minimum.
  There is also other coverage available for individual owner operators which is called Bobtail or Non-trucking (NTL) liability, which covers an owner operator for auto liability when they are NOT working for someone else and are just using their truck to go to and from a location without a trailer attached and not under dispatch.  In this particular case, this client provided a certificate of insurance to the producer, Mr. ******** (attached) that stated he needed NTL Coverage. This is the type of policy this client told Mr. ******** he needed. Unfortunately, the company he was working for, ****** ***** ** *** ***** ** did not allow that type of coverage and instead wanted Mr. ****** ******* ******* to carry primary auto liability insurance as required by FMCSA when it was all said and done. 
  The amount that Mr. ****** ******* ******* is seeking was his down payment to get the insurance policy started that he initially wrote with Mr. ********. This is not a refundable amount because it was the amount the finance company required to get the finance agreement when the policy was placed on Mr. ****** ******* ******* behalf so the finance company could pay for his policy and he could pay back the finance agreement. Very similar to a car loan were a lending institution wants a down payment, not a refundable deposit like an apartment may want that is potentially refundable.
  It is clear to me Mr. ****** ******* ******* was unclear as to what he needed but what he asked for was provided by Mr. ********, from what I can determine. It ended up being the incorrect type of coverage, but it was what he asked to be written for him.
  If you have any other questions or need any additional information, please let me know. A refund of $657.14 as Mr. Mr. ****** ******* ******* is asking for is not going to happen as this was not a mistake on behalf of Reliance Partners, it was a mistake on behalf of Mr. ****** ******* *******.   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/09/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This is the most dishonest company ever. I terminated my drivers and they cancelled my policy needing a refund of my policy. ****** the insurance company issued a credit for my account for $727.00 for a trailer premium I did not use and then another credit for $19,000. They paid off the $12,964 policy to finance company and the financed company sent me a credit for $155.00 which was supposed to be issued to me they kept that. On the $13,301 policy they kept all the money. They got paid the $19,000 on June 28th 2024. They have refused to pay me my money back.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/23/2024

  BBB

  Thank you for reaching out about this complaint for a response. I have been in discussions with Ms. ****** regarding this complaint over the past two weeks. I have provided all the necessary information to her regarding what she mentions in her complaint regarding a refund on her cancelled policies including a detailed breakdown on what was collected and what is to be returned based on the initial policy, endorsements processed and based on the final cancellation of the policies.

  Based on the premium calculations, including paying off her finance agreement from the returned funds on the final cancelled polices, including our unearned commission, I have offered to send the appropriate funds back to her company by ACH or Wire Transfer on 08/09/2024 but have yet to receive the information from her.

  I will follow up with Ms. ****** again today and if I do not get a response, I will instruct my accounting department to issue a check instead and mail it to the last address we have on file..

  If you need anything further, please let me know. I have attached the latest correspondence with emails and calculations of the policy, endorsement and cancellation, if needed. 

  ******* ******** *** ********** *** ****** ******** ********* **** ************************************* ************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/05/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ************ insurance policy was set to expire on June 14, 2024. I emailed ******* ******* on April 1, 2024, to see if we could “begin the renewal process.” Last year, I was rushed on the last day to make sure the policy did not lapse. I had discussions with ****** ****** on May 17, May 28, June 5, June 7, June 13, June 14, and June 19 to discuss my policy renewal. All of my interactions were pleasant with ******, however, ******** ******* responded to the last email I sent ******, which negatively shifted the conversation. ****** provided ********** a quote on June 5, 2024. In her email, she listed six other insurance companies that declined to provide insurance. Most of the declination surrounded several driver violations from one driver during one traffic stop. In email and during our phone conversation, I informed ****** that the DOT violations are no longer on my account and have fallen off as they met their two-year window. They expired in March 2024 and were removed from my profile in April 2024. On June 7, I sent ****** an email that two tractors that were missing from the quote and sought clarification on the DOT violations allegedly listed on SAFER. I received no response, so I followed up on June 11. On June 12, ****** informed me that the insurance company was approving the addition of the other two units and she “should get a quote back asap.” I responded “Perfect. Let’s do whatever is possible to avoid a lapse.” I also informed ****** that ***** was no longer reporting those incidents so we needed to have the insurance providers obtain accurate information prior to quoting so I wont be denied. June 13, ****** told me the insurance company was finalizing my policy. I was nervous because my policy expired at midnight. She told me not to worry, my policy won't lapse because she “will backdate the effective date of the policy.” ******* abruptly got involved and refused to provide me with any assistance or any answers to my questions. I have no insurance.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/16/2024

  BBB,

  Thank you for letting us know about this complaint from ********** and Ms. ******* ******. I am sorry she feels as though Reliance Partners did not meet her expectations regarding her renewal process for her company in June of 2024. Every client has the choice to continue to do business with our company, or find another agent who fits their needs. 

