We all know who and what the "insurance" companies are. Now you do too. They're guilty as sin and lying about it!

Anybody who has ever had the misfortune of fileing a claim with State Farm knows how bad they can be. I thought these actions were exclusively for claims by non-policy holders but I see now they treat their own customers poorly also.After my parked car was hit by a State farm customer a few years ago I found many stories of "bad faith" relating to State Farm on the internet. One site listed them as the worst bad faith insurer in the nation.
P. S. I have never recieved a penny from State Farm for my car even though the lady that hit my car tried to get them to pay me.

If you read State Farm's reply you will see that only 1100 cases used engineering reports not the 11,ooo you reported above - 2% -you do the math. . Another great job of reporting by ABC, Anything to slant your side of the story

I HAVE BEEN A LOYAL CUSTOMER OF STATE FARM INSURANCE FOR OVER 20 YEARS. I ALSO HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH CLAIM AJUSTORS WHOSE DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE I SHALL NEVER FORGET, HOWEVER, LIKE IN ALL BUSINESS NOWDAYS, COMPANIES CANNOT BE JUDGED BY THE SCOUNDRELS WHO WORK WITHIN IT. I AM VERY CONCERNED AS TO THE OUTCOME OF THE CLAIMS FROM KATRINA, AND HOW THE COMPANY WILL DEAL WITH THE ROTTEN APPLES WITHIN. THE COMPANY HAS A REPUTATION TO UPHOLD FOR ITS OWN SURVIVAL. IF IT DEALS HONESTLY WITH ITS CUSTOMERS, THEY WILL REMAIN STEADFAST TO THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY.

How come people are so quick to bash insurance companies. Yet, when they are in need they are the first in line to get their check. Give me a break, State Farm does not cheat it's insureds nor do they use unfair claim practices.

Insurance companies should be systematically shut down. Not some of them---ALL of them. Period. The end. They all do more harm than any kind of good. Sociopathic financial rapists--in all fields. Get rid of them and greet a different solution. Stop panicking that there is no other solution and create the environment to have one.
Sell-outs!

Gee, what a suprise? A TV program mistating facts that an insurance company publishes. If it looks like feces and smells like feces it most likely is feces. Who is worse the insurance company for making money at the expense of policy holders or the networks for sensationalizing the plight of policy holders.

I have filed very few claims in the 20 years I have been with State Farm and have been treated as fairly as I could expect. They pay me first and then go after the other insurance Co. in both accidents caused by the other driver and in the case of my roof leaking on my home, the insurance company of the contractor.
I am sure you people who are saying to dismantle the insurance issue either do not currently have insurance or have nothing worth being insured.

State Farm is not the only one. I am a 25 year employee in the Insurance industry. Yet, Metlife has used fraud and deception not to pay my claim.

I was a fraud investigator and a darn good one. I have worked both health care and Workers Comp fraud. What happens to those that dont have the knowledge I have. Do they go back to work and then die?

There are honest Companies out there. But not MetLife or State Farm.

It's all about the $$$. Do the Math. If 10,000 victums makes a claim @ say $10,000 a piece, that's 100Million. I'm probably low balling figures here just to paint a picture. One more zero is a billion.You think there going to say happily to each claimant, "Sure!"

Not that I like the "news" services these days anyways.

Gee I wonder which of the positive letters were written by State Farm employees or family members. Don't see any that say "my claim was handled in a timely manner" Here in Florida State Farm has dropped thousands, why? well they had the nerve to file claims after hurricanes, and we all know although they are an INSURANCE company their loyalty lies with their stockholders, and if they don't make money how can they stay in business, so as long as we all pay premiums and only ask makr claims for the occasional home fire or break in we'll be fine, but if the whole city gets wrecked that will affect our bottom line.

It is a shame that TV reports always take facts and change them. I work for the insurance industry in Florida and even though I admit that rates are out of control, companies DO NOT want to insure homes in this state because thay cannot make a profit, and these companies are NOT "non-profit organizations", so they need to make a profit to conduct business, and homeowner insurance is a no-win situation due to rising construction costs, 6 hurricanes in the last 2 years, and fraudulent, inflated claims. Flood losses are not covered under your homeowner's policy, and a separate Flood policy should have been purchased by the clients. If it is true what those two ladies claim, someone should be fired, but it is my experience that companies such as State Farm are honest in their handling of claims and that they try to do the best for the policyholders. That is why they have not left Florida nor cancelled policies, even though they suffer exhorbitant losses...

