Exclusive: Whistleblowers Say State Farm Cheated Katrina Victims

The insurance companies are all crooks. Just ask any Florida resident.

Insurance companies are a rip off. Pay pay pay and get nothing. State Farm should hold its managers and supervisors accountable if this really did go down like the whistleblowers say. Those managers are no better than crack heads begging for your change at the gas station. Just looking for a hand out and reason why its not their fault.

Well like a good neigbor state farm is there???? I think I’d rather have a crack house as a neighbor rather than State Farm

After suffering through State Farm’s brand of paying off claims after a natural disaster I believe every single word these women are saying. We in Cheyenne, Wyoming were hit by an extremely damaging and freaky flood on August 1, 1985. My husband and I were paid about $1200.00 for some window damage done by hail but we ultimately wound up losing our home and having to claim bankruptcy due to the damage done to our house that State Farm claimed they did not cover. These insurance companies want higher and higher fees to “cover” (and I use that term loosely) and they want their payments “right now” too. However, when it comes to ponying up to the bar and paying their part when something happens, they squirrel out of it like the huge, money-hungry, power-driven mega-monsters that they are. The insurance situation in this country is a disgrace and desperately needs to be over-hauled as well as investigated thoroughly!
Debbie Walter-Holdridge

I wouldn’t be surprised of the fraud allegations against State Farm..Anything to save a buck..

This is just another case of corporate corruption to the fullest. Insurance companies are so tight that they squeak when they talk. What I dont understand is that it we, the general public, pay millions every year to these insurance companies, but when it comes time for them to pay back its like trying to pull teeth from a crocodile. This smells very similar to the Red Cross scandal following the tragedy of 9/11. I hope the evidence that the FBI has wi;; work to the residents benefit. PAY UP STATE FARM….

Evil comes in all forms. Shame on State Farm. I was there are a volunteer recovery working for several months. Those people need help on a basic level. How dare State Farm refuse to stand up.

“See Photos of Katrina, One Year Later – the National Disgrace That Is Still Going On.”
I would say a state of Louisiana disgrace. Nagin and company botched the whole thing and now he has the nerve to criticize New York for not fixing their “hole in the ground”???
What an ass.

This really is disgraceful. I have State Farm, but not for long.

When they send out the lawyer to speak for the company you can pretty much assume they are guilty. I used to wonder why that was… until someone told me it OK for lawyers to lie but not a companies executives.

Why am I NOT surprised? Doesn’t it make perfect sense? Insurance companies seem to exist for profit not thier customers.

So not surprised.

Oh that’s classic, Mr. Drinkwater …
“We, of course, have not been cheating.”
I can only imagine how smug he sounded actually saying that!
(Now might be a good time to get your cash out of those whole life policies from State Farm.)

It sounds like something a big corporation would do to keep money in there own pockets. The poor people they have hurt in the process. All because of there GREED. I’m sure glad I don’t have State Farm insurance and this confirms it! Hurray for the girls to come forward in this matter. Why didn’t they do it sooner?

Wow Great idea jeffery, imagine all the people? We were cancelled after 911 in the dc area after paying them since 1979 with 2 water damage small claims. If we all switched…….
makes yo go hmmmmmm…..

All my relatives in N.O. have SF and got checks when the fled to Los Angeles the following day. They all have positive things to say about how State Farm folks that weren’t even their agent helped them.

STATE FARM OR ANY OTHER INSURANCE COMPANY IS JUST ANOTHER TERM FOR LIGALIZE GASTERS…..

thank god there’s no fraud happening the other way! we all know that all homeowner claims are accurate and in no way rounded up.

Wow, I’m surprised to see so many people taking the side of the two women.
Hello – your homeowners specifically does not cover “flood”, especially in flood zones (i.e. Mississippi).
So, if you present a claim for something that isnt covered, why is it considered “fraud” when the insurance company doesn’t pay?
If there’s no siginificant wind damage, and the house is flooded, guess what – it was likely caused by a non-covered flood.

Yep. Don’t ya know insurance companies is legalized racketerring and extortion. Come on. Every state has laws that say you should pay insurance. That is absurd. If they would do it right and put your money into an a ccount that grows money then there would be no need for insriance companies. It is an unregulated industry that needs serious regualting.
And the dude that said George Bush is to blame is a moron. Really the president is just a figure head. All action regarding goverment regulation is mostly done at the local and state levels. Blame your governors and state representatives. They are the real culprits.

If this is true then everyone who participated in helping to shredding of these documents should be prosecuted to the extent of the law. We the American people have to stand together and support each other in time of need. And if I was one of the victims in other states who got ripped off from State Farm I would testify to this if this case every goes to trial. Numbers count!

If fraud was truly committed, then any and all insurance companies involved should be held accountable. It is equally clear after reading prior posts however, that many homeowners do not know what their policies do and do not cover. Insurance companies are NOT responsible if your home was damaged by flood waters and you do not have flood insurance.

Just remember, you’re in good hands with Allstate.

State Farm will pay! As well as all the others crooks out there taking from the victims of this Levee breakage. Congress just as fault for letting this kinda thing happen. This is why the people can’t rebuild. The insurance companies, not just State Farm has swindled the documents. It all makes sense now.

FLOOD IS NOT COVERED UNDER A HOMEOWNERS POLICY YOU HAVE TO BUY A FLOOD POLICY.

Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Seems too me that people like to pass judgement before they know ANY facts. We’ve got a few paragraphs of a news report and pull out the gallows!! Unfortunately as a society we like to throw stones and then ask questions. Listen to what EVERYONE involved has to say before you pass judgement.. Insurance company or little old housewife.. I don’t care.. Deep pockets don’t allways mean fraud..

We had a tornado go through our home up here and state farm didn’t do anything to help. I had insurance w/state farm during that time, but had just got a job with another insurance company in this area. I saw how well, they handled their claims and how the put everyone in hotels so I switched. I know that all insurance are crooks but some are better than others.

Nothing like guilty until proven innocent. How quickly we all fall into mob mentality. Who needs the legal system. Lets just condem people on popular oppinion and the word of 2 people who don’t actually work for the company.. Good Call

Wow! I am shocked, but not surprised. Now if we can only get someone to detail how bias the mainstream media is in this country – that would be great!
Al

This is the result when corporate America has the Congress in their back pockets. Nothing will change until campaign finance changes. I have heard many times that State Farm will cancel your policy in a New York minute if you have a bonafied claim. They never pay more than one claim per policy holder. That is their reputation.

I worked for State Farm as an independent in Luling (New Orleans) after Katrina and saw nothing, absolutely nothing, described by the two sisters. If I witnessed something like what they say they saw, I would have quit immediately. Why didn’t they?

This is unbelievable! Insurance companies know how to take like a cemetary but when it’s time for them to come through in a crisis, they sit on their hands. The best way to show these crooks that we’re angry is to cancel our policies. We need to put that hard earned money going towards “insurance” coverage in an emergency account. That way, we are taking care of ourselves. The best way to be heard is to hit them in the pocketbook where it hurts the most. Why should we have insurance if when we need it, they won’t pay. Let’s be smart and take care of ourselves. No one else will do it.