  I have looked through the correspondence Ms. ****** had with the various folks mentioned in her complaint and have spoken with each of them regarding their recollection of the events that took place leading up to the renewal, as well as, the events that took place after the renewal date of 06/14/2024 had passed. In speaking with ******* *******, she had started the renewal process with Ms. ****** back on 04/01/2024 by sending her an email for confirmation of a few items, but ******* did not received a response to that email.

  ****** ******, was then primarily handling the renewal process for **********. She had several written and verbal communications with Ms. ****** regarding the renewal process. Based on my investigation into this matter, it seems to me there were several instances of miscommunication, misunderstandings and non-responsiveness. From what I can tell, ****** did what she could do to try and get the insurance renewed by the 06/14/2024 deadline, but due to delays and non-responsiveness, last minute changes, etc. this did not get completed in the timeframe to get coverage in place for ********** by the expiration date of 06/14/2024. 

  I apologize on behalf of Reliance Partners if Ms. ****** feels as though Reliance Partners did not meet her expectations during this renewal process. From what I can tell looking at FMCSA, ********** was able to find coverage for Ms. ******* company through another agent/agency therefore did not have a lapse in coverage. 

  If you need anything further, please let me know. 

  Sincerely

  ******* ********
  SVP of Compliance and Claims
  ************ *************************************
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/28/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because the matter is not resolved. I am available for a phone call to help resolve this and other significant issues I have had recently with Reliance.

  Mr. ********, I appreciate your response however, in the same tune it felt very dismissive, specifically the statement saying "[e]very client has the choice to continue to do business with our company, or find another agent who fits their needs." I am aware of my ability to do business with another company but that option should not be justification to dismiss my present concerns. I obviously wanted to continue to do business with Reliance which is why I did not shop around to another agent during renewal.

  You are correct that after I reached out to ******* ******* on April 1, she responded, then ****** ****** later got involved. As I mentioned in my letter, ****** was great. Contrary to your statement, there were no delays, non-responsiveness, or last minute changes which caused the lapse. In fact, per my letter, ****** and I had many conversations via email and phone. Also, when I requested my policy be renewed, I requested all three trucks to be included on the policy. When I received my initial quote, there was only one truck. On June 5, 2024, I sent ****** an email informing her that "two units are missing and I have a question about the DOT violations." Up to the day of my policy expiration ****** was still trying to get the final truck added. Her solution was to bind the policy with just two trucks and add the last truck the next day. That was fine with me.

  Additionally, the bigger issue was when I asked ****** to inquire with the markets on what source they were using to pull DOT safety information because I was informed by ***** that those markets had outdated information regarding my DOT violations. All ************ violations had cleared by April 2024 and information was pulled in June 2024. This discrepancy is important because it impacted which companies would provide me quotes and how much the premium would cost. Once I inquired about this with ******, ******** jumped off the CC line of the email and shut down any further inquiry. She told me they had done all they were going to do for me. (You have the emails). This is horrible customer service. If I, the paying customer, am informing you that ***** is stating that your market is using outdated information, it is okay to do more than the bare minimum and inquire with the markets as to when their information was last updated and to take another look. I received none of that just a brick wall once I asked my questions. It was clear that ****** was new but ******** unreasonably stepped in and impeded her assistance. Again, ****** was great and provided good customer service to the best of her ability. The issue is when ******** jumped in and stonewalled the conversation.

  Lastly, your message states "********** was able to find coverage for Ms. ******* company through another agent/agency therefore did not have a lapse in coverage." Just because it appears that I did not experience a lapse in service does not mean I was not affected by the actions or inactions of Reliance. I had to do what was necessary to avoid a lapse in my policy which meant taking a less than ideal quote which was significantly higher than I would have normally paid. As I initially stated in my request for resolution, I would like for Reliance to "finish the job." Meaning inquire with those markets to see why they are using outdated information so I can have a preferred annual premium which matches ************ DOT safety status. I also would like to be contacted by phone at ************ to talk through this issue a bit clearer along with some other major issues ********** has experienced with Reliance involving overpayment, forgetting to submit federal filings resulting in the revocation of my authority which is permanently stamped on ************ record, and not having the correct trucks on the policy.

