Back to insurance complaintsSeptember 27, 2013
Insurance Company: State Farm Insurance
Coverage Type: Auto/Boat/Motorcycle
- Claim Handling - Rude/Abusive Adjuster
- Claim Handling - Delays upon Delays
- Claim Handling - Fraud
- Claim Handling - Denial of Claim
State Farm wrote a policy for two vehicles and later added a newly purchased SUV with comprehensive and collision coverage. The kid who wrote the policy did not seem to know much about insurance as he had to call someone to get advice about the coverage because these vehicles are classic cars.
The insurance premiums were paid in good faith until there was a problem requiring a claim at which State Farm made it nearly impossible to report the damage. The agent who wrote the policy was no help at all and it became a very frustrating matter to report the claim to State Farm who refused to investigate the damages.
The side of my classic Mercedes was smashed and State Farm refused to send an adjuster to survey the damages as there was no “Scope of Damages” listed with the claim. Phone call after phone call was placed to State Farm and still no-one from State Farm Insurance was interested in taking care of this Hit & Run claim. After informing State Farm we were going to call a lawyer about the damages to this car, State Farm agreed to take action. I did get a check from State Farm that was $1,000 less than the estimate written by the nearest body shop and that lowball estimate was laughable.
Six months later, all three of my vehicles were vandalized by someone pouring liquid soap in the fuel tanks, brake fluid and radiator. In addition, the engine oil, transmission fluid and power steering fluid all had a very fine abrasive dirt added to the fluids. These malicious acts resulted in extensive mechanical damage which appears to be the result of poor maintenance practices.
State Farm is citing this is a fraudulent claim and hired an instructor whom teaches how to spot fraud claims to survey the damages after a very long complaint was filed with the state insurance commission as a result of State Farm’s refusal to investigate the matter.
State Farm covered up any knowledge of the contamination, manipulated the testing methods by skimming the surface of the fluids. This was observed on their second visit where secondary samples were collected of fluids that were clean and in near new condition. No diagnostic testing was ever performed to my knowledge and the claims adjuster became belligerent when I complained that these vehicles were not inspected for the internal damage reported as State Farm was only interested in oil quality after all the fluids had been washed out.
The fluid testing performed by state Farm was very basic and did not identify any foreign substance or abnormal wear metals for the simple fact that if you do not test for dirt, it will not show up as a problem. These same fluids were tested by two different labs under different parameters including a test to identify particulate matter. The results were astonishing when a high level of particulate matter was identified during a pore blockage test. One of the labs who tested the fluids recommended taking the fluids out of service even after several oil changes were completed. This information confirms abnormal contamination which keeps washing out of the systems in question making this equipment unreliable and worthless.
State Farm insists the problems are from normal wear and tear associated with a lack of preventative maintenance. There was documentation where State Farm insists there is contributory negligence to allow this contamination to occur. This is nothing short of an excuse used as a legal maneuver to pass blame upon the owner; this does not explain how the dirt ended up in the fluids creating the initial problem.
My experience with State Farm has been a nightmare, it took two years to get the door fixed and the color does not match, the chrome strip is coming off the door. State Farm refused to fix the mechanical damage to my engines, transmission, brakes, power steering or even top off the fluids that were removed from these vehicles creating a traffic hazard. Brake fluid was drained to unsafe levels (below the add line) and power steering fluid was empty (exposing the bottom) after State Farm collected samples.
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September 27, 2013 at 3:16 PM
To be honest with you, to start with any classic vehicles should be written with classic insurance and if comp and collision is ask for the owner should obtain an appraisal to determine the true value of the vehicles. Any one can claim a value on an older vehicle but if no appraisal is done there is real no book value to a vehicle 7 years or older. As for low ball estimate, the estimate is based on and is agreed on between insurance company and body shop you selected. So if you got a check for $1,000 less then original given then both State Farm and the body shop came to agreement on the true damages. As for the second claim, this sounds like insurance fraud. First of all if these vehicles were classics as you state then they should have been in a locked secured garage. Second, for some one to do what you stated it would require a lot of time to complete. To pour something into the brakes and radiator would require some one opening the hoods on all 3 vehicles. As for fine dirt particles in the oil and transmission that could be normal wear and tear due to age which would be expected. As for liquid soap being added to your gas tank how was that determined? To be really honest with you, this really sounds like it is a set up.
September 27, 2013 at 3:16 PM
To be honest with you, to start with any classic vehicles should be written with classic insurance and if comp and collision is ask for the owner should obtain an appraisal to determine the true value of the vehicles. Any one can claim a value on an older vehicle but if no appraisal is done there is real no book value to a vehicle 7 years or older. As for low ball estimate, the estimate is based on and is agreed on between insurance company and body shop you selected. So if you got a check for $1,000 less then original given then both State Farm and the body shop came to agreement on the true damages. As for the second claim, this sounds like insurance fraud. First of all if these vehicles were classics as you state then they should have been in a locked secured garage. Second, for some one to do what you stated it would require a lot of time to complete. To pour something into the brakes and radiator would require some one opening the hoods on all 3 vehicles. As for fine dirt particles in the oil and transmission that could be normal wear and tear due to age which would be expected. As for liquid soap being added to your gas tank how was that determined? To be really honest with you, this really sounds like it is a set up.