It is so refreshing to read the comments from all of you who have the insight and vision to reach a judgement after reading one article providing one side of the issue. Don’t you think it would be wise to hear both sides of this issue before you reach judgement? For those who are blaming George W Bush, you are the idiots.

I am in the process of buying a house in Colorado, and this Katrina shenanigans has persuaded NOT to chose State Farm as my insurer. What’s the point of having insurance if the company doesn’t pay claims?

sing this instead
“Unlike a good neighbor…state farm is unfair…”

I can’t figure out what all the surprise is about. The little people have been “nut & bolted” for as long as I can remember. I suggest we pay our premiums when bad does happen, or,even better, have the insurance companies refund the premiums you have paid for a year but did not use. Sounds like a plan to me.

What ever happened to the concept of innocent until proven guilty.

I hope all of you who are venting remember this episode the next time you get called for jury duty on a civil matter involving negligence in the future. The insurance carriers in this country are all alike.

AS AN INSURANCE AGENT I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT WHAT MOST PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT IS NOT THAT THEY ARE DENIED COVERAGE, IT’S THAT THEY ASSUME THAT SOMETHING IS COVERED WITHOUT CHECKING THEIR POLICY. FLOOD WATERS ARE EXCLUDED UNDER EVERY INSURANCE POLICY SOLD. THAT’S WHY YOU SEE SO MANY COMMERCIALS BY THE FED’S URGING YOU TO PURCHASE FLOOD INSURANCE FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION.
JUST AS YOU ASSUME THAT ALL COMPANIES ARE CHEATS, YOU ALSO ASSUME THAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO ANYTHING YOU WANT JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU ARE OWED IT. AND IF YOU DON’T GET IT, YOU ARE EITHER CHEATED BY THE FEDS OR BY INSURANCE COMPANIES. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY?

For some reason people complain and complain. If you live in a flood plain would it not be wise to get flood insurance. If a certain company does not offer that. Why not go to a different company. This is typical knee-jerk reactions from the “Eat The Rich” crowd. You people make me sick. Just because you see two women say something all of a sudden it is true. Why not wait for all the evidence? Ridiculous.

I would hate to see those that posted here on any jury. Guilty until proven innocent!

you get what you pay for people…go with a cut-rate carrier and you will get cut-rate(and potentially fraudulent in this case)service…I know it’s not fashionable to talk about personal responsibility in this country, but I seriously doubt most of the people who are claiming to have had bad claims experiences(once again fraud aside)did their homework on the front end as far as their policy terms and shopped strictly on price

Thanks to these two ladies for having enough character to stand up and report this rediculous situation. The shame is that this is a year later and the government hasn’t done anything to make these companies reimburse their customers for their losses. It took two whistleblowers to get the ball moving. State Farm should have to pay these people for the past year of hardships they have suffered by being displaced from their homes and/or living in small camper/trailers. A year is a long time.
State Farm should have to pay the attorney fees too or the people will get their second rip off. Class action isn’t the way to go.

Like a good neighbor State Farm is there. This is very sad and I am glad Kerri and Cori Rigsby told on State Farm. There are lots of other insurance company’s it would send a real message if people left State Farm in droves. Americans could send a real message to thieves at State Farm.

The insurance industry will pay in excess of 50 billion for Katrina. Flood is excluded from most homeowners policies and if the prevailing cause was water then the homeowners policy should not pay. The problem is that most homeowners don’t understand what is excluded in their policy and want to blame somebody when they have not bought the correct coverage to protect themselves. The insurers have every right to make certain that they only pay claims that are covered under the policy. If you live near the ocean in an area prone to hurricanes you need to make sure you buy the right coverage to protect yourself.

I’d like to see more information from the sisters and from the company before I point the finger at anyone. Nothing’s been proven yet, correct? And if people have a problem with their coverage limits, they should address those with the company before a disaster, but yet it always seems that following a disaster it’s someone elses fault. Where is the personal responsibility? People choose to live in the danger zones and choose not to buy adequate coverage to protect their assets, so why blame the insurance company? Read and understand your policy! These people can disagree if they like, heck they can even file suit if they so choose, but before you jump against State Farm and believe what these sisters say, I’d wait for the verdict from the judge/ courts or some conclusive evidence.

The fraud goes every way. People who buy insurance hope to pay in a little and get out much more. The real answer is to make insurance (of ALL types) strickly voluntary. Natural market forces would weed out fraud. Laws which require the purchase of insurance take away freedom in the form of involuntary servitude.

I’ve been a fire adjuster for 34 years. Haven’t worked storms lately, but spent three months in Florida working Andrew in 1992. First of all, property adjusters are almost never women. Two in one family all by itself smells. Second, independents spend almost no time in company offices and wouldn’t be in a position to see what they claim to have seen. I’m betting dollars to donuts this is made up.

State Farm hads a long history of not paying claims. I live in Bloomington Illinois where they are base. Back in the 60s and 70s they did not pay there claims. Most people in town would not buy thier ins.

With all the controversy at what CEOs steal from their companies, do the insurance companies dare to print what their execs get.

everyone should change company’s just like gas boycott exxon but it has to be an collective effort!!!

This is a travesty on the deepest level. Everyone should care about what State Farm has been doing. Corperations who pull stunts like this are no better than suicide bombers. How many lives has State Farm destroyed because of their actions. The whole company should be shut down for violating the law. Their whole existence is to protect people in disasters…this is terrible.

Make sure to check your mutual funds and see if you are invested in State Farm.

How many people have actually read their policy? Nobody EVER asks the agent about coverage! They shop price and price only! Then they get upset when the policy does not cover exactly what it says it does not cover! Come on people, isurance is not a social program for handouts. Its a business. Read your policy. It is VERY specfic when it says it does not cover flood or rising water! Flood isurance is cheap compared to the standard home owners policy you are already buying. BUY IT!

After working as insurance adjuster(NOT AT STATE FARM), I can say that there are honest companies, but many of my dealings with State Farm were similar. They would do whatever they could to get out of paying a claim even if the claim was 100% legitimate. We would countlessly take them to inter-company arbitration to get our money back after they would refuse to pay for the stupidest of reasons. We would prove in arbitration each time that they should honor their claims and get our money back. It was a large waste of our company’s resources to devote a large amount of time just preparing for arb due to State Farms questionable business practices.
We never felt bad for State Farm each time large court judgements were won by consumers against them.
Unfortunately it’s one of the largest insurance companies and they appear to answer to no one.

For all of you preaching about “personal responsibility”, I suggest you go back and actually read the article. According to former employees, State Farm pressured investigators to CHANGE THEIR CONCLUSIONS regarding what caused the homeowner’s loss. It’s the equivelent of refusing to pay for a fire under a fire insurance policy by claiming that the damage “resulted” from the water the fire department used to put out the fire. Ridiculous.

You losers, BUSH did it! Now get back to work…..

These allegations are garbage. The insurance industry is so heavily regulated that there is no way that this could happen. It sounds like the Rigsby sisters are hoping for a book and movie deal just like that other scam artist Erin Brockovich.

Crooks are in every type of business, from doctors that perform unnecessary surgery to insurance companies that don’t pay claims to contractors that don’t finish the work to fraudulant charities. Not all in any segment are crooks and not all in any segment are honest.
I just cancelled my State Farm- and I hope every person reading this does the same! That will send a message faster than anything- and if anyone knows what company was the best or paying claims- post it- I’ll switch to them- let’s have the backs of the people who need us- all those that were defrauded.
Hats off and hero awards to the two honest adjusters!!!