  Thank you for your time and look forward to talking with you soon.

  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/01/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was an owner operator. I needed trucking insurance. In January 2024 my policy was renewing so I changed to Reliance Partners LLC with ***** ********** In March, we went out of business so I changed the insurance coverage to just keep minimum insurance on a semi truck because I wasn't driving anymore. Since the semi was parked I asked to change the insurance, the rep replied I can help you with that. So I changed the policy, I thought. I requested the regular policy to be removed, but that's not what happen. I now had two insurance policies. They never corrected the problem . Plus now I'm getting a collection letter from ******** *** saying I owe for the premium finance agreement. We had ***** Insurance like 3 years ago, just not with Reliance Partners. We did not get our insurance policy financed nor was it any mention of needing to get financed for our insurance coverage. But this time with Reliance Partners LLC

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/13/2024

  Dear BBB, 

  I am responding to this complaint based on information through my investigation into this matter. ***** ********* ********** **** ***** ********* had a policy thought Reliance Partners from 01/08/2024 until the cancellation date of 05/03/2024. This was a policy with ***** Insurance Company and included Trucking Auto Liability, General Liability, Motor Truck Cargo and Physical Damage coverage (package policy). This policy was considered an Agency Billed Policy, therefore the annual premium was due to the insurance company, *****, when the policy was written in January. A finance agreement was offered to Mr. ******** to pay for this policy so he could make payments back to the finance company so he would not have to pay the full premium of the policy at once, approximately $16,058.42. The finance agreement was signed off by Mr. ******** and was part of his market file/Proposal. The terms of the finance agreement was to accept a down payment, then the rest of the premium would paid back the finance company over the next 10 months in installments. 

  From what I can tell from looking at the finance agreement, Mr. ******** made installment payments for first 2 months, and when the 3rd installment was made, it was rejected by his bank, NSF (nonsufficient funds). Mr. ******** did want to cancel his ***** Policy as he was closing his business. He sent an email to his account manager and the producer on 03/27/2024 to request cancellation. The account manager sent the appropriate forms to him to sign on 03/27/2024 and those signed forms were sent to ***** on 03/28/2024 to request cancellation of the policy with *****. Because this is a package policy, as mentioned above, there is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requirement for the Auto Liability portion of the policy to have a +35 day coverage because of the Federal Requirement on Motor Carriers (*****)who have Federal Authority, like ***** ********* ********* had. Since this was a package policy including all lines of coverage, the entire policy was affected. The final cancellation date of the policy with ***** was 05/03/2024. Since this was an Agency Billed Financed Policy, as referenced above, the finance company was still looking for payments from Mr. ******** to pay off this finance contract. Once the cancellation was processed by *****, they did return any unearned premium to the finance company and Reliance Partners returned unearned commission as well, to apply to the finance contract. if this returned premium did not pay off the contract, the responsibility fell on Mr. ******** to pay back this finance agreement. The reason Mr. ******** is receiving collection letters from the finance company has to do him not paying all monies owed to the finance company based on what was paid out on his company's behalf, what he paid back to them in installments, including an NSF installment, finance charges, and what was returned to the finance company in returned funds from the cancellation. This left a balance owed by Mr. ******** and ***** ********* *********.  

  Mr. ******** did request a new policy and one was bound for him effective 03/15/2024. This policy was a Direct Billed policy with ***** **** ********* *******, therefore this did not need a finance agreement. ***** **** billed him directly. This was a Non-trucking Liability/Physical Damage (NTL/PD) policy. This policy does not submit filings to ***** because it is not intended for motor carriers who are using the federal highways to carry commodities, or considered 'under dispatch'. This policy covers a truck when it is not under dispatch from a liability standpoint, but the physical damage portion of the policy will still cover damages to the scheduled equipment listed on the policy. This was explained to Mr. ******** on several occasions but it does not see like he fully understood. He did have two policies in effect at the same time because the one policy through ***** had the +35 days Federal Requirement on it and the new NTL/PD did not take the place of that policy because it is not a policy that 'posts filings' with *****. on 06/21/2024 the NTL/PD policy cancelled due to non payment of premium to ***** **** based on the cancellation notice we received from ***** ****.  