I am a claims adjustor for another very big insurance company. Get rid of Insurance Companies, GET REAL. Things aren't always morally fair within the claims process, but it is a business and there have to be rules and limits. Policies clearly show rules and regulations, no matter if its a Homeowners policy or an Automobile policy. Many times policyholders don't even take the time to read their own policies, therefore getting furious when their claim isn't handled "correctly" in their opinion, resulting in probably 70-80 percent of the bitching and moaning from the policyholders. I personally feel awful for all Katrina victims, but it is in the past and State Farm is going to have to publicly deal with the probably unfair criticism.

It is time to bring big business scams to it's knee's, it began with Enron, as it was said "Let's Roll"

Umm lets see how bad are insurance companies? You pay approx $1000 a year to insure your home. You pay that premium for 20 years and dont make any claims (you've paid 20,000). Your house costs 200,000 to rebuild and the insurance company pays to rebuild it, pays you 80,000 for your contents inside, pays 20,00 for extra expenses you have being out of your house. This totals 300,000. Who else is going to give you that type of return? Yeah they rip you off.

Boo Hoo State Farm Boo Hoo. I lived the hurricanes and know just what insurance companies lied, cheated and refused to live up to what they agreed upon with their customers. They can take the money, but can't pay it out. I watched people ruined because their hard earned money that was paid to State Farm and others, for such an event, to have their claims falsified, and just ignored.
I don't feel sorry for you.

I wouldn't claim to know very much about the dealing of major corporations, but I've learned to take everything I hear with a grain of salt. I can't help but think of John Grisham's portrayl of insurance in The Rainmaker. People will never cease in inflicting injustice upon other people. It's a sad lot in life. Corporations, since they are technically defined as being 'people,' can be accurately labeled as "sociopaths." I wouldn't trust State Farm, or any other major corporation.

I agree with Will. Just because you purchased insurance and thought you were covered, I don't know if an insurance company (that is reputable) around that can legally change the level of insurance AFTER a claim is filed. Read your policy-just because you make a payment to "State MetLife Aetna Insurance Co." doesn't mean you are covered. You think that I am not paying higher rates in Wisconsin because some of you choose to live in the perpetual disaster areas of the Nation?!? I sent food and supplies to you last year, and I send money to you (via increased premiums) every 30 days. At least ready your Limits of Coverage statements and your policies. If you're not willing to do that, don't complain-MOVE!!

State Farm is the only auto insurer I have ever had. Two years ago, we totalled our Jeep Cherokee when we hit a deer in the dark of night. We hit the deer on Saturday night and we had a check from State Farm for the fair value of the Jeep the following Wednesday, that's 4 days, one of which was a weekend day.

May laypersons do not understand that floods are specifically excluded from homeowners insurance, and they complain when their flood claim was denied. Not sure about this circumstance in particular, but I have always been treated fairly by State Farm!

First of all, I work for the insurance industry and I know for a fact that these things happen, and happen too much. Just in the last 5 months i've personally witnessed dozens and dozens of the exact same thing occur. Believe me, insurance companies are quick to take your premium, but will hesistate to pay out, especially in a large scale disaster.

Just because ABC had a small misrepresentation of numbers doesn't mean that it still isn't going on. It's going on all the time. Numbers don't matter, it's what's happening that does.

I agree insurance is a necessity and that people ought to know their policies better... or at all, but I also believe that you cannot trust or have faith in any of them.

The medical insurance business, in particular, is damn near as crooked as the oil industry. Real changes need to be made to the policies and procedures that insurance companies "abide" by and all current executives should be let go or reassigned. I do not believe many of the most powerful people in the industry have any idea what it means to need insurance. IMO, there is something wrong with that.

The only time I dealt with State Farm was when one of their insured motorists rear ended my (at that time) pregnant wife's car, knocking my mother in law out and pinning her in the back seat. Before my wife could call me their agent was on the phone saying that they wanted to speed the process of paying me. All I needed to do was sign a medical waiver.

Needless to say no waiver was signed and it took months to get the money.

