State Farm: Like a good neighbor? Perhaps not...

An older co-worker was dropped by his auto insurance co. after 35 years accident free.... never one claim.

Reason was... he was 'due'.

... beats me

Growing up my family had State Farm car insurance. My brother rear ended someone, and a month later I got rear ended. They dropped us like a rock for being high risk. I could understand if I had caused the accident, but I got hit while sitting still. I even got the blame from the family for our insurance getting canceled. Sheesh...

I had Allstate for almost a decade on my own. I was insuring as many as five cars a year by myself. No wrecks, no tickets but they kept raising my rates. My agent retired and the new agent could care less about me or my business. I finally gave in and got a quote from Geico for HALF of what I was paying Allstate! I called my agent and explained my situation. She told me they couldn't' match the rate and wouldn't even try. You' think that after what Allstate had to pay me in pain & suffering for my uninsured motorist accident, they'd want to keep me on and get their money back. Nope. I'm one of the few people you will ever meet who got more money OUT of their car insurance company than they ever put IN! So I'm with the lizard now.

Insurance is a scam. This guy won't get the berkeley out of the middle of the street.

N Sperlo wrote: Insurance is a scam.

All the information you need to know.

Javelin wrote:

N Sperlo wrote: Insurance is a scam.

All the information you need to know.

But really. Watch out for that guy.

Javelin wrote:

N Sperlo wrote: Insurance is a scam.

All the information you need to know.

Then feel free to do without it. It is not mandatory to have insurance. At the most, all you need is to have liability insurance to legally drive a car. You don't need to pay one dime more than that, and you can always choose not to drive if you really sincerely feel insurance is a scam.

State Farm? Ha. It took them years to fight off paying Katrina claims here in MS. They're scammers of the highest order.

Then feel free to do without it. It is not mandatory to have insurance.

Oh, I take it you own your home. Because if you have a mortgage, don't most banks require Homeowners Insurance?

DoctorBlade wrote:

Then feel free to do without it. It is not mandatory to have insurance.

Oh, I take it you own your home. Because if you have a mortgage, don't most banks require Homeowners Insurance?

They build it into the mortgage often times. Sneaky sneaky.

DoctorBlade wrote:

Then feel free to do without it. It is not mandatory to have insurance.

Oh, I take it you own your home. Because if you have a mortgage, don't most banks require Homeowners Insurance?

Nobody requires you have a mortgage, either. Which, i believe is the point he's making.

yamaha wrote:

z31maniac wrote:

yamaha wrote: I recently left Farm Bureau after a decade with them.....became tired at my insurance rates going up for no reason, and my new agent was a douche. I left and now pay 1/2 of what I did pay for one car for a pair of cars.....derp. The rest of my family parted ways with them over lack of service and increasing rates despite no claims, I don't think that new agent will be getting his boat or lakehouse this year....

To be fair, rates go up without claims because the cost of labor and materials continues to go up. They have to be able to cover the current cost of replacing/repairing.

to be fair, mine went up despite age/reduced coverage/etc..... my dad said just his liability coverage for the farm doubled. Last I checked, medical/building/etc hasn't doubled in price just this year.

Not sure what to say, there are hundreds of insurance companies, and all their actuaries use hundreds of data points to determine rates.

A lot of the big companies don't even make money on premiums, they make money investing the premiums.

However, I suspect this conversation is along the lines of "New trucks aren't real trucks" " new cars are always stupid" "why don't they sell anything I want, even though I won't buy new, because it's stupid"

So I'll just bow out.

yamaha wrote:

z31maniac wrote:

yamaha wrote: I recently left Farm Bureau after a decade with them.....became tired at my insurance rates going up for no reason, and my new agent was a douche. I left and now pay 1/2 of what I did pay for one car for a pair of cars.....derp. The rest of my family parted ways with them over lack of service and increasing rates despite no claims, I don't think that new agent will be getting his boat or lakehouse this year....

To be fair, rates go up without claims because the cost of labor and materials continues to go up. They have to be able to cover the current cost of replacing/repairing.

to be fair, mine went up despite age/reduced coverage/etc..... my dad said just his liability coverage for the farm doubled. Last I checked, medical/building/etc hasn't doubled in price just this year.

We were dealing with increasing rates that came with an increasingly hard-to-get-ahold-of agent with Farmers'/Bristol West and dropped them like a bad habit.

Ended up saving over $80/month going with State Insurance through an independent agent.

fasted58 wrote: An older co-worker was dropped by his auto insurance co. after 35 years accident free.... never one claim. Reason was... he was 'due'. ... beats me

Hope you were wearing your wading boots during that story you were told... 'cause it sounds like a big 'ol steaming pile. In all my years in this business, I've never heard of anything like that.