We should spend less time pointing fingers and more time putting these insurance crooks in jail. Dont be dragging politics into this issue. This is every one of our faults for allowing these people to go unchecked for so many years… These crooks need to be brought to justice and it’s “we the people” that need to bring the charges and ultimately force reforms to happen. The politicians are only interested in themselves and their latest poles.

Say it with me:
“Your in Good Hands with All State…”
Ooppps…

I can’t speak for what is happening in Mississippi, but I live in Georgia and have been a State Farm multiple line policyholder for 30 years and through our daughters multiple car accidents, a water damage claim and a burgulary claim, State Farm has always been prompt and fair with their payments and I wouldn’t go anywhere else for my insurance.
No…I don’t work for State Farm.
Resume your bashing.

…this just means when you have a home insurance policy with State Farm and possibly a myriad of others you are just “insured” of a good old fashion screwing.
It’s nothing personal it is just business.

How many people who took out a comprehensive insurance policy would think that hurricane damage is flood, not wind. Isn’t it the wind that is causing the water?
I think of flood as normal flood from rivers overflowing from rains or a damn bursting.
I think that is disingenuous on the part of State Farm and other insurance companies.
I think getting insurance is the way people take personal responsibility. What is someone supposed to do – save $200,000 so they can buy a new home, just in case?
As an earlier poster stated, remember how State Farm behaved if you’re ever on a jury.

State Farm Insurance is the biggest Auto & Homeowner’s Insurance company in the country, and not to mention, one of the absolute best!! I have had nothing but a wonderful experience as a State Farm customer, and my State Farm Agent is the best!! Water is NOT a covered loss under ANY Homeowner’s Insurance Policy with ANY carrier. People living in areas that could potentially be flooded should have Flood Insurance Policies!! Believe me, State Farm can afford to pay out for claims that are covered, and they do, every single day. It’s possible that there are some corrupt individuals working for the company – you have people like that in EVERY company unfortuneately. State Farm will investigate the allegations, I’m sure, and get rid of those individuals and do the right thing by their policyholders like they have always done, and will continue doing! Stop blaming the insurance company; blame the agent who didn’t demand that their customer purchase Flood Insurance. How about blaming the mortgage companies who didn’t make that a requirement for getting the mortgage in the first place!

No, the jingle sounds much better like this:
“And like a bad neighbor, State Farm don’t care.”

STATE FARM, ALLSTATE and FARMER’S (Mid Century) Insurance Companies have established a pattern of denying claims they should, by their contract (“policy”) and state laws, pay.
State regulators have repeatedly failed to do their jobs because state regulators are “owned” by insurance companies. The insurance industry currently writes insurance law and the “regulators” rubber stamp approval.
STATE FARM, ALLSTATE AND FARMER’S INSURANCE COMPANIES should be dissolved and their entire worth used to pay claimants. Insurance company executives should be stripped of their ill gotten gains and imprisoned.
State regulatory agencies should be abolished and re-built from the ground up, without input from the insurance crooks. We must start by cleaning out our state legislatures. The entire insurance industry and regulatory process is rotten to its empty core.

Insurance of any kind is legalized extortion, bottom line. You MUST have it or you can’t get a mortgate or buy a car. State’s require it by law, banks require it for mortgages. But they use any excuse under the sun to raise your rates and then don’t want to pay when you try and make a claim. Floods in Houston, homeowner rates in Dallas go up. Hurricane damage in Florida, rates go up in Illinois. Where’s the fairness?

Don’t be foolish enough to think that State Farm is the only dirty, theiving insurance company in town! I have relatives who have worked for Allstate and Prudential – my nephew was too young and stupid to know that he shouldn’t be telling me or anyone else things like “It’s unbelievable what people, especially the old people, can be talked into. You just dress nice and act really nice, and you can sell them anything. They don’t know what they need – they’re relying on us to be honest. We sell them stuff that they’ll never need. We do it all the time.” How disgusting is that to hear, especially from a relative! And all the while, these agents are gushing about their incomes and luxuries. These companies hand out major prizes, like trips to Hawaii, to whoever sells the most insurance quarterly & yearly. I’d like to think what goes around comes around, but I don’t know. I personally purchase only the bare minimum that I need to be legal.

After reading this i’m very satisfied that I cancelled my State Farm HO insurance policy. What an evil thing to do.

So, do we really think that State Farm are the only ones to do this? Hmmmmmm…

“Facts” can be twisted and distorted. Insurance companies have been posting higher profits every year. The debt burden has been shifted to the government and the customers. Yet the laws still force us to buy insurance.
Write to your representatives. Write to your congressmen. Let your voices be heard. Get out and vote. Stop being sheep. If millions of angry illegal aliens can march in the streets, why can’t hard-working, honest Americans get out there and do the same? If you stay meek and quiet, nothing will change.

I realize that many thousands have been cheated and hurt by insurance companies. I have to stand up for my company here in Tx.. We had a large amount of damage caused by Hurricane Rita, our Company-Texas Farm Bureau went above and beyond the call of duty. Their staff was working the day of the hurricane and their adjusters were at my home in four days. We received our money within eight days of the hurricane. I cannot say enough good things about them.

Right now, we have the fox policing the henhouse. Insurance companies are free to inspect the “validity” of their policyholders’ claims. Actually, I’m surprised the insurance industry works as well as it does! This speaks well for the free market solution.
But the solution is obviously incomplete. The solution here is really obvious. With some new legislation, 1) make it illegal for insurance companies to process their own claims; 2) create groundrules for new, independent companies to process claims with maximum fees/%-ages or whatever; 3) allow them to compete.
With this system, you’d separate the potential to fraud, keep the competitive nature of the free market to keep consumer costs low, and allow for adequate governmental oversight. Should work fine!

In a recent legal case in Pascagoula Ms, that was not against State Farm, The judge caved in and made all insurance companies unqualified winners. The judge (I use that term loosely for there are better ones to describe hiz dishonor) ruled that the burden of proof would lie with the Homeowner–(the homeowner would have to prove the source of his loss)in a wind/water suite and presumably this legal ruling would apply in all loses. The insurance companies–(with their fat overcompensated attorneys paid for by the policyholders premiums)–would only have to defend themselves when and if a policyholder hired an attorney and sued their well-prepared asses. The judge’s decision was simple. “Screw the policyholders and hoover up to the Insurance Companies.” One has to wonder why.
My memories of Katrina’s aftermath are vivid. After the storm, all decision makers in the Insurance companies disappeared, we only had sales personnel and seven dollar an hour customer service reps to contact. Some tried and some were simply unprepared and dumb. Even the agents from other areas who were dispached here to placate policyholders were unable to find any superior who could make decisions. I saw some agents cry when they realized what a decayed, greedy, sorry bunch of dirty rotten sub-humans they worked for.
State Farm a good neighbor–what a crock. Allstate puts you in good hands–I don’t think so.
Some of the small companies tried to help, but the two great advertisers–State Farm and Allstate–lived up to their “Never pay a claim when you can weasel out” principals.