The problem started when businesses core mission became profit margins and stock forecasts instead of customer value and product. Greed is NOT capitalism no matter what they teach for economics these days...

State Farm has been a known and notorious bad actor for years, at least here in Missouri. It is astonishing that a company with their terrible legacy still gets people to do business with them.

Do your homework before you do business with any insurance company. If you only shop based on rates, you get what you deserve.

Im an agent and yes this does go on.But sadly not just State Farm is doing it. They are just the largest carrier so they do it more often.

I am an insurance agent with an old established insurance company in Texas and I have been reading the comments regarding the allegations made against State Farm. Some of you have it right; most people don't know what their policies cover. Mostly they are only interested in what the bottom line is; $$$/premium. Then when time comes to file a claim, they are expecting something that may not be possible. So... if you live in a flood area or state, buy a flood policy and then if they don't pay, get upset. Don't complain about something you know nothing about!

Response to N. Russillo - My claim was handled in a timely manner and fair and no, I don't work for the insurance company. Guess the difference is that I know what my policy says and what it covers.

Notice that they didn't deny it? I think it is all true. While we were lucky enough to have flood insurance (not enough to cover the mortgage, but something) Katrina still wiped us out. It took us 8 months to get our money from Allstate, and they only gave us 4 weeks worth of "loss of use" -- hysterical if it weren't so sad. For those complaining that your premiums pay for those who choose to live along the coast, give me a break. There are very few locations in the US where there isn't some risk -- don't lay it all on people who live in coastal areas. Too, undestand that flood insurance is underwritten by the National Flood Insurance Program, and they cap you at a percentage of what your property is worth -- you can't possibly recoup what you've lost. The only fair compensation is for the US government to compensate every homeowner whose property was flooded because of the levee breaches -- it was lousy engineering (this has been ADMITTED), NOT the hurricane that killed New Orleans. Who owes us for what we lost? Think about it.

We all remember State Farm and others pulling out of the insurance business after multiple storms and claims in Florida, but also recall they pulled out of homeowner's policies in Texas for mold coverage and remediation. It's all numbers, and some actuary somewhere right now is crunching numbers for the next potentially excluded group, probably in MS or New Orleans. State Farm is outraged...boo...hoo..hooey! What about people whose lives are forever marred by corporate greed and shareholder value? Just have to wait for the Federal Dept Of Justice and Mississippi Attorney General to finalize the investigation process, let's be thankful it's not FEMA investigating.

First and foremost. For all those fact checkers out there, State Farm is a mutual insurance company. That means it is owned by its policyholders. There are no stockholders. The only interest of the company is to its policyholders. With proper premiums and claims operations this helps to insure that the coverage that is promised and owed is paid.

If you don't read your policy until something happens, then the only person that you should complain to is yourself.

Any good attorney will always tell you to read before you sign.

I used to work for two insruance companies in Florida in the event of the hurrican seasons comming up we always sent out flyers and or told everyone that called in to get flood insurance. Most of the damage done in MS and LA last year was the flood or the Levees broken flood covers a Rain fall not a man made dam or levees breaking. Its the insurance agents duty to tell everyone one even if they live in kansas to get flood insurance a flood is when it rains and water cover 80% of your land and covers either a nieghbors yard or fills you street up with water this can happen anywhere it rains for any period of time like the nieghbor pools overflows and covers more than the one home because of massive rain.. The problem is these people can get mad at the company it should get mad at the agent for not adviseing them to get the proper coverage on thier homes. I made sure everyone that i knew in florida had a flood insurance policy and made sure that they had adiquit coverages on thier home onweres insurance to cover them in the event of a flood or massive winds i even have replacement cost on everything this is why when your renewal papers show up in the mail go to your agents office and discuss all you options and dont be cheep if you want cheep insurenace dont bother getting the insurance on your home

State Farm isn't alone in scamming people. I had a deck accident over 3 years ago and I had only lived in the house for 5 months, but the insurance company said it was my fault. I feel very sorry for all the people down there because they lost everything not just a deck.

Insurance companies are not the ones at fault when it comes to claims disputes, its the policy holders who never take the time to read what they bought. It is easy to get on the bash the insurance carrier bandwagon, but let's be real here. The fact that a majority of claimants did not have flood insurance is the major problem. How could anyone possibly go without flood insurance when living on the coast? Give me a break. Filing a claim that is based on "I thought I was covered" is equivalent to stupidity. If ignorence is bliss, then the folks that think they are entitled to be covered for losses they did not insure, then those folks must be living in nirvana!

