Community Chat

[lovesrecess]

I am at my wits end with getting our severe storm damage repaired from a storm in early June. The insurance company is downright nasty. Have been with them for decades, only a few minor car claims, no problem getting those paid. We had a severe storm where our entire area was damaged, Trees uprooted, windows blown out, roofs caved in, etc. fortunately no serious injuries. DH hires a roofer who says he deals with insurance companies. Worthless. I have figured out how the company avoids paying a single dime though. Problem is we can’t switch companies because another company won’t insure damages property. It will cost about 50k to repair everything including a new roof, new siding, some guttering if we can get the same color, and one side of our wooden fence that was splintered by hail. Meanwhile, we are living with blue tarps covering our roof and boards nailed over sides of our house where siding was ripped off by the 90 mph winds. We need to put our house on the market....can’t happen!

Attorney said if he gets involved it would slow down the process. He also said legally it could take years for them to pay for repairs. I will leave State Farm as soon as humanly possible. I don’t have an extra 50k laying around, but if we do have to pay out of our own pocket, I am told State Farm won’t pay anything, the claim will be closed since no repairs needed. 

I thought companies like this were regulated. I guess they get to keep your money. Rant over...anyone else had this problem or just me?

[cherry]

We left State Farm after fifty some years, because of the way they treated us. We have never had a major claim, or an accident that was our fault. We were broken into once, about 30 years ago. They have gotten awful..good luck

[lovesrecess]

Thank you! 22 homes on our street already have new roofs....only one of them had State Farm.

[Love my grandkids]

@lovesrecess Just a thought: Can you contact the Consumer Affairs office in your state?

When I lived in California they were instrumental in getting an insurance company to pay the benefits of my late mother's insurance policy.

[sunshine45]

have they told you why they are not settling this quickly or why payments have not been made to you so you can get the repairs done?

also, what does your insurance agent have to say about it? i would be calling him and the adjuster every single day.

[ciao_bella]

If an insurance company is giving you a hard time about a claim, you have two avenues;  contact the department of insurance in your state or hire a lawyer who specializes in insurance issues.  The following is a clip from insurance law obtained online.   

Your state’s Department of Insurance (DOI) is a resource for information on insurance companies’ financial stability, but it also regulates insurance companies’ handling of claims for promptness, fairness in negotiations and good faith settlements. Simply put, you, as a consumer, have a right to file a complaint with them if you believe your insurance claim has been mishandled or you haven’t gotten a reasonable, timely settlement. Another option is to contact an attorney who specializes in insurance bad faith. The attorney is working for you and your best interest and will be quicker and much more aggressive than the DOI.

Complaints and the DOI

Every state has a DOI, known by different names around the country. In California, for example, it isthe Department of Insurance, but in Massachusetts, it is the Division of Insurance and in Michigan, it’s the Office of Financial and Insurance Services. Each state has a website for its insurance department (see Resources below for a link that will lead you to your local DOI). Most of the websites allow you to easily file your complaint online.

Individual complaints are typically made for such things as improper denial or delay in the settlement of a claim, illegal cancellation or termination of an insurance policy, misrepresentation by an agent or broker, and problems regarding insurance premiums and rates. If your complaint is regarding the handling of a claim, it is possible that the insurance company may be guilty of dealing in bad faith. This means that they have treated you unfairly either in the process of investigating your claim, denying coverage for it, or settling it.

[Kachina624]

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@Love my grandkids wrote:

@lovesrecess Just a thought: Can you contact the Consumer Affairs office in your state?

When I lived in California they were instrumental in getting an insurance company to pay the benefits of my late mother's insurance 

@lovesrecess.  This is what I'd do.  Usually there's a regulatory agency just to oversee insurance.  I'd contact them.  I remember the publicity about State Farm after one of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.  The shenanigans they pulled to avoid paying claims was ridiculous. 

[lovesrecess]

State Farm just moved their huge national HQ here....thousands of jobs created. They own the state. Consumer Affairs would be a dead end from my experience, but I may give them another try if things keep going like they are now.,,which is nowhere!

[Spurt]

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@lovesrecess wrote:

I am at my wits end with getting our severe storm damage repaired from a storm in early June. The insurance company is downright nasty. Have been with them for decades, only a few minor car claims, no problem getting those paid. We had a severe storm where our entire area was damaged, Trees uprooted, windows blown out, roofs caved in, etc. fortunately no serious injuries. DH hires a roofer who says he deals with insurance companies. Worthless. I have figured out how the company avoids paying a single dime though. Problem is we can’t switch companies because another company won’t insure damages property. It will cost about 50k to repair everything including a new roof, new siding, some guttering if we can get the same color, and one side of our wooden fence that was splintered by hail. Meanwhile, we are living with blue tarps covering our roof and boards nailed over sides of our house where siding was ripped off by the 90 mph winds. We need to put our house on the market....can’t happen!

Attorney said if he gets involved it would slow down the process. He also said legally it could take years for them to pay for repairs. I will leave State Farm as soon as humanly possible. I don’t have an extra 50k laying around, but if we do have to pay out of our own pocket, I am told State Farm won’t pay anything, the claim will be closed since no repairs needed. 

I thought companies like this were regulated. I guess they get to keep your money. Rant over...anyone else had this problem or just me?

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@lovesrecess 

You can file a complaint with your State Insurance Commission......

Ive heard so many people recently having problems with State Farm....their rates arent competitive or there's  problems with claims etc...All this is from relatives, friends etc.---and some live in different states too, so its not isolated to one geographic location. 

Even my hair dresser who was shocked to get her auto renewal, and she also had her business insurance, home, auto, life all with them---NO CLAIMS!!! ....She said the only thing that happened is she turned 55.......She left them and called her adult children and told them to find another company too before it was too late.....

A friend had an auto claim and he had to do all the leg work to get his car repaired....he asked the Claims Rep....what am I paying you to do, I'm doing your job!!!  

Maybe State Farm gives all their money to their expensive spokes people--- NFL QB Aaron Rodgers and NBA players James Harden and Chris Paul......LOL

[mac116]

Several years ago, there were some terrible hail storms that went through the area.  All you could hear was the pounding of roofers, except on my "Miracle" roof that according to the claims adjuster, had no damage.  The next storm that we had, we had a roofing contractor HERE when the adjuster came.  He had circled all of the hail damage with spray paint on our roof. (From the previous storm).  Guess what...they paid to totally replace the roof.  Next time we were up for renewal, we switched companies.