My Accident, dealing with State Farm Insurance

[Minnie's Mate]

In 2000 we had a toilet that overflowed and flooded our house while we were at work. It so happened that the toilet was flushed on the way out and my wife didn't take time to see the job finished. Well, she got home first and the water was flowing out from under the garage door. We have slab-on-grade. Every bit of the floor covering had to be removed, dehumidifiers were installed in every room, our sofa, wicker in the sun room, and everything that was stored in the bottom of closets was a total loss. We had to move to a hotel for a month while our house was dried out, our kitchen cabinets were repaired/rebuilt, all of the wooden legged furniture was refinished, and all of the flooring including hardwoods and ceramic tile was replaced. Total cost of the loss including temp housing was in excess of $67,000. Farm Bureau paid without a problem. This included approximately $10,000 in damages to personal items such as the kids toys that had to be replaced because of fecal contamination from the water. The key was that the water came from the toilet bowl and not the septic tank. Anyway, there was no threat of cancellation or anything.

Two years later my wife rear-ended a Ford Explorer with her Ford Expedition. I don't know what the damage to the Explorer was, but the damage to my wife's SUV was just over $2,100. I only got one estimate, from the Ford dealer where it was bought, and Farm Bureau paid without any problems and no threats of cancellation. We also got a check for the depreciated value of her SUV because of the decrease in value caused by the accident.

I think a lot has to do with your agent and how well he/she is willing to act on your behalf. If he/she is willing to help you, there is no problem. If he/she is not willing to help you, then I think it is an uphill battle with the corporate office.

wahoonc, maybe it is the person you started dealing with. I'm sure you have long since moved on to higher ups, but that person may have "black balled" you with others at FB.

[Foiled Again]

Do NOT call your insurance company for anything trivial OR even to ASK if you should file a claim or not on something small... call your agent!

My agent taught me that the insurance company will OPEN A CLAIM if you call to ask about something minor like a dinged bumper - if the cost to repair/replace the bumper is $400 and you have a $500 deductible they will consider it a claim even if you never receive a cent... just because you inquired. If you have damage of $600-$700 and a $500 deductible you may still want to consider paying it yourself rather than collecting the small reimbursement from the agent. The experience of the insurance companies is that people who file small claims don't file just one - they file two or three a year; and are also more likely to file a major claim. Writing the check is the least expensive part of filing a small claim; it's the estimates, paperwork and approval process that takes up their time and effort. They cancel people who have multiple small claims before they get to the big claim.

Insurance is really for catastrophic events. Raise your deductible and suck up the small stuff as "routine maintenance". File a claim only if you have a major loss.

Paula Ford

[Minnie's Mate]

I'm with Paula. Carry as high of a deductable as you can afford and put the premium savings in a savings account to pay for small stuff. Make only claims for the big stuff.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

If he/she is not willing to help you, then I think it is an uphill battle with the corporate office.

wahoonc, maybe it is the person you started dealing with. I'm sure you have long since moved on to higher ups, but that person may have "black balled" you with others at FB.

Our agent was fine, but because of the high amount of the claim it was immediately escalated to an incompetent "Senior Claims Adjuster" at the regional level. The total loss exceeded $500,000 it was a business loss. We have been told by the State Insurance Commissioner's office that the particular adjuster in question has been censured by the state prior to our claim. What is amazing to me is that the company will allow something like this to continue to escalate to the levels it has. We will settle and it will be a fair settlement.

Now back to our original thread

Aaron

[Minnie's Mate]

Good luck wahoonc. I'm glad that you are getting a settlement that is fair to you.

[GreatPumpkin]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

Do NOT call your insurance company for anything trivial OR even to ASK if you should file a claim or not on something small... call your agent!

My agent taught me that the insurance company will OPEN A CLAIM if you call to ask about something minor like a dinged bumper - if the cost to repair/replace the bumper is $400 and you have a $500 deductible they will consider it a claim even if you never receive a cent... just because you inquired...

Paula Ford

We called our agent (State Farm) just to find out if we were covered when our basement bathroom had some minor flooding. They told us probably no, but next thing I know an adjuster is calling me asking all kinds of questions about it. Then they sent a letter denying our "claim". All we tried to do was find out if it would be covered!

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by GreatPumpkin

We called our agent (State Farm) just to find out if we were covered when our basement bathroom had some minor flooding. They told us probably no, but next thing I know an adjuster is calling me asking all kinds of questions about it. Then they sent a letter denying our "claim". All we tried to do was find out if it would be covered!

Well, it sounds like you got an official answer!

One thing I found out from my agent when our toilet overflowed. If the overflow comes from a sewer line or septic tank back-up into the house, the insurance does NOT cover it. If the water never makes it into the sewer/septic tank, it is covered. In our case it was a case of Murphy's Law. Our toilet bowl clogged at the same time that the toilet tank filler valve stuck and the water kept flowing into the bowl with no where to go but to overflow onto the floor. Since no one was home to stop it, it just kept on running. Since there was a steady slow stream of water, the contents of the bowl stayed in the bowl contaminating all of the water that went into the bowl and eventually onto the floor and throughout the house. Pretty gross. Anyway, my agent was very clear that this would not have been covered if our septic tank had backed up. Thank goodness we were living right.

[3Ms75Argosy]

I've heard some people's rates go up for "questions"... as in "I was just wondering".....

Seems like you may have inadvertadely had a "claim", especially if it was "denied." This also dings your insurance record. I'd make sure it wasn't counted as such.
Marc

[GreatPumpkin]

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

I've heard some people's rates go up for "questions"... as in "I was just wondering".....