Hi, My name is Sandy, I live in Florida with my son in a one room F.E.M.A. trailer since sept./5/2004. State Farm has not come out to my house to this day. Yet I still pay my full morgage and the insurance comes out of my escrow. I pay $300 A MONTH for the Fema trailer. This sucks!!!! please help!!!! :(

Basic homeowners policy does not cover flood damage. Flood coverage can be added to the basic coverage for an extra premium.

The theory is that it is unfair for all policy holders support by paying for the few that live in areas of high flood or tidal wave etc.

It's only reasonable for those exposed to these types of losses to pay the extra premum for the coverage.

I had State farm and they had always been good to me. I am 76 years old and when my house was ruined by Katrina. My claims rep simply said sorry but I am sure that you can go and live with your children or grandchildren! A 250,000 dollar house and they wanted to give me 68,000. They said that the other damage was caused by water! I am an old lady at the end of her life and instead of pay me so I could rebuild my house. Now I am in an a crummy room at a retirement home untill I die All B/C state farm ceo's have second and third homes to pay for. If I could I would go around the country telling everyone my story and getting them to switch ins. company!

Take the wisdom of an old lady and if you have State farm CHANGE AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!!!!!! Before they put you in the poor house!

I've had a few claims with State Farm and never had a problem. I think that people need to get educated on insurance. The post above states something about State Farm's stockholders.....State Farm is a Mutual company which means that each policyholder "owns" the company. I feel for the people that were devastated by the hurricanes but let's face it. If you don't buy flood insurance you don't get covered in a flood. Most of the damage in the New Orleans area was due to the break in the levy, which is a flood and would require flood insurance. If you get into a car crash and don't have insurance do you expect someone to fix your car for you?

I also like how ABC News takes everything context to make it an interesting story for ratings purposes. I also note that you said that these girls worked for State Farm but in other places you say they worked with State Farm. Were they employees of State Farm?

An eye-witness spotted and reported my car being hit in a parking lot by a driver that left the scene. The police located the driver- a State Farm customer. The license plate and vehicle description matched. Somehow, this was "not enough evidence" for State Farm and I didn't get a dime.
Two years ago during Hurricane Ivan, my uncle's house was hit by a tornado- again, a witness actually saw the tornado hit his house. State Farm claimed all the damage was water related and didn't pay on the wind policy.
It's high-time a news agency exposed this greedy company that preys on those that can't afford lawyers to fight for what they truly deserve. Payback is sweet, I hope you go under, State Farm! Hopefully this is good riddance! Good job, ABC... keep digging for the underdogs!!

State Farm, Nationwide, Allstate, they are all the same. Deny, delay, don't pay. I dealt with Allstate a year before Katrina when we had a house fire. If you have to do business with their Nashville office, be very aware. I wanted to put a voodoo curse on all involved.

You idiots defending State Farm make me sick! That goes with any of the other bozos that keep saying "flood damage is not covered in your homeowner's policy". For your information, I live in Texas, where Rita hit last year. I have BOTH windstorm AND flood insurance and you can be damn well sure I KNOW what is in my policies. (My father was an insurance agent.) The roof of my house was partially destroyed and water came in to the house from the hole in the roof. Yes, there was flooding as well and my flood insurance covered that. But those at State Farm fought my claim saying that my FLOOD insurance should pay for the damaged caused by water coming in the ROOF of the 2nd story to my home. Now my home was FLOODED on the first floor and the flood insurance covered that but that FLOOD did not get to the 2nd floor. THAT was caused by water AFTER the roof was torn off (which IS covered by windstorm..yes, I READ my policy). State Farm is trying to claim that ANY water damage to a home should be covered by flood insurance. The 2nd story wouldn't have HAD any water in it if the damn ROOF had not come off.

So, believe what you want, but insurance companies are NOT innocent babes in the woods. And for that fellow from Wisconsin who "sends money to me every 30 days via increased premiums", I certainly understand. I have to send money to you up there every 30 days when the price of my gas goes up to pay for your home heating oil...so why don't YOU quit bitching or move?

