GLIDER INSURANCE

miltonpilot JLH

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Mar 26, 2025, 2:13:27 PM3/26/25

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FYI: Here is an experience I had trying to renew my glider insurance with Costello.

My renewal date is April 1 each year. This past February I received an email from Costello with an invoice for renewing my policy for 2025. The email told me that Costello is now called Aviation Insurance Costello Insurance Associates which is now a part of Heffernan Insurance Brokers.

Instead of making my payment to Costello in Phoenix, as I have for years, I would now have to send my payment to Heffernan Insurance Brokers to a PO Box in Dallas, TX. I had the choice of paying by ACH, wire, credit card or check. I chose to pay by check because I am a penny pincher and did not want to pay an extra fee for using the other three options (yes, I know I am paying for the envelope and the stamp but it's still less than the fee).

I mailed my check to TX on 3/7/25. On 3/14/25 I called Costello and asked if they had received my check, they said no but the mail is slow and it should arrive in another few days and they would send an email to me to confirm receipt of my check.

On 3/19/25 I noticed that my bank account showed that my check had been cashed but I received no confirmation from Costello and here is the reason why:

Today I got a phone call from a company in Grapevine, TX called Pilot Thomas Logistics. I was informed that they had received my check but did not know why. However, per their policy, they cashed the check. Fortunately it is also their policy in a case like this to contact the person that sent the check and ask why. Pilot Thomas Logistics has told me they will send an ACH deposit to my bank so I will get my money back but it will take at least two more days.

I called Costello and confirmed that I had mailed my check to the correct PO Box in Dallas and was told that USPS must have made an error and sent my check to the wrong address.

My policy expires at midnight on 3/31/25 so there is no time to mail another check but there would be no guarantee that it would go to the correct address. So today, not wanting to chance that my insurance would lapse, I sent the money online by ACH. I have to live with the fact that, at least temporarily, my bank account has been charged twice for a total of $3217.00.

I can only hope that Pilot Thomas Logistics follows through and sends my money back.

For years I have sent the payment for my glider insurance renewal by USPS and have never had a problem. I guess this is one more example of the times we live in.

Caveat Emptor (buyer beware).

JLH

chris behm

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Mar 26, 2025, 4:38:12 PM3/26/25

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Miltonpilot-

Sent you a response through direct email.

But a phone call to your insurance company should grant you a grace period, since you tried to be on time. You can ask, and they should say yes, especially if you are a long-time customer.

If they said no, I would not hesitate to go elsewhere, but that is just me. YOU are the one paying the money....

Regards,

N304DD

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chris behm

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Mar 26, 2025, 4:42:00 PM3/26/25

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And, how is it that someone besides Costello was able to cash the check, not made out to them??

I would think that I would be calling my bank if that happened to me, and ask them why they transferred the funds. Then I would be calling Pilot Thomas Logistics' bank also.

Hope you get your money back ASAP!

N304DD

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George Underhill

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Mar 26, 2025, 5:13:58 PM3/26/25

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I've had it happen before, but not with Costello. The company receiving the check uses ACH and all is good for them, not for you.

George

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Roy Bourgeois

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Mar 26, 2025, 5:27:09 PM3/26/25

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Notify your bank immediately and in writing that the check ( give them the date, payee name, and check number) was negotiated by someone other than the payee named on the check. Keep a record of the notification. They will reverse the transaction with bank that first accepted the check for deposit, and recredit your account. Your bank has no defense to this - they breached the "pay to the order of" instruction on your check. If they refuse tell them your next steps will be with a lawyer and the Sate Banking Commission.

Roy ( and yes, I am a lawyer for 45 years)

miltonpilot JLH

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Mar 26, 2025, 7:43:53 PM3/26/25

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Thanks for the information Roy. I called my bank. They are cancelling the account the check was written on, providing me with a new account and new checks. It looks like it will take the bank about two weeks to investigate and come to a conclusion; about the same amount of time to get new checks. Now I have to go to the several companies that I have auto pay with and set up those with my new account.

They couldn't take all of the very detailed information about the check that was cashed by the wrong company because "...there are not enough spaces on the form to enter all of it..."! Hopefully they got enough to take care of this.

My bank also would not guarantee that I will get my money back. The agent said "...it depends on the results of the investigation...", great.

Jimmy Hamilton

JLH/H4

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