State Farm Homeowners Insurance

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Dr. T of Bloomington, IN June 12, 2009

The extreme storm in June of 2008 caused a tree limb to tear away the flashing around my chimney. The torrential rain came in through the hole and flooded extensive reagions of the interior of my home. An adjuster came out within a few days and assessed the damage at 1,400. I complained as the mold which grew in profusion was causing my wife and I severe health problems and they later sent another to inspect the damage almost 6 months after the event. They wrote and assessment for 4,500 this time and stated that they did not cover mold. Since I have a 5,000 deductible they refused to pay anything. The water damage ruined my roof, walls, floors(custom made poplar), electrical box, gutters, eaves, furnace, vents and on and on.

They essentially waited until mold grew on the damaged structures to deny coverage, even though the water caused the damage not mold. I hired an independent adjuster and they assessed the damage at well over 100,000. Even though I paid for an independent appriaser, State farm refused to hire one in 30 days to continue the case stating we had not provided any proof of contention of their assessment, even though I submitted an estimate for partial repairs for over 23,000 before I ever hired and independent appraiser. The United Way helped us and the repairs were performed. Now State farm insists there is no proof of damage (I have the estimates submitted to the United way from the people who did the repairs).

State farm is strait out corrupt and is used delays and inappropriate tactics and policy interpretations to defraud us of our right to compensation. I have had coverage for all my insurance needs through State Farm for almost 25 years and have never filed a large claim for anything.

Jenny of Marietta, GA June 5, 2009

I have had State Farm Insurance for all my needs for the past 9 years. I have a modest ranch style home on a slab. This past Oct/Nov I noticed that my vanity in our hall bathroom was being damaged by moisture. We could find no leak under the bathroom sink, so we hired someone to come check our shower/tub. They replaced washers and said the problem was fixed. We then took out part of our vanity to replace it. It was then that we could see water seeping from somewhere behind our bathroom walls (tub area) to the floor behind the wall. We cut into a small area of the wall and found black mold and water damage to the entire bottom portion of our bathroom on the two sides surrounding our tub. One wall backs up against our kitchen cabinets wall. I contacted State Farm and was told that even though the front of our policy states in big letters we have coverage for mold damage up to 10,000.00, that if we read the fine print on our actual policy we would see that coverage does not include slow leaks, even if there was no way the homeowner could be aware of it! It only covered damage from catastrophic events.

John of Eastlake, OH May 12, 2009

A 150 to 180 foot oak tree fell from a neighbors yard onto and into our house causing severs damage. T. Berzinskas (first of 3 adjusters) prepared his own estimate and sent us a check for just over 21,000 and told us to make arrangements to repair the house. He did not care that the estimates from contractors were between 85,000 and 106,000, it was up to us to get it repaired for just over 21,000. It took him 32 days to see the damaged property. Since then we have had to hire a Public Adjuster. It is going to end up costing us between 15,000 and 20,000 for the Public Adjuster. It has taken 12 months of no communication. Repairs are almost completed at over 106,000. We are currently over 5 times their original offer and that does not include contents or additional living expenses.

To show how bad State Farm is, it took them so long to pay the moving and storage company that removed what little belongings we have left (it only took 5 months to approve)want paid in advance to return our belongings since State Farm does not pay in a timely manner. I can not begin to explain the daily hassles and immense stress throughout this ordeal.

Cristy of Olathe, KS May 6, 2009

Our fireplace caught on fire. We filed a claim. They tried to get us to go with a company that was not certified to replace the fireplace. We went with a company that was certified to replace the fireplace. State Farm finally settled it. We got a letter today telling us they are not going to renew our insurance because of the physical condition of the property.

Kortnie of Marysville, WA April 23, 2009

On October 31 2008 we had a house fire and lost nearly everything. The insurance company came out and started working in our favor. Then they hired a contractor to do work on our house. Well things started out ok atleast the demolation of our house. They gave a bid of 58509.38 to complete our house.

As things began in progress we noticed that they were not doing things by industry standered nor code. We notified the insurance company and nothing was done. The insurance promised to take care of bills at the house that burnt and we would take care of bills at rental which did not happen.