What is sad in this country is that anyone or any company accused of anything is automatically assumed guilty. So much for having to prove guilt.
If there was fraud and it is proven then action should be taken against those involved.
Let’s stop trying people in the media, it’s not how our country should operate. And it should scare each one us, that all you have to do to ruin someones life is to accuse them of something and let the crowd pile on. In this case, the mob is attacking a company.

USAA is the best insurance company most of you will never get to be a member of!!

Last night Minnesota got hit by tornado’s, and guess what? People are cleaning up themselves, neighbors are helping each other clean up, we don’t wait for the government to clean us up we do it ourselves! The people of New Orleans & Mississippi need to get off their butts get shovels and start digging themselves out. New Orleans & Mississippi, you’ve got the work force there, start doing things for yourselves, the government is not going to help and frankly neither is anyone else until you get off your butts and help yourselves first! I’ve got tornando damage to help clean up for people I haven’t ment yet!!

It just amazes me how people will move to a coastal region and not have flood insurance. With the history of this area it should be mandatory. Just like the people that live in the state of California not taking out earthquake insurance. They will expect the Federal Government to pick up the tab. That my friends is our hard earned taxes that we send in. The rest of the nation is subsidizing this type of irresponsible action. I for one will wait until all of the facts are in on State Farm they are my insurance company and I have never had a problem with a claim. However I do know some people will take advantage of a disaster and try to stick it to the insurance company. I as a customer expect State Farm to pay what is a legitimate claim but also to be very careful in not paying out to people who are under insured or not insured at all. If State Farm or any insurance co paid all of these fraudulent claims the rates for home owners insurance would be so high nobody could afford the premiums. And to those who say they can not afford flood insurance or even earthquake insurance I say move to another part of the country where hurricanes are not an issue I am tired of pay for the irresponsibility of all of these people.

I am suing state farm for forgery now and of course they will not admit it but they re-instated the coverage because ‘they saw problems’ with the signature. I understand they were sued in California when a whistleblower exposed fraud there in Earthquake coverages…And to think—State Farm is one of our better insurers—Imagine what the others do…they are probably worse

America’s ethics and integrity has been jeopardized for the greed of a few folks…..thanks a lot!

You all realize that insurance companies earned a record breaking $44.8 BILLION in profit in 2005! Now, how are we not getting screwed by insurance companies again?

Robert….I have a sarcastic sense of humor, and do think I sense a bit of that in your response about it all being President Bush’s fault, but if it is not I am sorry that you have been, along with most of America, manipulated and stupified into believing that. This does not offend me as a proud GOP and Bush supporter, but more importantly makes me feel a bit uneasy as to how intelligent we, the American people, really are. Let us put the MAJORITY of the blame where it should lie….on the conscience of local and state authorities.

Insurance companies are the largest, richest, most powerful corporate abusers in America (besides the oil companies). If this is true, then what State Farm has done to the people of the Gulf Coast is a national tragedy. I hope they are sued, sued, sued, and made to pay out the nose for this outrage. I am sick of writing checks for insurance every month of my life, but when I need THEM, all I get is the run around. My husband’s car was totaled by a drunk, and it was like pulling teeth to replace his vehicle. Insult on top of injury. (We have Allstate for 25 years.) I think the insurance companies are all alike: ALL OUT OF CONTROL..they have way too much power, and don’t hesitate to abuse it. I don’t give a damn if Sate Farm goes BANKRUPT over this scandel!! They need to be held accountable for every single person they screwed!!

those girls are the “good neighbors”…

Hmmm 2 independent adjusters who had access to management level decisions? Never saw that in the 5 yrs I worked Catastrophe for State Farm including 3 major hurricanes. Oh and Jack, USAA is ok until the former Naval officer has a loss and tries to deal with an adjuster on the phone in San Antonio (1000+ miles away). NOT a pleasant experience.

My cousin worked for Stata Farm for a number of years as an adjuster and she said her priority was to not pay out at all whenever and wherever possible. This was also my experience in a workman’s compensation claim where I foolishly did not hire a lawyer immediately. The claim dragged on for two years until I threatened to get a lawyer and sue and the claim was settled within 8 months. Bottom line is scammers one and all!

Sounds pretty fishy. And independent adjusters aren’t exactly State Farm insiders.

What ever happened to “innocent until proven guilty!?” Is this no longer America??
And it is a very simple fact that many people are ignorant and do not know that flood insurance is not standard in their policies. You have to pay extra for flood coverage, because if insurance companies didn’t charge more, they’d go bankrupt.
I site the poster above, Duane, who doesn’t know what insurance he has, but he’ll be getting rid of State Farm if he has it. I’d guess that Duane wouldn’t have a clue if he flood coverage or not too.

If I were an insurance agent, I would video tape each client as they refused to pay for additional coverage. (when I owned a house in a “flood prone” area, I was the only one I knew who purchased flood insurance, which is run by the govt. and is almost a give away) Are we really to believe the damage in New Orleans was caused by wind? I guess all those photos of houses covered in water were doctored by GWB. If you morons can afford premium cable, PS2, Xbox etc., than use your welfare, section 8, WIC, food stamp and the medicade/medicare money savings to buy the right insurance…oh yeah, and shut up.

State Farm, Allstate, Nationwide and the U.S. Government are all in the same bed. Corporate crooks are running our country and nobody is willing to stick out their neck for fear of having everything they own, do, or contribute taken away from them. Politics are why New Orleans is still in the state they are. It was not Nagin’s fault nor Blanco’s as to why people didn’t leave. If you are that poor you don’t own a vehicle. If you haven’t ever been poor then you really don’t know how badly your government (and the rest of our population)will treat you. And for those of you that think the leaders in N.O. are to blame, I susgest you go back and watch the video of Bush being briefed about Katrina on Friday before it hit by Max Mayfield, head of the hurricane center. He (Bush) then lied about not knowing about the projected destruction to the public, just like he has continued to lie to the public about his actions and the direction he has taken this country. If you are a big corporation then he has you covered and protected so that he and his buddies can continue to profit from our misfortues.
It is time for our country to go back to respecting the individual, not the big businesses. If it wasn’t for the individuals, then none of these big companies would be making any kind of a profit now would they. It is time for people to realize that we can no longer let politicians do what they do without them having to account for their actions. ANd it is time for our country and its people to put aside their differences and work to even the field of play and work.
If you google the word “failure” the number one hit is G.W. Bush’s biography direct from the white house website.

As an insurance professional I cannot list the number of times I have urged clients to review their coverage – whether it is home, auto or life. I am too often told they understand everything and do not need to review their coverage – to which I respond it is very important to be sure they understand what coverage they don’t have as well as what they do have.
Flood is NOT covered by home policies. If you live in a flood plain or even if you don’t – should you want the peril of flood covered, buy a flood policy!!
The key here is be an educated consumer. Your home is your most important asset – protect it. Getting second rate coverage does not save you money. Get high deductibles – buy the most coverage you can buy – don’t make small claims and only use coverage for what it is intended – disasters!

Good to see ABC telling a little truth instead of being part of the ministry of propaganda…

THOUGH I DON’T WANT THIS TO BE TRUE ABOUT MY INSURANCE COMPANY I WILL HOLD ANY PRO/CON COMMOF ENTS UNTIL THERE HAS BEEN SOME FURTHER INVESTIGATION….I DO STILL BELIEVE IN INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY….