Problem: Insurance companies for profit corporations.

Solution: Insurance companies legislated to be non-profit.

Duh.

I work in a law office and we were just discussing how bad State Farm has gotten in the past couple of years in playing hardball with their insureds. We have a U.M. severe auto accident case where they have harassed and maligned their insureds to the point where they are ready to throw in the towel in dispair, even though they are fully entitled to a settlement for their severe injuries in an auto accident. State Farm has papered and demanded them to death and refuses to offer any type of decent settlement. I was a life long time State Farm insured and after this incident switched to another company.

sorry, but people know how disgustingly greedy big business is, and I like many others are sick and tired of capitalistic greed.

Enough is enough, and I hope state farm has a major hurt applied to them.

I really don't know how State farm is handling the claims for the Katrina policy holders, but if they are treating those poor people the way they treated me with my homeowners claim I can assure you it is not so nice. Here is the story: during a severe rainstrom the wind blew tiles from the roof of my house and caused water damage. I caled several roofing companies out and they said the roof would have to be totally replaced at a cost of about $15,000. The roofing companies said that if repairs were made they could not garantee against future leaks. State Farm however said the roof only needed repairs, and only agreed to pay $1,400 for the repairs. well guest what, the next time it rained the roof leaked and caused more water damage. When I made another claim against State Farm guess what they did? Yes; they canceled my policy.

Yes, State Farm is crooked but ABC News and the mainstream media has about as much credibility with me as Castro.

I worked for State Farm for 13 years and was always told to "pay what we owe - no more no less." State Farm is not perfect, but I still have my insurance through them because I trust them.

I had State Farm as my auto insurer. I totalled my car and they were, fast, friendly, and helpful in settling my claim and getting a rental car. I left them due to cost but I have to say I had a positive relationship with them. And I am in no way associated with State Farm as an employee or family member. Oh, and the accident was my fault.

I am a Claims Supervisor in the midwest. In my 15 years experience, no one has ever told me to not pay everything owed under the policy. Matter of fact, we always tell people what coerages are available to them. Most people have not thought about certain benefits available to them. If an insurance company is telling that to an employee, they should be brought up on Bad Faith claims. It makes the rest of us look bad. I worked for 6 months in the hurricane affected areas. I saw so many homes we could not help because they were flooded on the first floor. We could only pay for the damage above the water line. I don't know why that isn't reasonable to people. Yes, it would be wonderful to pay for flood damage that wasn't covered. But, then again, you can imagine the complaints from the unaffected policy holders when their rates were increased. I think the public would benefit from taking a class on how insurance companies make money. Its not from premiums, folks. There aren't enough premiums brought in to pay for the claims. Think about it. You pay $1000 a year and your home is destroyed by fire and the company pays you the total coverage of the Dwelling and Personal Property and possibly ALE. Where do you think that money comes from? We are all in the big pool together. I wish more people understood. Or wanted to understand.
The posting from Dorothy with the $250000 house is a perfect example of the perception of the public. There is no provision in her policy for flood so she says SF only wanted to give her $68000. No, they HAD to give you that amount. That is what is owed under the contract. It is a legal, binding contract, by the way. Yes, I feel sorry for her but what is the company to do but follow the letter of the contract? That is the only fair thing they could do.

Change the laws and make insurance companies non-profit. It never should have been a profit situation to begin with.

If you PAY for insurance for years and then make a valid claim, to have it be denied is criminal in my book. Having the company pay you for the destruction of a home is the deal that BOTH parties made at the beginning of that financial relationship.

The insurance companies are hoping that the odds of a disaster befalling someone falls on THEIR side so that they can keep all of those premiums for themselves. For them not to pay out in the event of a disaster is fraudulent.

Yes, people should know what they're buying. Yes, they should know that flood insurance is extra. But manipulating the investigative reports so that a company doesn't have to pay out, even if the percentage is tiny is again, CRIMINAL. At the very least, it's a breach of contract.

State Farm was notorious for not paying outin California with car insurance. I'm not surprised that it's happening in the aftermath of Katrina.

When your financial future is on the line, you really need to know the company that you're dealing with. If you don't, learn. This should be a lesson for us all.

Btw, cries of 'unfair' by insurance reps is ridiculous unless you know what the details of this situation are. How do you KNOW that they didn't commit any fraud?

