‘The Twilight Zone’: Man says insurance company couldn’t find his policy, even with all of his info

CHARLOTTE — Craig Wooster says he had good luck with Aflac in the past. So he says he signed up for insurance again.

He says he meant to get the paperwork, but admits time passed and it fell off his radar. But he says he assumed it was all good because the company was automatically charging his credit card each month.

Wooster told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke that this went on for about three years. But then, he says, he went to switch credit cards on file and that Aflac told him “they can’t find me in the system at all.”

So he says he gave the representative his policy number.

“They go, ‘There’s no such number. There’s no such policy number as that,’” Wooster told Stoogenke. “So now I’m giving them my name. I’m giving them my birthdate. I’m giving my last four of [my] Social [Security number]. ‘Still don’t, we don’t have you in the system. We have no idea who you are.’”

“I feel like I’ve gone back to The Twilight Zone,” he said. “If we had needed it, we wouldn’t have been able to use it.”

Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke emailed Aflac and the company responded the next day. It wouldn’t discuss Wooster’s case for privacy reasons, but said Stoogenke should ask Wooster for the update.

He emailed Action 9 he came to find out he “was never registered with Aflac,” whatever that means.

It’s still not clear why the policy number didn’t help. He says the company didn’t give him any money back, but that he’s squared away now, “registered” with an “updated policy.”

Stoogenke has advice for all policyholders.

Anytime you buy an insurance policy, get the paperwork as soon as possible. It’s not just a formality. You don’t want to have to round it up in an emergency. Also, it’ll help you catch mistakes early.

If you have ‘any’ insurance issue, you can always file a complaint with your state Department of Insurance. Click here for North Carolina. Click here for South Carolina.

If you’re having trouble finding a ‘life insurance’ policy specifically -- that wasn’t the case here -- there are two tools to know about:

1. Ask the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Life Insurance Policy Locator Service.

2. Ask whoever handles “unclaimed property” for your state treasurer’s office. Click here for North Carolina. Click here for South Carolina.

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