Almost 30 posts complaining about how State Farm, George Bush, corporate America, etc. are to blame before Danny, the insurance agent, finally points out the true problem – ignorance on the part of people who buy insurance without knowing what it covers. If State Farm committed fraud, they ought to be punished, but the real problem for our country is the “poor me, everyone else is to blame” attitude, as so well evidenced by the comments on this board.

I have a neighbor friend who was denied insurance for flood/hurricane claims – she is a Katrina survivor. She owned a half-million dollar home on Lake Pontchatrain – and was denied by a number of very poor reasons. She was told that the hurricane did not cause the flooding – that her home was damaged by mold and not flooding – that the hurricane only damaged her roof – etc etc etc.
She was told that there were no plans to rebuild her area for at least 5-10 years – so finally had to give up and sold her home to a (greedy) developer for $40,000.
She was one of the lucky ones – obviously. She was able to move to California and start over.

If lawyer Dickie Scruggs says it then it must be true. Of course he also admitted he know his own flood policy was limited to $250,000.00 and he built a million dollar house. Any bets the accusers are going to get a cut if Dickie wins?
Good luck buying homeowners insurance. Just ask anyone in Texas.

certainly not the first time state farm has been acused of wrongdoing is it?

Look at the photos on their link- who is the homeowner that after Katrina almost aa year labor was TOO LAZY to take the time to cleanup the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and sweep/ shovel the garbage off the floor? That person did NOTHING to help himself afterwards.
I’m forced to pay $1,300 per year in flood insurance in California because my house is 200 yards from a creek that COULD flood, and there is a levee/ jogging trail in between the creek and my home. In the El Nino rains we were OK. How can I feel sorry for people who’s homes were below sea level or in a swamp and they DID NOT have flood insurance?

What a bunch of morons. Read your insurance policy! Most people buy the cheapest insurance they can possibly get, then wonder why nothing is covered. If ANYTHING happened to my house it would be covered…you know why? Because I have chosen to pay for the coverage. All you intellectual midgets ranting about all insurance companies being crooks are not only uninformed, but probably the same people who try to rip off their insurance company every chance they get. In huge companies, there often are bad apples. If that is the case I hope they are punished. But…I have seven policies with State Farm, and I am not cancelling any of them. They have been very good to me over the years, because I know my coverage.

I work for a P&C company. We worked long hours to process all the claims and help everyone. I resent being tagged with ‘ALL insurance companies are bad’ label. It is the people that are running and working for the company as to whether they are ethical or not.
Just a heads up… everyone in the country will be seeing a premium increase to pay for this. If you think your premiums are expensive now… just wait.

Look for the next Michael Moore movie, Scam coming to a theatre near you. Honestly I am sure there was some fraud but I highly doubt this level mentioned. I am sure the Demcrats will spend countless millions investigating the insurance companies like they do the energy companies. I bet the result will be the same as as well. Local but no wide spread fraud.

as Ned Flanders was quoted to say on the Simpsons
“Ned doesn’t believe in insurance, He considers it a form of gambling”

State Farm commits fraud on a periodic basis…I heard of a State Farm adjustor who injured someone in an automobile accident. State Farm appointed in-house counsel but the adjustor showed up to the deposition accompanied with his OWN attorney…if the people that work for State Farm do not trust State Farm…..

Don’t kid yourself into thinking any “REAL” investigation will be done into this as Bush and the GOP are OWNED by the insurance industry…Business as usual.

I am not surprised. My neighbor in North Florida received a written letter of non-renewal on her home owners insurance that she paid faithfully for ten years because she filed a claim. State Farm Insurance. Then as an added insult, she was ‘rated’ for the same offense, filing a claim, by other insurance carriers. The insurance industry and our elected government are great bedfellows. Consider the ad hoc effect of selective control and enforcement in auto insurance.

I used to have my home and automobiles insured by State Farm. Each year rates went up 15 % or more. I switched to another company to save money. It was also in the news that they had a class action against them in how they settled automobile claims.

The question here isn’t about personal responsibility or hating insurance companies. The question is simply whether or not State Farm changed reports and pressured outside engineers to conclude the cause of the damage was water. If people who live in flood prone areas didn’t buy flood insurance, and their homes were destroyed by flooding, then they were stupid and unlucky. But if the insurance companies made it look like the damage was caused by water when independent evaluators concluded it was caused by wind, then wouldn’t we all agree they committed fraud and should be made to pay?

Working for insurers for over 11 years as an independent adjuster I have found the large well known insurers are typically the worst when it comes to claim payout. Smaller mutual companies seem to settle claims with more realistic numbers. I am not suprized State farm is dening people. I spent 6 months in the south working katrina and Wilma claims, I spoke with hundreds of adjusters, I heard the stories of management cutting the adjusters estimates even theough the managers did not inspect the house, blatent fraud – deflating claims. exact inverse of is “insurance fraud inflating claims” consumers go to prison for inflating, insurers have been deflating since the begining of time and not 1 executive has been sent to prison…

As an employee in a State Farm office, I personally took hundreds and hundreds of claims in 2004-when we were hit with 3 hurricanes. We had ONE dissatisfied client who claimed we underinsured his home, even though he had come into the office and signed the document indicating the coverage amount he desired.
We have sent several mass mailings advising people to buy Flood insurance. Most people think it will never happen to them.
I’m sorry, but I have no sympathy- we pay what we owe-no more. It is the only responsible thing to do for the rest of the policyholders.
And, by the way, any professional I have ever dealt with uses a shredder .

State Farm paid me $500 for a TV that was only worth $300. I doubt Brian Ross will be calling me.

I have state farm as my insurance carrier, and I will now be looking for another insurance company and I encourage everyone else to do the same.

Even the people who were paid were paid less than they should have been. We already know that the insurance companies said things like missing roofs were not wind damage but flood. We all know a lot of it was wind. We’ve seen proof of guilt already.
To the person saying people should not live in coastal areas, you need to get a clue. People have to live in the biggest port in the States so YOU can get food, oil, gas, all the things that are shipped in by water. You make youself look stupid saying such things.

I will cancel my policy with state farm and will advice my family and friends to do the same. Is a shame how these families been thru enough pain of loosing their home, and state farm continue to destroy. I hope every law suit is worth it.

Time for real, federal, regulation of insurance companies. State commissions just cannot keep up with these corporate goliaths.

I worked at State Farm for 28 years – 20 of that in claims to include 4 years as a Catastrophe Team Manager. I do not believe these allegations. Never once did I witness any attempts or comments or instructions to ever do anything unethical as is alleged here. It will be interesting to see the comments of these Independents on the show this evening. I agree with other prior comments by other former State Farm long term employees- first Independents would not normally be involved in suit files as they are handled by staff personnel and secondly, Independents are not normally involved with engineer reports. I do not believe State Farm would employ any of the tactics alleged…NEVER. Did I always agree with every decision as an employee…NO..who does for any employer but I do have the utmost respect for their Claim handling procedures and the professionalism they require both of their staff employees AND of their Independent(non employee’s as these two whistleblowers are).
I hope this story tonight doesn’t prove my long held trust wrong.

