State Farm Insurance – Well worth the money (usually)
I know this may not be a popular post, based on the fact that a lot of people tend to hate State Farm(and most Insurance companies) due to their Katrina handlings. However, I have had to file two separate claims and have had good luck with both.
I think most of the animosity towards State Farm is due to the fact that they tend to have the largest market share in their areas that they cover. When you have more customers and a disaster hits, you have more people going through the recovery process. This, obviously, results in more people going through the process and more opportunity for things to go wrong.
As I mentioned, I’ve gone through the process twice while living in Indiana. I think it is important to have a good, personal, relationship with your Insurance agent. You want someone else to have an interest in your claim. If your agent considers you a friend, they will try to help you where they can. Fire an agent that you don’t get along with, and be sure to interview your next one.
Our first claim was due to a hail storm that hit Indianapolis, the week after we moved. This was a declared disaster and many people had their claim denied. However, the vast majority of the houses in Indianapolis got new roofs from the storm.
Our second, more recent claim, was just a few weeks ago. If you remember, we have recently renovated a property that we intended to be a vacation home. The neighbor allowed his homophobic colors to shine and we decided to sell. In the selling process, Jason and I had finally staged the property, fixed the loose ends, and were ready to list when, the night before, we received a phone call. The call was from the local water company informing us that they had turned the water off. They mentioned that 71,000 gallons of water had gone through our system and they suspected a leak. 71,000 gallons of water is the equivalent of 6 in ground swimming pools, that’s a lot of water. We had two property showings scheduled the next day that we had to cancel.
I immediately called State Farm to begin the claim process. I informed them that I was hoping to sell the property and that I was nervous to miss the spring selling season. They quickly filed the claim, found a cleaning company, and located a building contractor.
While we are still in the repair phase, it has only been 2 weeks and the place is coming along, we have our recovery check, and have been very satisfied. Let’s hope this continues to be a good experience.
I think State Farm has a bad reputation. However, I think it is just due to their size. Agree with me, or disagree with me. Let’s hear your Insurance stories…good or bad.
I’ve been an Allstate customer since I started driving (on my parents’ policy and then my own), and my first out-of-college job was at an Allstate agency. Personally, I’d say both Allstate and State Farm are the best out there, and while other companies may offer lower rates, these guys are worth paying for.
In college, I was the driver in a horrible car accident that all but totaled by car. I was 20. All four of us walked out fine (Praise God), but two years later, one of the girls sued me. Allstate was fantastic: covered everything from ER x-rays the day after the crash to lawyer/etc. fees years later. I was so impressed with the entire process, I will never switch.
That said, seriously, I feel SF is cool, too. I know my parents have a SF policy on an investment property, and it’s worked well.
GG, Thanks for the insight. I’m glad you had a positive insurance experience rather than a negative one. I had to knock on wood when I posted this, in hopes that I don’t end up having a bad one.
As someone who’s had a terrible experience in the past with a house fire (using Safeco Insurance), it’s good to hear of a positive one.
My partner and I got started with State Farm when we bought our house in 1984, and we just lumped all our coverage in with them, partly because it was convenient and partly because you got a little discount. One great thing about State Farm is that without us even asking, they consider us two women to be a family and charge household rates accordingly, just as they would for a married couple.
I agree that they are worth the higher cost. We get notified personally when there is a change in insurance law that affects rates or coverage, and when we have had claims, they work with us like it was them getting paid instead of the other way around. Maybe that’s the small town way of doing business, but it has worked for us!
Good to know about State Farm. If we ever decide to go w/ another carrier, State Farm will be taken into consideration.
Hi Phil! Thank you for posting this and for the kind comments towards State Farm – I am proud to serve as your agent! As a representative of State Farm I can say that the corporate mentality is to always do the right thing by our policyholders. Sometimes we do get razzed in the media and I agree with it being in part due to our size. However the main attorney who caused such an uproar in Mississippi has just plead guilty to bribary of a federal judge (http://www-cgi.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/14/lawyers.indicted.ap/index.html) so I guess you know what they say about karma 🙂 And now for a shameless plug – if anyone is interested in checking out rates with state farm you may get quotes on our website 24/7 at http://www.insurance4indy.com or feel free to call my office if you have questions (317-255-2700).
Susan – Your comment reminds me that your insurance agent should also be comfortable that you’re in a same-sex relationship. You don’t want to have to explain who this other person is. They should “get it” and it should not be an issue. If so, fire them, and move on.
Jason and Naarah, thanks for your comments.
Elizabeth, Good to see you out here. I am so thankful that we hired you, your office has been great.
Well, I gave State Farm good reviews to fellow homeowners. Our house was hit by major hail/wind three times in five years. Well, the first two times…no prob. Check was issued for repairs on the spot. The third time. It took weeks for someone to come look at the house from SF. The guy that was sent seemed like he had no clue what he was doing. When I spoke with him about the damage his constant response was “Oh, I did not see that”. The last 2 claims….they found stuff I would never think of or see. So, after SF finally sent someone out, it took over two weeks and several phone calls to get the check. The money we badly needed to reside the unprotected side of the house. Which, was getting pounded by rain for days on end. So, imagine my surprise when I got a letter from SF saying that my policy would not be renewed. Nice of my agent to call me, right???
Over the three claims, SF paid us under $10,000. Over the past 15 years I have paid triple that in home and auto insurance. I will be in contact with family and friends about switching their insurance.
I guess according to SF quarter sized hail is my fault. So is 70 mile and hour winds.
I would stay clear of this company!!!!!
Sue, Thanks for the comment. I was surprised that it took me over a week to get a negative State Farm story. I’ve had nothing but good luck, but with a company as large as State Farm, you are bound to get agents that aren’t trained and who don’t care. I’d be interested in hearing how you found a new agent.