  Based on the above information explained, there is no billing adjustment that is needed. All appropriate funds have been returned to the finance company by ***** and Reliance Partners. 
  
  Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information. 

  Thank you!,

  ******* ********
  SVP of Compliance and Claims
  Reliance Partners, LLC.
  ************************************* ************ ************  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/12/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My current issue is that Reliance Partners was supposed to ensure that they had quotes available for me to review in a timely fashion so that we could make a decision on what insurance company we would be going with at the end of my current insurance expiration. I reached out in a timely fashion to my agent, ****** ***** to get this done. I was informed by ****** that his colleague ***** ***** was working on everything. I reiterated to ****** that my new policy needs to be UIIA approved. To save us some time I will fast forward 12-4-23 when I reached out and informed them that I hadn't received any quotes to review and we had only 6 days until my insurance expired. I was informed by ****** that ***** was working diligently and would have a quiote by the end of the day 12-4-23. On 12-6-23 I followed up as a result of not receiving any quotes yet. I was then provided with one quote from ***** for 64,752.92 and no others. ***** informed me that he would try and get the docs to me soon, please keep i mind that the expiration of my current policy is 12-10-23. On 12-6-23 I paid the down payment as a result of not bring provided with any other quotes and in fear that my insurance would expire. I sent the payment via ach, which was my error and then resent it on 12-11-23 via wire. My insurance already expired due to Reliance not receiving their funds because of the delayed ach, but definitely could have been avoided if they had provided me with a quote in a timely fashion. To add insult to injury, They failed to make sure that my new policy had the UIIA endorsement that I stressed it needed and that they informed me was good to go. They had no issue collecting the down payment of $10,791 from me but are still dragging their feet to correct this matter. ****** has acknowledged he is not happy with how they handled me but I am still here on 12-12-23 and my company is at a standstill, losing thousands of dollars a day and risk of going out of business due to their error.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/18/2023

  Thank you for making us aware of this complaint by Mr. ******** of ******** **************. Unfortunately, this client had a few setbacks during his renewal process that caused some frustrations for him. Mr. ******** had been working with his producer,  ****** ***** directly until this account was moved to Mr. ***** ***** as his direct marketer, to handle the renewal. Unfortunately there were things that happened during the renewal including some payment issues described by Mr. ******** in his complaint, causing additional delays in the renewal process. Admittedly Mr. ***** ***** failed to get this renewal out in a timely manner and failed to include the endorsement for UIIA in which Mr. ********** previous policy had included. This was not resolved until the following week when the account manager assigned to the client was notified of the mistake and worked diligently with her direct manager to get this corrected. 

  From my understanding, this has all been resolved and we are working to get this account moved from Mr. ***** ***** upon the next renewal date in Dec. of 2024. Also, I want to apologize to Mr. ******** on behalf of Reliance Partners and let him know we are working hard to continue to earn his business and we Thank him for being a valued client. I will also make sure that Mr. ******* direct manager reaches out to Mr. ******** for an apology. 

  If you need any additional information or clarification, please let me know. 

  ******* ********
  Sr. VP of Customer Service and Claims
  Reliance Partners, LLC
  ************************************* ************
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/19/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/14/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Reliance Partners out of Chattanooga, TN is terrible company to do business with. I would not advise any customers or potential customers to do business with them. Terrible customer service. A lot of things other insurance companies would do in terms of “*********** type customer service”, you might as well throw all expectations out the window for Reliance. I should have seen the writing on the wall my first time dealing with them in 2022. In April 2023, they called me a few weeks ago to state my insurance is being cancelled. They couldn’t give me any specific reason beside a generic verbiage from the insurance company with no true details. Reliance told me not to worry though, because they have plenty of time to get me more insurance before the cancellation date of 4/5/23 at 12am. They did not get insurance for me in time. My insurance got canceled, so I could not run my 18wheelers at all. I informed them that the FMCSA was going to revoke my authority on 4/11/23 if I don’t get insurance in time. Reliance made sure to take my money on time but dragged their feet to get my insurance in the system to where FMCSA revoked my authority. Reliance informed me today(4/13/2023) from an email that my federal filing has been completed. Hack S****, VP of Sales, *****. I have never seen someone with the VP title like he has make up so many excuses. He is not going to take no accountability for anything he or his company did wrong. He will find every way to throw it back on you, as the customers, with it being your fault. I asked Hack S**** since his company let my insurance cancel and let my authority get revoked are they going to compensate me in any way? Of course he danced around that answer and tried to find a way to put it back on me as my fault. Next thing, I did was ask would they at least pay the fees to get my authority turned back on out of good faith. I just wanted to see what they say. Of course Hack S**** said no to that and the fee was only $495.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/21/2023

  Thank you for contacting Reliance Partners regarding this matter. Below is a timeline of events on this matter directly from Hack S****, the producer on this clients account. Also, attached is documentation related to the timeline listed below for this matter. 