Evryone is right, we all pay our insurance premiums and when it’s time to pay up the companys always roll out 25 miles of fine print to say why they shouldn’t pay. But remember this, we’re all responsible for ourselves. We cannot count on others, whether they are the government, insurance companies, the Red Cross or your neighbor. Take charge of your life and to heck with the rest of them.

We had a tornado level a brand new home two years ago. Everything was gone and we had moved in 10 days before. American Family Insurance paid us the limit of our policy. And I had never read the policy either. You put it in a drawer and hope you never have to look at it. In our case, our policy blew away along with everything else. Of course they have to ask questions and look into your claim–we all know how fraud abounds…everywhere.

We were “non-renewed” this past spring by a major Florida insurance group that went belly-up. I was lucky enough to find an agent who got me a package deal through Hartford that saved me almost $1000 on the State Farm CAR insurance alone. Even though the rates for homeowners/flood went up a little, I ended up SAVING, yes, SAVING money. Ask about “package deals” where one company will insure all your stuff. I had to hunt like the dickens for about three weeks, and I talked to a lot of agents/company reps who didn’t have a clue, but I ended up with a great deal with one of the best insurance companies in the country. Keep looking.

As usual, the libs believe everything they hear on the lib news without ANY proof. Most likely it is two disgruntled assoicates wanting to make a buck and get their 15 minutes of fame at the same time.

When (if)your State Farm agent approaches you about life insurance stop them in their tracks and ask them what trip they will win this year for selling life insurance and financial services. As a former employee I have seen first hand the lies and deceit that goes on within State Farm.

I had State Farm on my house. I cancelled and switched to another company and saved $800 a year. That means my insurance costs me a 1/3 of what I was paying at State Farm. The agent never called me.

Someone should also look at “auto damage claims”. In 1976 my daughter’s car was “totaled” when she hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and slid on ice into a humongours tree. We had just purchased the auto a month prior and had three people look at the car exclaiming the “near-new” appearance. Definitely had never been in a “hail storm” However, upon settlement, insurance company claimed that it had been severely damaged by “hail damage” and refused to honor our claim. After threatening to go to court they finally setted but for less than 2/3 of the claim according to the insurance policy.
Try using a “small chain” and rapping it over the top of the car several times – result: looks just like hail damage.
Ask if this practice is taught at adjustors claim class for a national insurance company.
Now for the adjustors, insurance sales peope – don’t stick your finger in the face of the policyholder. Right, most people don’t read their policy –but for good reason —even beginning insurance sales/adjustors can’t understand the policy. If that were not true, hows come the first schedule of instruction you receive is “how to understand the policy coverage”.
When a policyholder purchsed the insurance, there is a agent/beneficiary relationship established – agents often render that part of their career invalid – blaming the language of the policy that even they don’t understand and accusing the policyholder of not reading the policy.
As an accountant for over 40 years, I seldom discovered any business owner or manager understanding their policy in full. And if you call the agent he has to “see when I can find the time to talk with you”. They are compensated with commission and if the policyholder cancels a policy the commission is charged back to their account.
I have to admit I have seen many HONEST INSURANCE SALES PEOPLE –AND THEY ALL WERE ONES WHO SERVICED THEIR POLICIES “ALWAYS”. AND BECASUE THEY WERE ATTENTIVE TO THEIR POLICYHOLDERS, THEY LIVED COMFORTABLE.

I live in Florida. My pool enclosure was beaten up, my roof ruined, and fence blown apart by the hurricanes.
I expected hassles and fights. Instead I found State Farm to be more than fair. Yes, I have a high hurricane deductable — but that was part of the deal. I paid the deductable; they paid for all damage. No problem.
I also have neighbors — a few had State Farm. There experience, save a few trying their best to cheat, was the same as mine.
So much for, “Ask anyone from Florida…”
What I want to know is why anyone would insure a city that’s under water in the first place.

State Farm is an embarrasement to me and to all. I hope this tragedy of Katrina brings the company into bankruptcy and the families get paid and they whole companies loses everything they have!! They will eventually get what they deserve!

I am an extreme conservative and I agree with the liberals. George Bush doesn’t represent me any longer. As a republican, I denounce the handling of the Katrina Disaster by the republicans and the Bush administration. Dick Cheney is a terrible president for letting all those people die. Everyday I question myself more and more, why am I such a homophobe.

Shame on all of you. If this is true, it is not the company, it is a rogue employee. I may not be in a hurricane affected area, but I work for State Farm and I and my co-workers go out of our way every day to help people in need. We pride ourselves on that!

I GOT STATE FARM INSURANCE AFTER ANOTHER COMPANY CHEATED ME WHEN I MADE A CLAIM. I LOVE STATE FARM. THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GOOD AT PAYING MY CLAIMS OVER THE YEAR. I KNOW PEOPLE–GOOD PEOPLE–SALT OF THE EARTH–WONDERFUL–PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THEIR CLAIMS DEPARTMENT AND I DON’T BELIEVE ANY OF THIS. I BELIEVE STATE FARM PAYS WHAT THEY OWE AND NOT A PENNY LESS AND NOT A PENNY, WHICH IS GOOD, IT PREVENTS FRAUD AND KEEPS OUR INSURANCE PAYMENTS DOWN.

State Farm WAS there for us after Hurricane Iniki in 1992 in Kauai. They hired (and paid for) a structural engineer and accepted (and paid for) ALL his recommendations — to the tune of over half the value of the house, plus all replacement of damaged furniture, and never questioned that it was wind that caused the damage. We’ll be forever grateful to State Farm.

Wonder if State Farm paid for Trent Lott’s home. He and his brother-in-law [a lawyer] I thought was taking State Farm to court.

Of course not all the facts are stated in the article above, but I don’t understand why some commenters are bringing up flood insurance. The 2 adjusters claim…

The sisters say they saw supervisors go to great lengths to pressure outside engineers to prepare reports concluding that damage was caused by water, not covered under State Farm policies, rather than by wind.

So State Farms own hired engineers say it was wind damage, not water damage. The fraud is that they are falsly claiming it’s water damage.
I think this is a separate issue from problem that people who live in flood plains should probably have flood insurance.
Rich

State Farm has used the best series of commercials ever done over twenty years to build a completely false picture of themselves. They are notorious for not paying large claims. The local Left Wing paper here did a super expose’ on the company right after a huge brush fire left thousands of people with claims. But more important, anyone who stands up is immediately sued by their army of lawyers. It is a horrible company and has been for thirty years.

Let’s see, all I have to do is call a reporter on a slow news day and “claim” I have inside info on fraud. Prediction, it will come to pass these two sisters were fired by State Farm for fraud or attempted manipulation of PH funds.

Some of the comments above are by people that were in normal floods, no ins co has paid for normal floods in a long time, our tax money does. If State Farm did this they deserve what they get; because they have the funds to pay out.

Are all you negitive people just arriving from Pluto! You have to read what you pay for before you buy it! I have several policies with State Farm and any claim, for whatever reason, I have filed has been handled quickly and with no hassle. I carry separate flood insurance since I live near the Gulf. Isn’t that what you are suppose to do? You only get what you pay for. You should ALWAYS know who you are doing business with and that includes insurance agents. My agent is the GREATEST. I have been with him since arriving in Houston back in 1980 and he has checked on me, made sure I had plenty of coverage and let’s me know when changes need to be considered. When Rita came through my agent assisted me in forcing my mother-in-laws agent (also a State Farm Agent)to handle her policy correctly. So, it does not matter what insurance you are using, the only thing that matters is that you have an honest agent who has your best interest in mind. I would not trust my policies with anyone else.