Seems like you may have inadvertadely had a "claim", especially if it was "denied." This also dings your insurance record. I'd make sure it wasn't counted as such.
Marc

That was the lesson learned here!

We knew some people who had their bathroom repaired on the insurances dime due to flooding, so we called our agent to see if it was covered. They went ahead and processed it as a "claim" - which they promptly denied. Sudden and/or catastophic flooding would be covered (like Minnie's Mates brown trout incident) but gradual leakage (pipe leaking in the wall when we took a shower) wasn't covered.

Fortunately no rates were harmed in the asking of the simple question. We've had SF for 14ish years, with only one claim - other than the 2 time(s) my wife went deer hunting with her minivan - in this part of the country that is an expected occurance, and we don't get dinged for it.

[classic67]

I thought of this thread when I read this article about State Farm...


[Jury Rules State Farm Owes Punitive Damages of $2.5 Million in Denied Katrina Claim Case

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) -- A jury on Thursday awarded $2.5 million in punitive damages to a couple who sued State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. for denying their claim after Hurricane Katrina, a decision that could benefit hundreds of other homeowners challenging insurers for refusing to cover billions of dollars in storm damage....]

Punitive Damages Awarded in Katrina Case: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

[SilverCabin]

Did David Ludwig ever post the answers to Andy's questions (Post #30) in this thread? I would really like to see Andy's analysis on the root cause of the accident.

[Blu_Hwy_Lady]

that covers all forms of personal injury, including liable. I even got a rider with the policy my Airstream that covers accidents like trip and fall around your campsite. My homeowners insurance defended me when I was sued for $13.5 million for posts on an internet stock discussion forum. I was actually sued in 3 states and St. Paul/Travelers hired top floor attorneys for me in all three states. The Miami lawyers even came here to NM to represent me during my deposition.
Anybody who posts on the Internet should have this insurance. Because really there is no freedom of speech. It belongs only to those who can afford the best attorneys. In the end, we settled out of court.

[Silvertwinkie]

I think by now we all know what caused the accident, I'm curious what State Farm actually did settle on.....

[Silvertwinkie]

I just got my Airstream Life copy (fall/winter 2006) and found that on page 9 on the lower right, there is a David Ludwig ad, with a guy sitting in what looks like a 28' CCD.

This wouldn't happen to be you would it??

[WhiteyFord]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

We bought our 30' Safari in May '06. We camped in a campground in Chattanooga the Memorial Day Weekend (the weekend we picked it up) and when leaving the campground I cut too short and "brushed" against a guard rail and put a dent/crease from the door to the rear seam on the curb side of the trailer. The very next outing was Father's Day weekend. Just as I was reaching the turn-off to FDR State Park in Pine Mountain, GA a deer darted out just behind my truck and crashed into the front curb side corner of the trailer caving in the stone guard and corner panel behind it.

The incident with the deer hitting you resulting in damage to your vehicle should be covered under your comprehensive coverage. The incident when you collided with the guard rail should be covered under your collision coverage. If your comprehensive coverage deductible is $0 and the collision coverage deductible is $500, then the total of the settlement check is correct.

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by kitfoxdriver

The incident with the deer hitting you resulting in damage to your vehicle should be covered under your comprehensive coverage. The incident when you collided with the guard rail should be covered under your collision coverage. If your comprehensive coverage deductible is $0 and the collision coverage deductible is $500, then the total of the settlement check is correct.

I have $500 deductible on each if IIRC. I was in no way trying to defraud the insurance company. I gave Chris specific instructions that the quotes/estimates were to be separate and didn't realize until I was in JC to pick up the trailer that the check was for $9,200 instead of $8,700 as I expected. Now you may be correct, I may have $0 deductible on my comprehensive but I'm not sure about that. I think it may have been more trouble to straighten out than it was worth. The accounting and other paperwork may have required more than $500 worth of the insurance company's time to research. Now if it had been $1000 deductible, that might have been a different story.

[WhiteyFord]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

I have $500 deductible on each if IIRC. I was in no way trying to defraud the insurance company. I gave Chris specific instructions that the quotes/estimates were to be separate and didn't realize until I was in JC to pick up the trailer that the check was for $9,200 instead of $8,700 as I expected. Now you may be correct, I may have $0 deductible on my comprehensive but I'm not sure about that. I think it may have been more trouble to straighten out than it was worth. The accounting and other paperwork may have required more than $500 worth of the insurance company's time to research. Now if it had been $1000 deductible, that might have been a different story.

It is doublful that your insurance company believes that you are trying to defraud them. They have the information about the separate incidents in the claim file per your initial report. Look at your delcaration page (the information the insurance company sends you each renewal cycle) to determine clearly whether you have different deductible amounts for collision and comprehensive.
Also, you might contact the adjuster and inform that person about the transportion expenses you incurred for the repair. It may be possible that some of the expense would be reimbursable. Good luck.

[sigv]

No thoughts but wanted to thank you for posting this and all of the details. I will definately be talking to my insurance company (state farm )

Good luck and keep up posted.

[BrewCrew824]

Most people do not understand that most insurance companies write "rv insurance policies" the same as they write auto policies; unfortunately, most people don't know this until it is time to make a claim.

Your RV should be insured more like a home than a car or truck. That is why it is super important to go through an RV specialist agency for your RV insurance. They offer full replacement, liability, and they have coverage for the contents of the RV, which can really get high after you start adding in laptops, tablets, tvs, refrigerators, generators, etc.

These 3 are really dependable RV Specialists and have been around:

RVInsurance.com - www.rvinsurance.com
National General Insurance - www.nationalgeneral.com/rv-insurance
Good Sam Insurance Agency - www.goodsamrvinsurance.com

Be sure to add to this list if anyone knows any other specialist companies.