Hazel Simpson says she hasn’t had control over her plummeting credit score since her gap insurance company denied her claim.
“My credit at the time was 757 today it’s 482, I cannot even look at my score,” Simpson said.
Her car was totaled after an accident on Cumberland Parkway last year. Her insurance company paid more than $7,000 for the vehicle’s value. But Simpson still owed $9,742 on the vehicle’s loan.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Simpson told Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln that her lender said it would work out receiving the payment from the New Jersey-based gap insurance company DOWC.
“Three months pass by and I’m like what’s going on,” Simpson said.
Simpson says she didn’t get any updates from her lender or the gap insurance company.
“It’s been very, very frustrating, very stressful as a small business owner because I depend on my credit for everything,” she said
In December, Simpson and her attorney received a denial letter from DOWC, claiming it didn’t receive necessary documentation within a 90-day time frame.
“This is absolutely predatory,” Simpson’s attorney said.
Insurance attorney Elizabeth Foley says she’s seeing an increase in cases where gap insurance providers stall receiving documents in an effort to avoid paying out.
“At any given moment the claims agency can say we’re denying your claim,” Foley said.
Foley says they plan to take legal action in Simpson’s case.
“In the letters, the correspondence that they sent her, it shows they never tried to connect with her to get her claim settled,” she said.
Channel 2 reached out to Simpson’s lender and DOWC, and it sent the following statement:
“DOWC, serving as a third-party administrator for the GAP Addendum, carefully reviewed and adjudicated the claim, which was denied based on the clear terms of the Addendum.
“Ms. Simpson and Ms. Wisdom (collectively “Customer”) had ninety (90) days to submit specific documents listed in the Addendum, including a police report and a copy of the repair estimate. A copy of the Addendum with the list of required documents was emailed to the Customer at her request on April 4, 2024. The Addendum states clearly and in bold, ‘No benefit will be provided under this Addendum if this documentation is not provided to the Administrator within the ninety (90) day time period set forth above.’
“Unfortunately, Customer did not submit the police report or the repair estimate in time, despite several reminders by phone and email. Nevertheless, DOWC offered goodwill to the Customer, which she declined.”
Channel 2 also reached out to Simpson’s lender, which said it was looking into the allegations and can’t provide a comment at this time.
“We pay our insurance, we were supposed to be protected, gap was supposed to come in and pay and then they do this to us. It’s just not right,” said Simpson.
Consumer advisor Clark Howard says gap insurance is a solution to an unnecessary problem. He suggest purchasing vehicles with smaller monthly payments or shorter lease terms to avoid needing gap insurance.
Howard says if you’re set on a car that will require gap insurance, shop around for the best rate on coverage.
And stay away from what the dealership is offering.
Also consider buying a used car, saving more for your down payment, and looking at cars that you can afford to pay off in less than four years.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
