Laura's complaint:
December 24, 2012

Insurance Company: State Farm Insurance
Coverage Type: Homeowners Insurance

• Underwriting - Cancellation

I don't expect any resolution, but I would like for my experience to be recorded. In January of 2004, I purchased homeowners insurance from State Farm. In 2009, I went to another insurance company, but switched back to State Farm in 2010. I was told that that time that the underwriters had determined that I needed to make some improvement, one of which was to put gutters on the house. The house never had gutters and I was told by several people that gutters were not needed because the house was on stilts. Nonetheless, I tried to get the work done, but was unable to find someone with a ladder tall enough to reach the back side. Finally, in June of 2011, a charity came to help. ( I had been laid off in 2009 and was still unemployed.) The charity put on a new roof, replaced the rotting fascia boards, painted the house and was going to put up gutters, but my insurance was cancelled anyway. In August, my house was destroyed by fire. Ironically, it burned quickly because of the fresh tar on the roof.
My issue with State Farm is this: A comment was made to me by my agent that "they" would say that "they" were not keeping up the house. I am assuming the first they would be whoever was making the decision. I am concerned that they, the underwriters, were discriminating against me based on my race and my credit score and making it more difficult for me to keep my house insured. Everyone whom I have told about the cancellation has been appalled that gutters were the issue on a house that had no gutters the first time State Farm insured it.
There is nothing to be done about this now. I was not insured and have been living here and there while I try to figure out how to be able to build something satisfactory to live in. Nothing can change that. Maybe however, total loss and de facto homelessness can be averted for someone else.

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