  From Hack S****: 

  Stephen, 
  
  Here is the timeline of events you requested per the complaint submitted by ** ******** ***.
  
  3/1/2023: Notice of cancellation (NOC) for all lines issued, effective 4/5/2023. These notices are sent to the client directly from the insurance company in the mail and we, as the agent, get a copy for our file. 
  I had a phone call with the insured from my cell phone at some point after the NOC was received, letting him know that his policy was being canceled early due to the NOC attached which was for 'material change in risk'.
  3/6/2023 - 03/14/2023  Discussions internally about what to do and offer the client as other options.
  03/14/2023- Communication was established over email, and in text thread between myself and ***** ******* (owner of ** ******** ***) starting the re-write process confirming equipment, drivers, getting loss runs, etc.
  3/29/2023: Text thread between myself and the insured, mentioning that the carriers I am working with for quotes (****** specifically) can only quote for $750K filing, not $1,000,000 filing 
  3/31/2023: Insured sends in a loss run request with the account manager assigned to his policies so those were provided so he could shop his insurance anywhere he could find coverage with other agents.
  4/3/2023: An email was sent to the insured with 2 quote options I had at the time from *********** and **** for 2 trucks, 4 trailers
  He was requesting that bobtail and PD coverage be provided for 1 unit so I explained to him that per federal guidelines, any owned or leased equipment must be listed on their policy, and that Bobtail would cover the truck if it is leased to another company while it is not under dispatch. I asked for a copy of the lease agreement, but never received it from him.
  4/4/2023: Text sent to the insured stating the following, "In order to bind, we will need you to update your MCS-150, to reflect the accurate number of units, and that you only need a $750K filing."
  Insured kicks back saying he does not understand the filing ordeal, if he would have known this earlier, he would have looked elsewhere. It is not our responsibility to inform the client of what is required to run his trucking business. I explained the difference in $750K filing vs. $1,000,000 filing and assured him that the quote would have a $1,000,000 limit.
  4/5/2023: text conversation from the insured, stating that the MCS-150 was updated last night. 
  The underwriter working on the quote said she may just pull her quote because she discovered the client had owned units that were not part of the quote and were considered "unscheduled units, etc.Therefore I was unable to get the company to bind the policy effective the cancellation date of 04/05/2023. I was able to work with the client and underwriter to get this resolved, but not before the cancellation date had passed, which was 4/3/23. 
  4/6/2023: firm quotes were received and a premium finance agreement was sent to the client along with binding documents. Those documents were not received on 4/6/2023
  4/7/2023: we received a wire for the down payment from client, and this was sent to the company to bind the policy with ******
  4/7/2023 I informed insured that we were waiting for bind confirmation from the company but because it was Good Friday, they had closed for that day. Since the company was closed on Good Friday, April 7th, I informed the client that an updated certificate of insurance would not go out until Monday, when we received the confirmation of the binding of the policies.
  4/10/2023: There was a text thread between myself and the insured with me asking if he had updated his federal filings to $750K per the requirements of the insured.
  The client responds over text saying "No, I haven't done that because I was never informed to do that. All you told me to do is update the # of trucks." I responded to the original text sent on 4/4, stating the requirements regarding the filing
  Insured updated, and sent me proof later that day
  4/10/2023: an updated COI sent out that afternoon from our processing team because received confirmation from the company the policies had been bound with an effective date of 4/7/2023, the original date we received the wire from the insured for the down payment and the date I requested
  4/12/2023: insured texts regarding the status of the filing, and how we are going to compensate him for loss.
  4/13/2023: insured emails regarding a reinstatement fee since his authority had been revoked. 