Many years ago in the 1950's, I had been driving for about 4 years when a vechicle driven by an older person hit my car from the rear as I was slowing down for a stop sign. Claims were filed and about 2 months later my insurance was cancelled. I was told I was considered a bad risk. My Dad complained to our agent Stu Warner in Indpls to no avail. The company was State Farm. My Dad,Grandmother, and my Aunt all switched to Allstate. A couple of months after that the SF agent came around and wanted to re-sign us. We never would use them again.
Insurance is the one thing in life you spend the most money on with a good chance you will never use it.
There needs to be a better way.
Howard

It is very simple. Insurance companies for the most part take advantage of individuals. The only one that has every treated be special and made a difference in my life is TRIPPLE A (AAA). I would recommend them to anyone and do. Most of our clients have started switching to them as well. And no I do not sell insurance. I am a business owner with several properties and cars.

Anyone else care to acknowledge that this was a natural disaster? One of the worst in our history? Wow. Amazing that the insurance companies don't want to bankrupt themselves paying out. Wow. Amazing that the people in Fema trailers are stricken and horrified by their circumstances. It is awful. BOTH sides of this are aweful. But quit blaming people!! NATURAL DISASTER!!! If we all spent (me included) less time complaining and more time helping, we could fix this. Now, quit blaming All-State, quit blaming people who don't read their policies. Do something!

You think State Farm is bad. Well they are saints compared to Geico.

My friend lost her home in a wildfire in 2003. She was underinsured by State Farm by 60% of the cost to rebuild yet was told by her agent that her coverage was sufficient. She is now in litigation with State Farm and they are refusing to offer any type of settlement. They set the limits too low to rebuild and now my friend is living in a trailer and paying an attorney to go after State Farm. All the other carriers involved in the wildfire have settled with their insureds. Why is State Farm the lone holdout? They knew that they were underinsuring homes and continue to do it to this day!

I'm confused about the ABC News report. Where is everyone getting the idea that their facts are wrong? It says, 1,100 cases. I don't understand Thomas Stoll's post. I could be wrong, but I don't believe Flood Insurance covers storm surge or water damage from the levee breach. I believe it has to be strictly rain water. I have several different kinds of insurance. Honestly, I don't know all the ins and outs of my different lines of coverage. And I find it hard to believe that most of you who find it so easy to blame the people hit by these disasters completely understand all of the contingencies covered or not covered by your own policies. I'm thankful that I haven't had to actually rely on any of the myriad insurances coverages that I own. Even if the claim is handled fairly, I'm sure my premiums would increase. They penalize you for actually using the product you pay for.

What's so absurd about renovating the insurance industry? Do you realize how many mega industries have come and gone as society changes?

Yes. the Insurance companys have to satisfy their stock holders, bottom line. They come to my state, which has relativly low claims on home and car, and price gouge the residents here. I do not live in a hurricane area or tornado alley or on the river or in the crime ridden city. But an appalled and angry when they raise my rates to cover YOUR LOSSES. Time to start an insurance revolution.

I've been an insurance agent on the Southeast coast for 18 years. Been through several hurricanes. I've never read an insurance policy that stated "we cover whatever the policyholder THINKS we should cover". I've seen Allstate and State Farm adjusters arrive the day after hurricanes in RV's, set up in parking lots, working 18 hours days to settle claims. I've had customers and whiners that will NEVER be satisfied, no matter what the company paid them, and they are usually the customers with the biggest mouths. And as for getting rid of insurance companies altogether....that would leave you with the government to handle it all. And they did such a good job with the Katrina disaster.

I tried to get flood insurance back in 2002 w/Farmer's Insurance during the 2002 flood in San Antonio, TX and my check never made it to its destination. I called my bank and the check was never submitted. We were no longer getting monthly statements to pay our homeowner's insurance coverage. It was their way of getting rid of us. No further comment.

This is all hilarious. The bottom line is they will drag you and your family out till the cows come home and wait you out financially. We had flood and wind and had to demolish our house from Hurricane Ivan. We had the resources to move into another home expecting insurance to pay us "full-value" of our policy. No such luck. Two years later and we finally get to go to mediation next week. Not optimistic. In the last two years had State Farm taken their advertising money dedicated to the NFL/World Series/ and the PGA, everyone could have been paid their policy value and we wouldn't be headed to court. Simply put, they will wait you out, draw interests on their assets, and throw you under the train. Come to think of it, I would wager the CEO's salary would cover most existing claims in Florida. Now wouldn't that be a good samaritan act?

