State Farm Homeowners Claim- Lowballed

[Alderrg]

i use an independent agent. He gave me **** good advice when my toilet cracked and flooded the house.

He said, cut up and rip as much carpet out as possible. And to make sure you cut a section in each room so that the insurance comp does not try to re use the carpet. ( he was dead on, bc they attempted to)
And after the insurance adjuster tried to rip me off, my agent instructed me to go the public adjuster / lawyer route.
He was spot on again with this!

Disagree on talking to your agent, and I know you are in the know on this for sure, BUT I have been with an independent agent for many years, 30+ on house and vehicles and never had one problem. Never had to deal with the insurance company, always with my agent. I do probably pay more on everything, but to me that is piece of mind and so far no problems from claims on the house or vehicles!

[Apodz]

Disagree on talking to your agent, and I know you are in the know on this for sure, BUT I have been with an independent agent for many years, 30+ on house and vehicles and never had one problem. Never had to deal with the insurance company, always with my agent. I do probably pay more on everything, but to me that is piece of mind and so far no problems from claims on the house or vehicles!

Yes this is why like in my original post i said it is important and also on the home owner when choosing an agent. You get what you pay for just like anything else. And when you shop around, and get a discount, expect that discounted service as well.

It’s not end all be all but a good agent goes a long way when it comes to filing claims.

[Bayouboy]

Absolutely not.

Your little agent cannot handle your claim when he isn’t overloaded.

And he WILL BE OVERLOADED.

Even if he could do some good by calling into the carrier, he won’t be able to get in on the phone either.

Stop giving bad advice - some of us do this every single day and know better.

There is one person on this thread that knows what he is talking about on this subject. This guy right here. ^^^^^

You best listen to him.

[doghouse]

Foremost is the worst I've ever dealt with. Do what they say are you will be cancelled at next renewal. I think it's partly my agents fault. No backbone to help.

[Big pig]

SF is the suck. Left them years ago. Needed a new roof, they denied it switched to Farm Bureau. Got some hail, they covered everything...zero issues.

I agree. Not a fan. Definitely mot “like a good neighbor”.

BP

[orchard]

Ol Jake told me I could fix my roof for 500$ after the last hail storm. I had to replace the roof for 10K. Thanks Jake! Why do I have to pay for windstorm again if they aren't going to pay?

[Atfulldraw]

I work in the roofing industry. I do do this every single day. My father has been a State Farm agent for 31 years now and I know the difference in a good agent who will put in the work and take care of his clients or one that won’t. So if you do this every day and you are claiming it can’t happen then maybe you should spend less time on the golf course and more time taking care of your people. There are plenty of agents out there that will go to battle with you and for you. There’s also plenty of agents that don’t. That’s why I said it is on us as a home owner to pick the right agent and not just go find the cheapest rate. You still get what you pay for. My agent (my dad) still gets on the roof with adjusters, talks to claim reps daily, and understands what it means to take care of customers. So maybe your the one giving out bad advice. Find a better agent is your best first option.

Yeah....That’s not how any of this works.

We are talking about a megacat claim situation.

I don’t play golf and I settle, on average, round about a half million dollars in claims every day with a bunch of different carriers, some days more.

Tomorrow, I’m the umpire on a three million dollar water damage claim.

Today, at 10, I’m once again testifying in federal court as an expert witness.

I’ll be sure to let them know that you think I may not be qualified to advise about how to settle an insurance claim.

[cantexduck]

Yeah....That’s not how any of this works.

We are talking about a megacat claim situation.

I don’t play golf and I settle, on average, round about a half million dollars in claims every day with a bunch of different carriers, some days more.

Tomorrow, I’m the umpire on a three million dollar water damage claim.

Today, at 10, I’m once again testifying in federal court as an expert witness.

I’ll be sure to let them know that you think I may not be qualified to advise about how to settle an insurance claim.

Some other advice MAY work that has been offered in this thread. But whatever advice Rod gives you WILL work.

[Txhuntr2]

Anyone have experience negotiating with SF on a homeowners claim?

I’ve sent them repair estimates from two different contractors, each over $35k, and today SF sends me an estimate for $15k minus my deductible... Nobody from SF has came out to physically inspect the damage so I’m not sure where/how they are getting their numbers...

I’ve tried calling my “claim handler” to discuss this, but was only able to leave voicemails today, I’m sure they are swamped with claims due to the freeze.

Wondering if a friendly conversation is the way to go or if it’s best to have a lawyer send a love letter their way. Any input is appreciated!

I have a buddy from law school that represents homeowners against insurance companies in these situations. He's in the Houston area also. Send me a PM and I will forward his info to you.

[kurt68]

My sister in Vinton, LA is still trying to her claim even fixed. Six months after the hurricane and is still tarped off, no work being done. She has had more inspectors out, some never came out. She just hired a public adjuster. State Farm sucks in her case.

[gingib]

Prolly spent too much on their commercials to pay out

[Atfulldraw]

Some other advice MAY work that has been offered in this thread. But whatever advice Rod gives you WILL work.

And as much as I hate to pile on, pending his permission to disclose the details of his claim, I didn't mention that one of my current clients is the largest SF agent in Ohio,

His claim on his own home in Florida with State Farm was grossly underpaid.

Guess who he hired to make it right?

It's currently at 370K, up from the original 109K that State Farm offered on their third attempt to "be a good neighbor."

They ignored mold even after I provided an independent environmental engineer and industrial hygienist to verify the interior damages and refused to inspect the damages again.

A quarter of a million dollars that they tried to screw out of their own insured.
Who, by the way has a wife with breathing problems/asthma and congestive heart failure and isn't able to live in their home during the time period that State Farm has been screwing around.

But I'm sure the agent could have taken care of this....

[Mudslinger]

Yeah....That’s not how any of this works.

We are talking about a megacat claim situation.

I don’t play golf and I settle, on average, round about a half million dollars in claims every day with a bunch of different carriers, some days more.

Tomorrow, I’m the umpire on a three million dollar water damage claim.

Today, at 10, I’m once again testifying in federal court as an expert witness.

I’ll be sure to let them know that you think I may not be qualified to advise about how to settle an insurance claim.

Agreed on the megacat claims. Only time that happened, barely, was after a hail storm and it was not city wide not like some of the stuff you deal with Rod.

[gingib]

I work in the roofing industry. I do do this every single day. My father has been a State Farm agent for 31 years now and I know the difference in a good agent who will put in the work and take care of his clients or one that won’t. So if you do this every day and you are claiming it can’t happen then maybe you should spend less time on the golf course and more time taking care of your people. There are plenty of agents out there that will go to battle with you and for you. There’s also plenty of agents that don’t. That’s why I said it is on us as a home owner to pick the right agent and not just go find the cheapest rate. You still get what you pay for. My agent (my dad) still gets on the roof with adjusters, talks to claim reps daily, and understands what it means to take care of customers. So maybe your the one giving out bad advice. Find a better agent is your best first option.

LOL, this is not the case!

[Apodz]

Having a good agent makes all the difference in the world. Period. I’m not going to argue. I didn’t say it was end all be all. I digress