by
CURE Auto's Eric Poe
CURE Auto Insurance of New Jersey, which entered Michigan's market in 2021, has had an inordinate number of consumer complaints.
Chad Livengood of The Detroit News reports:
The News found that CURE has experienced a disproportionately high number of customer complaints for a car insurance carrier of its size, ranking second in complaints in 2024 and fourth statewide in 2023. The total complaints filed against Cure in 2023 were triple the number lodged in 2022, state data show.
The New Jersey-based insurer has also faced more lawsuits in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties since 2022 than eight insurers that each sell more car insurance policies than CURE in Michigan, court records show.
In 2024, it was Michigan's 17th-largest auto insurance company, based on policies.
Eric Poe, owner of CURE, told The News that CURE's total complaints were inflated in 2023 and 2024 due to an advertising blitz against the company by attorney Steve Gursten, a partner at Michigan Auto Law in Farmington Hills, who is battling CURE over its business practices in court. Michigan Auto Law said it has been paying for eight to ten billboards about Cure along Metro Detroit freeways since Sept. 20, 2024 and has a website whenCUREwontpay.com.
"This was never an issue until Mr. Gursten decided to put it on every billboard to try to make it sound like we're doing something wrong," Poe told The News. "We're not doing anything wrong. Are we perfect? The answer is no."
According to The News, some consumers have turned over ownership of their crashed cars to Cure, only to have the company deny their claim for one reason or another. One Wixom man had his stolen 2024 Ram 1500 truck claim denied because he refused to give CURE investigators access to his phone, including text messages. Poe said the company often reviews phone records to make sure fraud isn’t involved. The damaged truck was eventually recovered in New Jersey, but the man says he is now fighting CURE to cover the damages.
CURE Auto runs TV commercials featuring local sports figures, including Tigers ace pitcher Tarik Skubal and Lions stars Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