DoctorBlade wrote:

Then feel free to do without it. It is not mandatory to have insurance.

Oh, I take it you own your home. Because if you have a mortgage, don't most banks require Homeowners Insurance?

I have a mortgage, and I have homeowner's insurance. Even if I didn't have a mortgage, I would have my house insured. It's cheap and works well. I'm not the one complaining that insurance is unilaterally a scam. If someone is THAT CONVINCED that insurance is a scam and feels that bitter about it, they are welcome to decide not to have it. They just have to accept the consequences of that decision.

I have Farmers. My brother is my agent. If I have a problem, I know where he lives.

Klayfish wrote:

Zomby Woof wrote: It could be a mistake. It could also be a business decision. I believe they are a business, and not obligated to provide her with insurance.

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. There could be a whole lot more to the story than what's here. Not saying that you're hiding anything Woody, but there could be a lot of other factors we/you don't know. Could also have been a business decision, insurance companies are businesses, not banks. I know it's popular to pile on them, but having spent my entire career working for them, I'll say it 'til I'm blue in the face...they're not the evil empire people think.

actually, State Farm is a bank.. they offer checking and savings accounts as well as investments and all the other crooked methods that banks use to separate you from your money..

spitfirebill wrote: I had a good friend that worked for Allstate most of his life. He had his insurnace (maybe only auto) with another company. I always found that ironic.

Grandpa worked @ Sears, Grandma had a LOT of Sears stock - passed to Dad/Auntie, split into Sears + Allstate, and then Allstate stock passed out to 6 kids.

Three years ago we contact our Allstate agent (30+ years for Dad) and complained about the rates. Four kids + Dad now have State Farm Insurance.

Dad does WELL on his Allstate dividends - easily pays for his home/car State Farm Premiums.

novaderrik wrote: actually, State Farm is a bank.. they offer checking and savings accounts as well as investments and all the other crooked methods that banks use to separate you from your money..

Wow, there are some severely reactionary posts in this thread. Really, feel free to keep your cash buried in mason jars around the yard. Or better yet, see how far barter gets you. Or, why not eliminate the parasitic bloodsuckers entirely, and do everything for yourself, by yourself. Unless my sarcasm sensor is on the fritz...?

Duke wrote:

novaderrik wrote: actually, State Farm is a bank.. they offer checking and savings accounts as well as investments and all the other crooked methods that banks use to separate you from your money..

Wow, there are some severely reactionary posts in this thread. Really, feel free to keep your cash buried in mason jars around the yard. Or better yet, see how far barter gets you. Or, why not eliminate the parasitic bloodsuckers entirely, and do everything for yourself, by yourself.

i live off cash- when the wallet is empty and the last coin is gone out of the change jar, i'm broke... i give State Farm just enough to allow me to legally drive my car on the road every day, and once they start jacking up my rates for no legitimate reason, i'll give some other company just enough money to allow me to drive my car on the road legally.

insurance is evil

banks are evil

lawyers are evil

and when you get all 3 of them together, the evil is more than the sum of it's parts.

Duke wrote: If someone is THAT CONVINCED that insurance is a scam...

<<< Works in the insurance industry. Has to conference call Claims Adjusters daily, work with state boards, and manage claims. Convinced all insurance is a scam. (The for-profit companies and their actions, not necessarily the idea behind coverage)

Chooses to buy mandatory insurance (must have to own house, must have for flood, must have to drive, must have health, etc) through non-profit and quasi-state companies to minimize scamming. Still feels like deserves a reach-around...

Wow, I'm either a blind idiot consumer, or the luckiest guy in America.

I've gotten perfectly fine service from State Farm for 20 years. On at least 2 separate occasions, they have sent me refund checks with a letter saying, "we didn't have to pay as many claims as we expected last year, so here's some of your premium back". They've never given me a hard time on any of my claims, and my premium increases have been about on par with inflation. They also automatically send me prorated refund checks (within 10 days) every time one of my teenagers has a birthday and thus drops into a lower cost bracket. I'm really having a hard time perceiving them as evil, faceless parasites who are out to cheat me blind.

I don't really have any trouble with my bank, either. Or my credit card.

So Javelin, what is it that makes you convinced it's a scam? Especially if you work in the business.

State Farm offers banking services. Why does that make them evil? Lawyers evil? Yes, most plaintiff attorneys are...you want to talk scam? Start right there.

State Farm was great to me. I had one instance when they were trying to be a big DB, but after reminding them of the business I gave them, they reconsidered. I'd still be with them, but I moved too far away for that agent.

PROFITS ARE EVIL, MAN

Scams usually have much higher profit margins than those that the majority of insurance companies post.