BEWARE of State Farm Insurance

[jsharmon7]

I had SF for 8 years. I had to file a claim for a damaged roof and they dropped me right after the claim was paid. Apparently they only want you as a customer if you’re paying and never asking anything in return.

 

[Leo]

I was rear ended at a traffic light in Mena, Arkansas. The woman had State Farm Auto insurance. She may as well not had any insurance. They tried to make me count on my insurance to pay everything and then negotiate later. I sent a certified letter to the Driver stating my intention to sue them directly because there was no response from their insurance. It took legal pressure from my own attorney working with my insurance to force State Farm to write the checks to repair my vehicle. I was not even going for pain and the loss of my vacation as well as a loaner vehicle. I should have. Every time a State Farm joker tries to sell me insurance, I slowly and carefully tell him about my experience before I tell him I am not interested.

 

[xwing]

Percent deductibles for homeowners insurance are pretty common now. All insurance companies are in it to make money, and with the insane expenses they have to cover, they've all tightened down a lot of things in the last few years. This is in no way unique to State Farm. All insurance companies will screw you over if they get a chance. Everyone either "loves" their insurance company because they paid their claim that one time or "hates" them because they ran into an issue. But it's such a small sample size to make that determination. They are all basically the same. State Farm is reputable and reliable as far as insurance companies go (which isn't very far.)

 

[Ingomike]

Percent deductibles for homeowners insurance are pretty common now. All insurance companies are in it to make money, and with the insane expenses they have to cover, they've all tightened down a lot of things in the last few years. This is in no way unique to State Farm. All insurance companies will screw you over if they get a chance. Everyone either "loves" their insurance company because they paid their claim that one time or "hates" them because they ran into an issue. But it's such a small sample size to make that determination. They are all basically the same. State Farm is reputable and reliable as far as insurance companies go (which isn't very far.)

No, there is a huge difference in the independent agent companies and the captive agent companies.

Also it is hard to find real independent data on these companies, it is all about who is biggest.

 

[planedriver]

If you have a significant claim I have two words you should use with any insurance company…..
Independent adjuster

Your policy and the law provide for it.. Do it.

 

[Mgderf]

The risk on the more expensive house is much higher. The claims may be the same here, but how many windows are there in a larger, more expensive house with, usually, more expensive components and finishes. More obviously, what is the risk when a $200k house burns down versus a $500k house? This goes for deductibles as well. As I stated above, a more expensive house generally has more expensive losses. In a given case, perhaps not, but they have to set premiums and determine deductible based upon anticipated risk, not after-the-fact knowing what the claim was.

In any event, when policies allow the deductible to be chosen, a higher deductible results in a lower premium. How do you know that with the $500k house in this scenario, the premium would not be higher if the deductible is lower, at the same level as a $200k house?



...but like I said before, what is fair? An insurance policy is a contract. It's all in the contract/policy. They cannot change the terms without notice.

It's not just the insurance industry.
I am a contractor by trade.
I installed an exterior patio door today, among other things.
I have another patio door to install in the same general neighborhood, and roughly the same size, but the installation charges will be different by at least a few hundred dollars.

The reason for the discrepancy is simple.
The value of the doors being installed are far apart.
One door is expensive, while the other door is ridiculously expensive.
If I take on the installation duties and screw things up, I can be held responsible for the price of the door plus the installation costs.
When my risks are higher, the price goes up.
Pretty simple really.

 

[DCR]

The Ten Worst Insurance Companies
1. Allstate
2. Unum
3. AIG
4. State Farm
5. Conseco
6. WellPoint
7. Farmers
8. UnitedHealth
9. Torchmark
10. Liberty Mutual

60 years ago when my dad was an insurance adjuster he named State Farm and Allstate as 2 companies to never do business with.

 

[manifest destiny]

Corporate insurance is institutionalized gambling. Rule number one with institutionalized gambling is the house always wins. I buy a lot of insurance. I would never buy from anyone except an independent agent. Home, auto, boat, life, GL, scheduled tools, off-premise, balloon, etc. Most* are from different underwriters. I'm confident they'll all try to screw me if they think they can, if/when the time comes. I wish I had an idea for making insurance fair. I must have it, or I cannot buy/rent/drive/etc. The company must make money or they cease to be a company. What to do? One can self insure but good luck with that.

 

[wcd]

I believe some have referred to them as Snakefarm

 

[OkieGirl]

+1 For Independent Agents! We went through an independent agent and selected Erie Insurance. We've had great success with them, we can call and speak to a person; there isn't any phone tree to have to punch a button and hope to get to a human. We can talk about what's happened without automatically filing a claim (minor ding on my sons car when someone backed into him in a parking lot and drove off). Some things are better to handle on your own b/c the cost doesn't really benefit filing a claim.