Now that State Farm is being exposed, shall we expect to see a huge public investigation of the countless individuals and groups who bilked the Federal Govt. (that’s US)out of perhaps billions of dollars with false claims. I saw a couple of articles in the paper about it, but then it disappeared from view. Journalists are much more interested in going after one “big corporation” than the myriad of scam artists. Too bad.

I find it laughable that people still think that Corporations who are that weathly would be devious enough to go to any lengths to keep their wealth….have we learned NOTHING?

I love it how everyone complains about insurance….if you don’t like it and don’t want it then pay cash for everything and don’t insure it through a company-insure yourself if you CAN….but wait then YOU will turn to the government to bail you out………what a joke you all are. And of course George Bush established the Insurance Co.’s right? What a joke…..

Like a Good Neighbor State farm Is WHERE?
Don’t listen to all of those Pro State Farm Post. The allegations are not for them denying flood claims but rather saying that the actual wind claims were flood claims and then denying them.

Hello…. Read your policy before you complain about what insurance companies pay out. If you have water damage caused by a flood State Farm is not resposible for paying that claim. You should have bought Flood insurance. Flood insurance is a government policy mandated by congress. Private insurers by law cannot pay out a claim associated with a flood.

You crybabies make me sick. If you think insurance is a ripoff, don’t buy it. And read your insurance contract before you sign it. Unless it specifically states that the insurance company is going to be your momma and kiss your boo-boos and make everything better, then don’t expect that.

All of the people should have had hurricane insurance in the first place. Now I have to bail them out.

Its possible that Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs is paying the Rigsby sisters to make these claims. He stands to make a mountain of cash by going after State Farm.

Maybe if these big insurance companies (State Farm, Farm Bureau, etc.) didn’t send their agents and families on such lavish trips, they could help the little guys. It’s absolutely outrageous how much they spend on these trips. Insurance is such a rip-off!

State Farm is a Mutual Company. That means that the policyholders are the owners. There are NO stockholders so profit is only used to pay claims. Allstate and Nationwide, that is another story as they are stock companies.

I’m not surprised and thi happens quite frequently. Insurance companies love to collect premiums and avoid claims. I’ve been with USAA for nearly 35 years. They deserve their rankings. The rest are cheats, liers and crooks. The Federal government is doing nothing to prevent this type of fraud and is to bogged down in foreign wars to take care of its own citizens. Vote in November!! Taking their political entitlements and benefits away is the only thing they understand. Vote them all out of office. Change your state insurance commisioners, as well. Vote!!!

The claims are handled by people just like you and me. I have had the news media do a hit piece on my industry and I knew it was not true. These claims are handled by thousands of citizens. Do you honestly believe that all these claims adjusters were told to rip people off and they just did it, no questions asked? Only two people let the “cat out of the bag?” Think a minute people!!! This thing stinks to high heaven. The media is at it again. The media blows up trucks to get General Motors, Gives false reports about Iraq (CNN), Dan Rather and his forged documents, the list goes on and on. Why not take a breath and see if any of this is true.

The responses I’ve read have amazed me.This does feel like State Farm is guilty until proven innocent. Maybe if people took the time to read thier policies and see where all the money they complain about paying for insuring a risk goes, they would see that flood is a seperate coverage to be purchased.I think poeple should do thier homework on thier covergaes before they go off spitting fire towards the big bad insurance company.

Say a tusnami hits the west coast and travels 10 miles inland. Many homes are destroyed by water.
Is this a flood or a result of an earthquake? You have earthquake insurance so your covered in full right? Not according to these insurance companies… better get you insurance now lefties..

State farm is company #22 in the Fortune 500. They had 60 BILLION in Revenue 160 BILLION in assets and 3.25 BILLION in PROFIT!!! Insurance companies don’t make money by paying out claims… and State Farm appears to be the best at not paying claims…

I wonder why these sisters are no longer working for State Farm? Were they fired? Are they disgruntled? It says they are independent now. What loses did they experience and didn’t have proper coverage for? Was their mom denied a claim and this is why they are attacking? If we’re going to jump to conclusions why not throw accusations at them??

We own property in Nebraska, severely damaged by broken water pipes in a late-2005 blizzard, more than $100,000 in damages. This is not intended to compare our situation to anything that occurred along the Gulf Coast. The storm was major, caused more collective property damage than Katrina, covering three states. State Farm has misrepresented its homeowners policy indicating that it does not cover water damage, referencing exclusion language – which, in all cases, is water that flows into and through the house from external sources, rather than emanating from inside the home, such as our situation. True, 60,000 gallons of water poured through the home since property managers had to dig in to get there; and true, that the water did flow underneath the foundation, slab and footings. The State Farm claims adjuster told us to sue them, if we disagreed with his final settlement – stating “many people have, and we’ve won them all.” I am frustrated at State Farm’s decision with our property; but I am appalled at the company’s loss of heart, especially re: poor and elderly who have lost their properties, with no recourse. They too can sue; but in our case, it would take over-$40,000 to recover the $40,000 in damages that in dispute. Class action may be the only way Gulf Coast victims of State Farm can recover from Katrina. It’s a sad time to be working with American insurance companies – almost as bad as sucking on the oil companies profit hoses.

Republicans are so brainwashed and ignorant!!! Keep watching FOX and believe everything they say. I deal with insurance companies on a daily basis and know first hand how crooked they are. When is America going to wake up and challenge the insurance industry and hold them accountable?

Undelievable that so many are ready to believe this stuff on the word of a couple of people who obviously have a score to settle or have been hired by Dickey Scruggs. Interesting that after losing his case against the insurance industry and after strong arming ST Farm by threating to go to the media if they did not pay claims that were clearly not covered by the policy, this appears. Guarantee there won’t be any supporting evidence that is credible. Just watch. If any insurance company is honest and credible-its St Farm.

My father worked for an insurance company his whole life. They are told to minimize each claim as much as they can, basically paying out only pennies on the dollar. I know over the years it took a toll on him. Deep down he felt bad for basically short changing the policy holders. He advised me and my sister not to go into the insurance business, that it was a heartless profession.

Geee..I’m not surprised ..we called about our roof after Katrina..not a lot of damage,,,, We reside in Baton Rouge ….however they (SF) gave us names of 3 roofers..no luck.. after almost an entire year we found a roofer, called SF ,to tell them the roofer is here I told them how much they said Go ahead,,,,now they say ,,we aren’t paying,,,you didn’t get an estimate..gee Oh Bright one that works at my agents office at SF,that’s what I called into you!!! AND FAXED!!now they are saying I never called to file a claim! Funny We had a house full of people when I made the call..Oh and by the way we have been with the same agent for over 30 years,,did he ever call , come by HELL NO! he was to busy Golfing or out doing what ever he chose to do! We never heard from our agent on anything!!They take your money go to the Country Club & hang out with their Buds..I mean Friends
I thought it was SF job to take photos as well’! Thank God we did!
BTW..stop paying the blame game…..Now how about everyone getting a grasp of the corrupt Permit violations going on all about the Gulf Coast..mainly New Orleans! State Farm is there..laughing all the way to the BANK! yeah I see an Enron..not only with SF but with them all!