Ok, I sit at the front desk of an insurance company doing customer service. 9 times out of 10 the customer doesn't want to pay the premiums. that's all i hear - can you lower my premiums??? How can you pay a little but expect a large pay off??? It doesn't work that way. You get what you pay for.

People who complain about insurance generally do so because either they didn't purchase adequate coverage for themselves, like a flood policy for instance, or they don't understand how insurance companies work.

For example, I bet a lot of folks think that insurance companies just take in all this money in premium and then use it to pay claims, and they get to keep what's left. That's wrong. Pretty much every insurance company pays out MORE in claims than it takes in in premium. The only way they make money is by keeping PART of the money they can make by investing the premiums before they have to pay it out in a claim. Insurance companies are like a funnel, not a piggy bank.

Secondly, the insurers affected by Katrina paid out about 20 years worth of profits on that event, so the idea that they're making all kinds of money while policy holders suffer is rediculous.

I do feel awful for the elderly lady that lost her house and didn't have flood coverage, just as I do for anyone in that situation. I can't imagine the hardship they must be enduring. But you can't force insurance companies or anyone else to pay you for coverage you didn't buy. All you do is put the companies out of business by doing that.

I do think the person who suggested we get rid of all insurance companies period has a tenuous grasp on reality at best. If my house burns down, I sure can't afford to replace it myself. Maybe he can, I don't know.

I don't know how those homes in the wildfires were underinsured. State Farm requires that we write homes for replacement value. We either use the appraisal or a computer model to come up with replacement cost. The policy pays replacement cost plus 20%. You should know enough about your own business to know if you had enough coverage to cover your house in the event of a total loss.

For those of you who keep talking about corporate this and stockholder that... State Farm is a MUTUAL company, which means the company is owned by its POLICYHOLDERS. There are no stockholders to answer to, no stock ticker to keep track of.

Ryan:

Who's bitching? The fact is that I pay extra for your unexplained passion for living in a disaster area. When it gets cold, I turn up the heat and pay the bill. I never bitch about it. Home heating oil?!? What in the heck is that? (yes, I do know). Any home built in the last 50 years here uses natural gas. I am paying an unfair surcharge to cover those of you who are under or not insured.

I would never move from here. An occasional snowstorm or cold I will deal with many times over rather than live with a 90% chance of a natural disaster destroying everything. My home 9insured by State Farm) was hit by a tornado two years ago. I knew what my coverage covered and the State Farm Rep (Ken Heiner) was out to my home less than an hour after the roof was torn from my home and two of my cars were damaged by debris. That night, I had a place to stay and my home and cars were fixed within three weeks.

And for that fellow from Wisconsin who "sends money to me every 30 days via increased premiums", I certainly understand. I have to send money to you up there every 30 days when the price of my gas goes up to pay for your home heating oil...so why don't YOU quit bitching or move?

Home Heating Oil?!?

Boo Hoo. Cry me a river.
Here is an excerpt from what one court in Utah had to say about the Farm in 2001, its still true today:

2. The Nature of State Farm's Misconduct

¶27 This factor specifically analyzes the nature of the defendant's conduct in terms of its maliciousness, reprehensibility, and wrongfulness. It mirrors the "reprehensibility" factor described by the United States Supreme Court in BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559 (1996). There, the Supreme Court stated that the defendant's misconduct is "[p]erhaps the most important indicium of the reasonableness of a punitive damages award." Id. at 575, 576. Repeated "trickery and deceit" targeted at people who are "financially vulnerable" is especially reprehensible and worthy of greater sanctions. Id. Moreover, "deliberate false statements, acts of affirmative misconduct, or concealment of evidence of improper motive" also warrant larger awards. Id. at 579.

¶28 With these standards clearly in mind, the trial court made nearly twenty-eight pages of extensive findings concerning State Farm's reprehensible conduct. We summarize here three examples from those findings of State Farm's most egregious and malicious behavior.

