Denied insurance because i make pipes

**FoggyMountain** · 02-13-2012, 10:22 PM

So recently my landlord to my glass shop has asked for me to obtain insurance. So i asked my friend who was in the insurance business to help me out. She told me after about a week or so of working on my claim that someone found out i make pipes and the denied me insurance. I then called my old agent who insured me before and after another week or two I am ready to sign the papers and make my first payment, then i get an email asking ' Do you make drug pipes aka bongs? ' THen she tells me that all her markets have declined me for insurance.

Now the reason I believe is because of a post by someone i sold a waterpipe to. If you type my company name into google it is on the first page, a thread from grasscity.com. The customer clearly calls it a bong and that screwed me.

What should i do about this bullshit discrimination? I need insurance to keep my workplace. I have emailed grasscity about removing the post 4 times. They are not very helpfull.

**B.C. Creations** · 02-14-2012, 06:52 AM

im pretty sure its all in the intent. the aka bongs thing. ida said bongs are for drugs. i make tobacco pipes for smoking tobacco which is perfectly legal in all 50 states, and i cant hold the hands of everyone who buys them, to make sure they are using them legally.

or just say i make hollow glass sculptures?

sounds like some bs to me

**Greymatter Glass** · 02-14-2012, 08:52 AM

Sounds like there's more to this than we're (and perhaps you) are being told. However, property insurance is a private business matter and not a right, and it's at the whim of the underwriter to deny you a policy based on entirely arbitrary reasons (so long as they're not connected to federally protected classes).

I would suggest you shop around some more. insurance agents are like doctors and lawyers, some will and some will not deal with you. Find one who will.

As for that post, go on and contest it in the post - correct their use of the term and insist - in the same post - that your products are for tobacco use only. While I doubt that post actually has anything to do with anything, it's still easier than getting someone to remove it.

**$$$$$$$** · 02-14-2012, 08:54 AM

check out NASE for insurance..

**FoggyMountain** · 02-14-2012, 09:12 AM

Thanks for the positive responses.

I did respond to my old agent with the following.

"I do not make anyy items intended for illegal drug use. I do not make bongs or paraphenelia. I do not make any items that cannot but sold legally to legitimate distributors."

However it didn't help much.

I will try NASE. However the only thing is i was using and insurance specialist for the quotes, meaning they submitted my information to many different companies. I am hoping i am not on a red list somewhere.

So when i submit my info to NASE should i be up front and tell them i make pipes.

**Greymatter Glass** · 02-14-2012, 10:10 AM

no, you're a glass art studio.

**FredLight** · 02-14-2012, 10:26 AM

I think we just discovered why they found out.....J/K.

Maybe your landlord googled your name, and that's where this started. Landlord figures he wants you out, requires insurance, they google your name, poof.....you're fucked.

When I was trying to sell products for a company I lined up some potential sales in and around Eugene, OR. When I got there, I google the names of those that responded....

....one in particular popped up, with many results to court cases and legal BS..... I canceled that meeting, but the guy showed up anyways at EGS, while I was taking a class and had me called out of the class to talk to me. The dude truly is a nut-case. I politely excused myself back to the class, but he stayed until the end waiting for me. Creepy.

Seriously, before you enter into any situation, inform yourself. Google your own name as well.

**blackstoneglass** · 02-14-2012, 12:37 PM

Try changing the name of your company

**Mr. Wonka** · 02-14-2012, 01:00 PM

I can tell you first hand that insurance companies don't like glass blowers in general. I don't make pipes, haven't had a claim in 16 years, and we still had to change companies several times. They don't like the risk of an open flame.

We pay almost 8k per year in insurance (The Hartford), and we were recently notified that our rates are going up and our coverage is being reduced... my broker is finding us yet another company to switch to.

Tom

**blueflame glass worxs** · 02-15-2012, 07:42 PM

this is good to know, i planed on doing a rev.on my house. While they look around....hmmmm.
looks like i got some work to do be for i let them do the assem.

Thank you Mr Wonka!!!

**B.C. Creations** · 02-15-2012, 09:07 PM

all mine asked for was an inspection by the fire inspector. we set up, he came in and checked it, made us turn everything on, checked our fire extinguishers and that was that. not sure the company off the top of my head but ill look into it.