A few weeks ago we had a meeting with Lindsay and the contractor to point out what was going on. The contractor stated he was finished with the job which in fact he was not. They removed and charged for things such as : removed aliuminum windows replaced them with vinal, removed hardwood floors replaced with laminate, removed speical order cabinets in kitchen replaced with stock they did not seal any walls or floors, paint the outside, there is o much to list i have all documentation and pictures they charged for all the above and much more but never did the job.

Leah of Racine, WI April 10, 2009

We have had State Farm Insurance for over 17 years. All of our auto, homeowners and personal articles policies have been with them. About 1 1/2 years ago we had just moved into our new house. We were in the middle of getting our back yard fenced in (the fencing materials were literally lying on the ground). One of the neighbor kids came into the yard and was close to our German Shephard. Our dog was stiffing him and everything was fine, but the kid put his hand out unexpectedly and our dog nipped his finger. Of course we felt horrible - we told his parents if there were any medical bills we would be happy to pay them. He had a small puncture wound on his finger which healed fine within a week or so.

We made a claim to our insurance company so the medicla bills would be covered. At that time our agent told us that if we made this claim we might be dropped, and I argued with her and she told me she would talk to the underwriters and see what she could do. We never heard anything back and shortly afterward we received a letter from State Farm saying the claim had been settled and the file was being closed.

We thought everything was fine, and now about 5 or 6 months later we get a message on our machine stating that if we don't get rid of our dog they are dropping our coverage. If we would have known this ahead of time, we wouldn't have made the claim. We would have paid the medical bills out of our own pocket. We have hardly ever made any claims over 17 years - once for hitting the garage door! We have paid 1,000's and 1,000's in premiums and this is how they treat you! We have been told we probably won't be able to get anyone else to insure us if we keep our dog.

Temple D. Riddle of Packwood, WA April 2, 2009

In January, the Winter storm hit Packwood Wa. We had snow ranging from 4 to 8 feet. In East Lewis County Wa 2783 homes were damaged. 600 in my area. State Farm says only my house was different from the rest- just happened to settle after being built in 1982 just happened during snowload storm and area declared a disaster by government. Fema walked in saw interior damage and said SNowload so now 4 countractors and Fema and SF's 1st adjustor and FEMA see. Others have had homes fixed and on their way. We are still fighting because contractor said Settling from snowload so SF took word settling as an excuse not to pay. IT WAS CAUSED BY SNOWLOAD

House roof destroyed and two support beams cracked as snowload drove home downward. State Farm has yet to pay after several contractors said Snowload damage. They have had us deal with 10 different people. They have lied and played games. Now say another 2-3 weeks after 3 months- guess they want more damage or house to cave in. SEEMS LIKE LAWYER ONLY WAY TO MAKE THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR SERVICES THEY HAVE BEEN PAID FOR. STATE FARM IS NOT GOOD NEIGHBOR AND NOT INSURING TO PEOPLE AT ALL!

Ronald of Bourbonnais, IL March 31, 2009

This was our first homeowner's claim. On Tuesday, March 10th, we had water damage in our finished basement due to sump pump failure. Called insurance office and was told that we were covered and they would file the claim. She told us to go ahead and do what we needed to do to take care of the basement. On that same day, I contacted Olympic Restoration COmpany and they came over ans started working. I called my insurance company back and informed them that Olympic was at the house working and that they said there was quite a bit of damage.

The lady at State Farm responded again, You are covered, do what you need to do. She aslo informed me that my deductible was 2,960.00 but gave no further information regarding our policy. After talking to others who thought the deductible was an unusual amount, I again called the insurance office (same day). I asked how they arrived at that number and was told it was 1% of our coverage. So then I told the lady (Jackie) I wanted to make sure that all this work being done was going to be covered and she replied, Yes, you have the cadillac policy. Don't worry about it.

The following day, State Farm Home Office called and left a message with our claim number and said an adjustor would be in contact with us within 24-48 hours. I didn't hear anything back and still hadn't even heard from my agent, so a few days later Olympic tried calling State Farm Disaster team to try to find out who the adjustor was that was assigned to the case. He was given a number to call but was unsuccessful in getting any adjustor information.