¶29 First, State Farm repeatedly and deliberately deceived and cheated its customers via the PP&R scheme. See Court's Findings, Conclusions and Order Regarding Punitive Damages and Evidentiary Rulings, Campbell, at 17-27. For over two decades, State Farm set monthly payment caps and individually rewarded those insurance adjusters who paid less than the market value for claims. Id. at 18-19. Agents changed the contents of files, lied to customers, and committed other dishonest and fraudulent acts in order to meet financial goals. Id. at 17-27. For example, a State Farm official in the underlying lawsuit in Logan instructed the claim adjuster to change the report in State Farm's file by writing that Ospital was "speeding to visit his pregnant girlfriend." Id. at 35. There was no evidence at all to support that assertion. Ospital was not speeding, nor did he have a pregnant girlfriend. Id. The only purpose for the change was to distort the assessment of the value of Ospital's claims against State Farm's insured. As the trial court found, State Farm's fraudulent practices were consistently directed to persons--poor racial or ethnic minorities, women, and elderly individuals--who State Farm believed would be less likely to object or take legal action. Id. at 26-27.

Come on now! The 2 Sista's have motive.You cant possibly believe them can you? Believe this,90% of the people with HO insurance have NO IDEA what coverage they have.Nor do they take the time to find out.Wait for the results of the Sistas allegations,you are in for a real suprise.......

State Farm is outraged. I am sure Hitler was a little bit unhappy when the allies closed in on Berlin too.

Screw the Insurance Companies. USAA is about the only one worth half a salt.

Why should we be rebuilding New Orleans anyway. It really was a hole in the first place.

It is only a matter of time until every man, woman and child in New Orleans during, before or after Katrina will demand millions each because they are entitled to it like the victims of any form of disaster. What a sad commentary on our nation and lack of values.

Get off your lazy butts and get a J O B.

I think you should post in each comment the political party affiliation of the people posting comments. After I read all of these I bet you would have a bunch of yellow belly liberals next to each comment. Sure State Farm stinks, but without insurance the economy would fall. Think about everything in this world that requires insurance. (Everything)! If you did'nt have it, nobody would take a risk!

9th Ward is right. Stop crying New Orleans and get a job. Katrina gave you an excuse to cry even more for the government to support you.

Looking over the comments, it seems that:

State Farm appears to be a reputable company that takes care of its policy holders...

unless you have the misfortune of being a policy holder in a flood-prone area, whether you have flood insurance or not. So, probably a surfeit of dishonest middle- and regional-management trying not to get fired for paying claims in a claim-prone area.

Also: while the observation that "of course, an Ins. Co. will balk when 100,000 people file $10K+ claims all at once, that's a BILLION", is technically true, remember that State Farm has MILLIONS of policy holders paying thousands or tens of thousands per year in premiums, each. TENS of billions in profits. No excuse for breach of contract.

I'm a 48 year old female. I lost everything to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I paid for flood and homeowner's insurance for 30 years.
I paid $2,700.00 a year on homeowner's and $600.00 a year on flood.
After the hurricanes, I was paid $12,000.00 on homeowner's and $60,000 on flood, I had cost of replacement, which I received not a penny from.
If I had only had more flood and less homeowner's I would have been better off.
I fault myself and my agent, who wanted me to have more in homeowner's than flood, I was advised poorly.
After paying off the mortgage, I had basically $20,000 left to start all over again. You do the math, who made the profit me or State Farm.

My daughter was hit head on by a State Farm insured.The PA.state police investigated at the scene and their report clearly indicated that the State Farm insured was on the wrong side of the road.The police did not issue the State Farm insured a ticket.When we contacted State Farm,they told us they were not going to do anything as their insured reported that his driver was on the correct side of the road.We sent them a copy of the police report and they still refused to inspect our vehicle and make any type of offer.
As the vehicle our daughter was driving was a 3rd car we elected not to retain an attorney to pursue the matter.
I was an employee of State Farm at the time,auto adjustor,and I know the correct procedure was to do a vehicle inspection,scene photos and diagram and interview all parties before making a decision.State Farm refused to do any of this on our claim.
I retired in 2004 and I can truthfully say that they are definitely not your "good neighbor".

Most people do not read the exclusions in their policies and this is why they are unhappy.

If you have a claim with any insurance company it is better to retain the services of a competent attorney.You don't have the time or resources to deal with a giant like State Farm.