  Hack S****
  Vice President of Sales | Reliance Partners

  Below is a summary from my point of view from reviewing the attached documents, file and conversations with the agent, Hack S****,  related to this complaint:

  The issue of the cancellations of the insurance policies was not result of what Reliance Partners did or did not do. The Agent, Hack S****, worked very hard to get coverage in place for this client. The cancellation of the policies are a result of the insurance company recognizing the clients business was different than they had underwritten for, therefore they issued notices of cancellations, per appropriate State Statute, on these policies. Reliance Partners was not a fault for the delay in getting the policy's issued. The client had not completed information to be compliant with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) as directed by Hack S**** on 4/3/23, in order for the new insurance company to feel confident in the business was what he claimed it was and confirmation of the actual units that were running under his companies authority. 

  If you have any other questions, please let me know. 
  Stephen C*******
  Reliance Partners, LLC. 
  *** ** ** ******** *******
  ************
  ************************************* 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/15/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Sept 15th 2022, a company insured by Reliance Partners crashed my vehicle they were hired to move. This company did admit fault, and I have proof and witnesses, however they are not willing to compensate me for damage. They are under your company certificate of liability insurance. The company insured is ********* LLC. Certificate number: ********* I am going to proceed with legal action if this does not get resolved. I would like the damages to my vehicle compensated or I will have to hire legal counsel.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/15/2022

  BBB,
  Thank you for contacting Reliance Partners, LLC regarding this complaint. I have reached out to the other party, Mr. ******* ***** regarding. I have explained to Mr. ***** Reliance Partners, LLC is an Independent Insurance Agency who placed insurance coverage for our client, *********, LLC . Reliance Partners is not the insurance company and has no decision making abilities when it comes to paying damages in a claim or making coverage determinations. Mr. ***** has been in contact with the adjusters related to this claim through Progressive Insurance Company and seems to be having a hard time getting this claim settled. Apparently the claims adjuster has informed Mr. ***** the client, *********, LLC is not responding to Progressive in this matter. 

  I have offered to reach out to the claims adjusters on his behalf to see if there is anything I can assist with, but Mr. ***** mentioned he may need to seek legal action with our client, *********, LLC. to get this resolved. Mr. ***** agreed to respond to this complaint to get it closed out, understanding we are not a party that can make decisions regarding this claim.
  
  One other avenue he may want to follow up with is from his attached document from a Mr. Daniel R***** at ***** *******. His direct line is ************* Mr. R***** does mention in the attached email that his company will cover any damages their driver caused. I do not believe Mr. Daniel R***** is connected to *********, LLC as I do not see him as a contact for *********, LLC in our client management system. Mr. R***** may be part of a certificate holder that was listed as the certificate holder called Blue Comet Logistics. 

  I am willing and able to reach out on Mr. ******* behalf to whomever he needs me to. My direct contact information is listed below if he chooses he would like for me to in order to see how I can assist. 

  Again, thank you for notifying us about this complaint and if there is any other information that you or Mr. ***** may need, please let me know.

  Stephen C*******
  Sr. Vice President of Customer Service and Claims
  Reliance Partners, LLC.
  stephen.c*******@reliancepartners.com
  423-803-1486
  PO BOX 11227
  Chattanooga, TN  37401

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/27/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was involved in an accident with one of their insured drivers and I have yet to be able to get in contact with Reliance Partners. I have made countless calls and haven't got anywhere. I would like Reliance Partners to contact me directly.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/02/2022

  Thank you for letting us know about this complaint. This was a driver involved and an accident with one of our clients, *********, LLC, I think, out of Richardson Tx. The belief is that we, Reliance Partners is the actual insurance company, and we are not. We are the insurance agency that placed insurance policies for our client, *********, LLC. The insurance company the client is placed with, if this is the correct client, from a claim that happened on 10/18/2022, is Mohave Insurance company. 

  There is an adjuster assigned to this claim and the claim information is listed below. 

  Claim Number # *************
  Adjuster Michael S******
  Phone # to the Third Party Administrator company handling this claim on behalf of Mohave, called EMA Risk Services is 210-608-9183
  Mr. ********* email address is ms******@*******************

  I would imagine that Mr. S****** has already been in touch with this person, but just in case they have not, please have this person reach out to the adjuster directly.

  Thank you!