We've had some hard moments and Erie has had remarkable customer service through all of them. You have a direct number to an actual person who either answers your call or actually calls you back when you leave them a message. I was rear ended by a felon who had no insurance, their investigator was able to get him to admit it on a recorded call. I didn't have to pay any deductible, Erie covered the entire repair and my rates did not change. They don't offer coverage in every state to minimize risk, but it's available in Indiana.

 

[Expat]

If you have a significant claim I have two words you should use with any insurance company…..
Independent adjuster

Your policy and the law provide for it.. Do it.

If you are talking about a public adjuster, there was an outfit that came in to my town a few years ago after a big hailstorm. they went door to door getting people signed to contracts and then screwed most of them. They got sued a couple of times And lost. Made the front page of the paper.

 

[planedriver]

If you are talking about a public adjuster, there was an outfit that came in to my town a few years ago after a big hailstorm. they went door to door getting people signed to contracts and then screwed most of them. They got sued a couple of times And lost. Made the front page of the paper.

Yep. Public adjuster. As with any kind of service business there are con artists. They should be licensed and carry e&o insurance. Just as you probably wouldn’t sign a contract for a whole house remodel from a door to door salesperson the same should be said for public adjusters. Generally, unless you have a total loss on a high value home you won’t hear from them. Btw the going rate is 5%. More than that, unless it’s a small loss is robbery.

Then, again, sometimes threatening me insurance company with your intent to hire a public adjuster, will get them scared back in line.

 

[bobjones223]

+1 For Independent Agents! We went through an independent agent and selected Erie Insurance. We've had great success with them, we can call and speak to a person; there isn't any phone tree to have to punch a button and hope to get to a human. We can talk about what's happened without automatically filing a claim (minor ding on my sons car when someone backed into him in a parking lot and drove off). Some things are better to handle on your own b/c the cost doesn't really benefit filing a claim.

We've had some hard moments and Erie has had remarkable customer service through all of them. You have a direct number to an actual person who either answers your call or actually calls you back when you leave them a message. I was rear ended by a felon who had no insurance, their investigator was able to get him to admit it on a recorded call. I didn't have to pay any deductible, Erie covered the entire repair and my rates did not change. They don't offer coverage in every state to minimize risk, but it's available in Indiana.

We use Erie also and they have been good to work with.

 

[xwing]

No, there is a huge difference in the independent agent companies and the captive agent companies.

Also it is hard to find real independent data on these companies, it is all about who is biggest.

There is a tactical difference in how they work, but I don't think it amounts to anything. I've worked with independent agents before to get quotes from various companies, and they were not any cheaper. Even though they have "multiple companies" to work with, they charge more than Allstate and State Farm for the same coverage.

 

[Ingomike]

There is a tactical difference in how they work, but I don't think it amounts to anything. I've worked with independent agents before to get quotes from various companies, and they were not any cheaper. Even though they have "multiple companies" to work with, they charge more than Allstate and State Farm for the same coverage.

Never said independent companies were cheaper. Remember the SF type companies have to pay for billions of dollars in TV sports sponsorship. That are dollars not available for claims. Most contractor friends i know say SF turns down claims at a high rate…

 

[wtburnette]

"There are other insurers."

Most All of them are thief's thieves

FIFY

 

[mmpsteve]

... I have two words you should use with any insurance company…..

...

I have one phrase that generally gets their attention when they're trying to bamboozle me: "when I hang up this phone, my next call is to my attorney".

I used this phrase when a State Farm agent tried to tell me that my wife was driving in pitch dark with her lights off, with our two children in the backseat, and that's why his client pulled out of his driveway and hit my wife's car and spun her out on a major County highway.

One mention of my attorney, and his demeanor changed substantially, and that misunderstanding was cleared up immediately. Between medical, pain and suffering, Etc, they paid ... bigly.

.

 

[DCR]

I had SF for 8 years. I had to file a claim for a damaged roof and they dropped me right after the claim was paid. Apparently they only want you as a customer if you’re paying and never asking anything in return.

Big hail came through our neighborhood about 20 years ago. EVERYBODY got a new roof, except for our neighbor who had SF.

 

[DCR]

Boy and did the shysters come out of the woodwork. Pickup trucks with out of state plates giving us estimates on a new roof. "We'll do it for whatever your insurance company pays you. How much was that again?"

 

[BigMoose]

I wont even go into them canceling my homeowners policy over being behind payment $11... and then imediately paying that, and still canceling the policy.