**Ronin** · 02-15-2012, 09:58 PM

I have a half million dollar policy from Allstate and they didn't really ask me a damn thing. I'm a "Glass Artist" as far as they are concerned. Same with my landlord. As a matter of fact I'm going to send her a nice glass flower with my next rent check.

guess I'm just lucky that way. I wonder what the difference is.

**Ronin** · 02-15-2012, 10:12 PM

after thinking about it for a few minutes... I think the fact that this property is zoned industrial probably made a big difference.

**Dirty** · 02-16-2012, 06:59 AM

hey everyone, this sounds like a case of to much information. my wife worked for an insurance company for a year or two. she always said people came in and told her their entire life story. Which sometimes led to a denied claim. While she only needed minimal info. You only need to tell them the basics. the more info they have the more likley a insurance company will come up with something to deny your claim. this goes for any claim be it auto, personal, or buisness. Sounds like you gave them the info they needed to view you as a risky assesment. I say in all things in the information game, give people what they need, not what they want. Unless you really know them well and trust is there.

**Ronin** · 02-16-2012, 09:20 PM

that's a very good point dirty. I only told them answers to direct questions and didn't volunteer any information (which I learned from many years of both successfully and unsuccessfully dealing with the fuzz), which could also be the difference.

**D. dino i ninjah** · 02-16-2012, 09:57 PM

yea I was posting this yesterday but got timed out before i hit reply and din't have time to retype

But the piont is
When ever any one from the "Square" sector comes along and asks what I do I tell them I am a Glass Artist. When asked what I make I usually say marbles pendants and hollow sculpture ... That is it
You make art... I got the nicest shop space I ever had by making christmas bulbs all day for two weeks just till the land lord left me alone. I don't feel bad telling people i make glass art.... and if you ask my six year old son he will also tell you "My daddy makes Glass Art" ITs just good practice to get in a habit of saying... At a festival years ago I had an incident where the security tried to rob me .... I fought them and took my case and ran.. I was tackled by security and taken to the DEA I explained that all i had was Glass Art and That the Security guards had no right to take it After a lengthy and awkard search ... I was given back all my "Glass art" and told that if I had called it any thing else they could have taken it.... GLASS ART
Sorry for the Long Post But I think its important

**ReLo442** · 02-17-2012, 08:50 AM

dude....just get that one post of your name with bong in it removed. try a new company. done. Im on grasscity and if your not its easy enough to sign on to pm a mod and get the post removed. Most forums have pretty helpful mods ESPECIALLY THIS ONE!!!!!

**jedi glassworks** · 02-17-2012, 09:45 AM

Maybe go to your local pipe shop and find out who they get they're insurance from.

Otherwise, we use State Farm for all of our insurance needs, they know what we do and everything.

Bryan

**FoggyMountain** · 02-18-2012, 12:44 AM

Originally Posted by ReLo442

dude....just get that one post of your name with bong in it removed. try a new company. done. Im on grasscity and if your not its easy enough to sign on to pm a mod and get the post removed. Most forums have pretty helpful mods ESPECIALLY THIS ONE!!!!!

Not Grasscity. I have emailed 5 times in the last week and i have gotten three replys. One to tell me that the support email address can't help me. And two more to tell mre that that mod incharge of the threads is too busy to get to me. Even though they claim a maximum of 72 hours to get to my problem.

Grasscity sucks. I don't even need the tread removed i just need the name changed so when people type my company name into google it doesnt pop up. I guess that is apparently too hard for them.

I guess i need to take some of my freetime to sign up and make a post called GRASSCITY IS RUINING MY LIFE. I wonder how long it will take them to take that post down.

Jedi: thats a good idea. i will try that.

**jr23** · 02-18-2012, 07:07 AM

Its really all about your agent and underwriter. I have a agent that is more of a friend and have my tools covered and my shop is insured for replacement value. And as stated before don't tell them jack , I always tell folks the shop is my shop I tinker, fix stuff, weld, and make glass stuff for the holidays.

The underwriter showed up one day and bitched about gutters and that was that.