  If you need any additional information, please let me know. 
  Stephen C*******
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/19/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Friday morning May 13th, 2022 I paid Progressive insurance directly $6,116 on behalf of ********** ******** *** ******** *** ********* ********* is an agent for progressive Insurance responsible for issuing my customer's proof of insurance for my trucking business. My 2 contacts at Reliance Partners are: Customer Service ********************************** and Sr Director of Business Development Team ************************************ . As of Thursday morning May 19th, 2022 Reliance Partners portal shows my policy expiring May 24th 2022. Jonathan W***** has sent me 2 emails, yesterday and this morning "ORDERING" me to sign his "Proposal" which apparently eliminates my "NON OWNED TRAILER" collision insurance and requests a "total Premium" of $6,116 with no mention of the $6,116 already paid. Progressive says my policy is extended to 11/24/22, Reliance partners says my policy is awaiting renewal. I also had problems with my first renewal in May 2021.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/03/2022

  BBB, 

  Thank you for contacting Reliance Partners related to this recent complaint from ********** ******** regarding his Progressive Renewal Policy. Mr. ********** clearly does not understand the renewal process that has to take place when an Agent/Agency is involved with an Progressive Policy. Progressive offers two options to clients if they are looking for coverage or if an agent quotes coverage to them.

  Anyone can purchase a policy directly through an agent of Progressive directly by calling 1-800-Progressive, or they can purchase a policy through an independent agent OF Progressive, like Reliance Partners or any of their 1000's of agents across the US. When the Progressive policy for ********** Trucking was first purchase by Mr. ********** in November of 2020, it was purchased through Reliance Partners. He seemingly completed the renewal process on this policy with Progressive every six months from November of 2020 until this most recent term, Eff 05/24/2022 to 11/24/2022. Aside: At anytime during the course of the policy term, including leading up to renewal, Mr. ********** had/has the ***** to contact Progressive Directly and asked to be changed from Reliance to another agency or directly to Progressive through the use of an Agent of Record. If this happens, Progressive would most likely have required a rewrite of his existing policy therefore possibly changing his rates. 

  Yes- Mr. ********** did pay his premium on 05/13/2022 for the upcoming renewal term. That was posted on the website- (see attached). Also, on 05/18/2022, Progressive emailed him a new Certificate of Insurance for the Holders they had on file- Also attached is a copy of one of those certificate holders. 
  

  On 05/19/2022- In order for the producer, Jonathan W*****, to get this policy renewed in our Client Management system from an internal procedural standpoint, Jonathan needed to get Mr. ********** to complete a Market File- documentation related to the renewal process. Once this is completed, the policy is renewed in our system and new certificates are issued on behalf of the client to the certificate holders we have on file or that are requested by the client including new Auto ID cards, and information related to his renewal term. These documents go out automatically when the policy is renewed in our system to the email address we have on file. Email on file is [email protected].

  When the 'market file' was sent to Mr. **********, as it has been done many times before, Mr. ********** refused to sign saying "I am not going to sign this, I have already paid in advance for the next 6 months. I'm not going to give you any more money and I have not authorized you to make any changes to the policy".  Mr. ********** was NOT being asked to pay any additional premium as this is a direct billed policy by Progressive, so Jonathan already knew he had paid. - see attached market file showing receipt of payment, email from Mr. ********** regarding his statement, etc. Also, no changes were being made to the renewal, but Jonathan, like any producer would, always asks if there are any changes that may need to be made upon renewal, just to make sure our information matches the clients as we are updating our internal client management system to match the policy or needs of the client. Regarding the comment about the Non-owed trailer coverage, you can see in the market file that this coverage is included in the renewal on page 8, so I am at a loss on where is he thinking it is being eliminated, as it was not.

  Once the policy is renewed in our system, the clients online portal where they can issue their own regular certificates of insurance, is updated to reflect the new term. This happens within 24 hours of renewing the policy in our system. This was completed on 05/20/2022 - (See attached email)

  Conclusion: I hope I have provided an adequate explanation of the complaints brought up by Mr. ********** of ********** Trucking related to this matter. I think Mr. ********** may not have understood our role in this renewal process for some reason and thought that Jonathan was trying to take advantage of him somehow when he reached out about his upcoming renewal. The intent of Jonathan somehow got miscontrued by Mr. **********. Furthermore, Progressive is a Direct Billed company, therefore any renewal billing is sent directly to the company for payment. We, as the agent, never need to collect any premium or down payment on Progressive policies. Even when a new policy is placed with Progressive, the payment is made directly to Progressive, not Reliance Partners. Again, Mr. ********** has a choice with Progressive to either stay with an agent or go directly to Progressive.  If you need any clarification on this or need any additional information on this, please let me know. 

  Thank you in advance and for letting us know. 

  Stephen C*******

  *************************************