I then called State Farm Home Office after a week had passed (my insurance agent still had not contacted me at this point)and was told that no adjustor had been assigned to my claim. On the evening of day 10, an adjustor finally contacted me. It was not until then that I was informed that there was a cap of either 5,000 or 10,000 but he wasn't really sure which. The following day I spoke with my agent, Todd, for the first time since all this happened and he confirmed that my cap was only 5,000. So I informed him that the Restoration Company's bill was a whole lot more money than that. That's when I told him that it would have been nice to have had that information from the start, to which he responded,Oh, so what you're telling me is that you sat back and watched since you assumed State Farm was picking up the bill.

I told him, No, I called your office three times and was told on three different occasions that I was covered so I hired a professional cleaning company, which State Farm knew, so that the work could be done quickly and correctly and to prevent further damage from the water. He laughed and said,Well I can tell you State Farm isn't paying for this.

On day 15, the adjustor finally came out to the house and confirmed that there was a lot of damge but again stated that I had a 5,000 cap and no personal belongings coverage. He said all he could do was issue me a check for that amount. After the adjustor left, I went to see my agent in person and he said, I'll see what I can do but I can tell you State Farm is not going to pay for this. This is now the 30th of March and after several requests, we still do not have a comprehensive copy of our homeowner's policy.

They sent us a two-page fire policy and said that was it, but it doesn't say anything about the different types of coverage or caps. What they sent us shows that we have dwelling coverage for 290,600 and personal property coverage up to 159, 830 with a 1% deductible. We have requested copies of our writers and endorsements but again, never hear back from our agent.

This agency has mishandled this from the beginning. Initially, we were told on three separate occasions that we were covered and it wasn't until after the work was completed and not until 10 days later that we were informed about the cap. On top of that, that information was provided by the adjustor, not our agent! The amount we are being reimbursed doesn't even cover the cleaning bill! What can be done to protect others from such negligence by their insurance agents?

Brooxie of Ringgold, GA March 25, 2009

Our house burned in Nov. 2008 at the time my daughter, granddaughter and 2 grandsons lived with me and we were relocated to a motel for 30 days after which we were moved to an apt.complex. We were rented furniture, linens and even the forks we eat with are rented. I worked with adjusters who were pleaant and offered help in many ways except for the adj. who was over the structure damage. There was toxic smells which caused physical sickness to anyone who came close to the house. although there was a remainder of the structure there was no way any of the remainder could be used and a guarantee of no odor in the future. we paid for replacement ins. and it was almost 2 times the cost of reg. homeownrs ins. so I expected to have the home replaced and contents minus deductable.

We were given 2 different estimates by cont. which were 40,000 above what statefarm adjs. gave. I was told to start repairs and we would hagle with the remainder. My home had been paid for for years and I am in no position to take a new mortgage out to pay for remiander of costs and replacement which I paid to take care of in case of a loss. The check was sent not to our agent as expected but to the burned house and picked up by someone who could not cash it and this is the only thing that saved us. We are in the process of finding and having the person pros. which the ins. takes no part in and if they had been able to cash the check I guess we would have been out this money. The adj. told us he would send a check but not when and I always figured the agent would be where the check was sent. I think he knew it would not be accepted and that is why the agent was excluded in the trans.

anyway we found out by accident about the check and was told in a rude way we could accept the money or forget it. I was even told to make up in the claim against personal belongings to make up what we lack in structure for the difference. I think that would come under fraud since what I claim in personal is for actual things lost. We also received a letter which told us we could be canceled on if we have any more problems. The agent told my husband it was a form letter sent to everyone who had a claim. I don't think so. I hate the feeling I'm stupid and don't know which end is up by people who think they can intimidate me and talk over questions I have.

I would have thought a co. as large and old as state farm would do better by the people who trust and keep them in business but I guess this comes under money matters more then people. but they need to understand without people there will be no money and one day they will run out of people. If anyone has had a simular problem I would like to hear from you since I will see an attorney take the money before I will roll over and give it to someone I trusted.

Jack of Miami, FL March 16, 2009

Back in 1996 my home was broken into. It took State Farm months to pay up. I waited and waited, then finally spoke to someone there who I actually knew on the outside. Only then was the case resolved. Now State Farm is discontinuing Florida homeowners insurance. Well, I'm discontinuing State Farm eventually, no homeowners from them, why should I keep on with them. I've given them plenty of cash over the years, now they're deserting us. Like a good neighbor State Farm says. I don't think so.

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