I have been a State Farm Customer for 16 years. My experience is you get what you pay for. Since I pay for quality insurance, I get good quality service.
Why people find it so easy to blame others is beyond me. It doesn’t matter how much or how long you pay for your insurance, if you don’t have the right insurance when it’s needed.
Some of you are acting like State Farm is the reason LA still looks like it does. That’s not the truth, many of the people down there didn’t have any insurance at all. Who do you blame for that? Of course, that would be the government’s fault. We must all stand up and be responsible for our decisions.
Go ahead and drop your insurance, but with Hurricane season here, I’m glad State Farm is my neighbor.

I think the issue that needs to be addressed long term is the way the policies are marketed and sold.. There needs to be a nice easy to read summary of cover to be signed as understood before any premium is collected. I blame the closure of the good old local insurance broker offices where we could go ask questions and get 1 to 1 service. Damm telephone marketing and the internet.

I too am a trial lawyer in NY. This type of BS happens every single day with every insurance company. They can not be trusted at any level. You will never, ever get what you deserve from these frauds. You want to know where your premiums go? They go to politicians and lobby groups to push for insurance friendly laws that keep this racket up. State Farm is not even the worst. What these women say is, without a doubt, not only true, but only the tip of the iceberg.

I’m sure few of you will care, but most of State Farm is a “mutual” insurance company, meaning that it mostly owned by its customers. So what’s their motivation not to pay?
I didn’t check poster Rob’s numbers, but a $3.25 billion profit on $60 billion is 5.4%.
Every healthy company needs to grow, and for a mutual that can’t issue stock, then the only source is profit. And I’d suggest that 5.4% is not very big, is it?

There are always two sides to the story.
These adjusters have worked exclusively with SF for 8 years. Did they just start going bad now? Also, could it be that these independant adjusters are trying to get SF to cover losses that they shouldn’t cover? After all, public adjusters and contractors have been know to “pad the bill” when it comes to insurance companies. Also, almostr every homeowner hit by Katrina had the option to buy flood insurance. The ones that did are not complaining. The ones that did not are bitching about what the insurance companies, FEMA, the media, their neighbors etc are not doing for them. What about PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY? Oh yeah, this is America, the land of the free lunch.

If the accusations are proven true I hope State Farm, or all insurance companies for that matter are held accountable. My cousin in Waveland, Miss. lost everything, their house totally destroyed. They had full coverage homeowners insurance, and flood insurance as well. If their house had been completely destroyed in a fire, then there is little doubt about what amount the insurance company would pay for the claim. However, given the way things seem to work after Katrina, when the amount the homeowner’s policy payment combined with the flood insurance payment, doesn’t add up to what the house was insured for, then something is WRONG. To me, if you have full homeowner coverage and flood insurance there should be NO EXCUSE for insurance companies not paying to rebuild the house. I would appreciate if someone could explain to me where I am wrong about this !!!

Werent these 2 sisters fired by State Farm for trying to embezzle money and short pay claimants and pocket the difference?
Seems there are 2 sides to every story……..

Sure you can evacuate your home, but you can’t take your home with you. It stays there to bear the brunt of the storm and destruction. The people that are getting screwed by the insurance have my heart. State Farm screwed me on hail damage on my car, I can just imagine what these hard hit families are going through – you’re all in my thoughts and prayers – God Bless!!

I LIVE IN CA AND HAD AAA. THEY WOULD INCREASE MY PREIUM EVERY YEAR. I DROP THEM LIKE A HOT POTATO AND SWITCHED TO STATE FARM. I NOW PAY A 1/4 LESS THAN I WAS PAYING TO STATE FARM. INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY YOU SAY? WHAT ABOUT ALL THE INNOCENT PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SCREWED BY AAA?

If St Farm was really mistreating so many people they wouldn’t be the world’s largest insurance company and insure twice as many homes as the number two insurer, Allstate.

Give me, give me, give me. I am owed and I want it now. I take no responsiblity for my actions and I want to balme everyone else but myself. Sure I didn’t review or read my policy coverages, and I did not ask any questions either. I also declined the flood coverage, why pay extra when you don’t have too. Why spend time on understanding my insurance coverage when I have more important things to do like go to dinner or watch a movie. Remember the American dream, get something for nothing, take no responsibiliy and take all you can. Now that’s the America I know.

Quit crying people, you either had flood Ins. or you didn’t. I live in Florida and have been hit by hurricanes (five in one year)State Farm paid off, no problems. You cain’t get people to do anything for themselves. They tell you to have supplies for at least three days. People want do it, they want the government to do it for them.I have supplies for at least a week. Come on people get off your a–.People want to live ten feet from the water, then when a hurricane hits they start to cry. If you live on the water you better have flood Ins.so you can build back in the same spot and cry again next year. It’s time people take a little personal responsibility and quit waiting for the Govt.to fry you an egg for breakfast. Some people on the coast were crying the very next day after the storm because the cammode didn’t work. Get a life and read your policy.

Does anyone ever wonder why whistleblowers think the company is doing so bad and how they unfairly treat customers, yet they don’t have a problem continuing to work there and collect a paycheck themselves????????????????

In order to be a whistleblower, you have to actually work for the company or udnerstand how it works inside. These sisters (even though they are wearing stolen SF jackets in the video) are neither. Hey – I could claim ABC purposly lies to the audience because I watch the news. I must be a whistlblower.

I have worked for State Farm since 1994 and was a Catastrophe Adjustor for 5 years. As per State Farm policy, I paid every single claim that I owed and then was told to pay some that were probably not owed. Our policy is always to give the benefit of the doubt to the policyholder. The only claims that were denied were the ones that we obviously didn’t owe – losses that were either excluded under the terms of the policy or were fradulent. The ones that were denied required more paperwork and documentation than the ones that were paid. We made sure that we were 100% in our right to deny or we would not do so.
I worked with many independent adjustors at Catastrophe sites. 95% of them were wonderful people and excellent at what they did. The other 5% were there to get paid. The way State Farm pays independents is they get a set fee for each inspection that they perform and then a percentage of the damage estimate that they write. As a result, they prefer writing big losses because it means more money for them. If they go out and there is no covered damage, they get only their inspection fee. I’m not drawing any conclusions about these sisters based on the above. However, adjustors (be they State Farm or independent) simply don’t have the access to the information that they profess to have. They would be out in the field 99% of the time and would only go to the Cat office to turn in their files.
I did not work on Katrina but company policy prior to that hurricane was that a State Farm adjustor worked with engineers on structural claims. Independents never did. That might have changed because of the amount of personnel required for this hurricane but I certainly didn’t hear about it.
Anyway, both parties will get their day in court, which is how it should be. The ABC news piece will be a hatchet job against State Farm, but we’re used to it. We will win the lawsuit not because of our “army” of lawyers but because State Farm follows the rules; to not do so could cost us billions of dollars in court.
Finally, as has been previously stated, State Farm is a Mutual Insurance Company. That means that we are owned by our policyholders, not by stockholders. We have no duty to anyone to make a profit – we only need to make sure we have enough financial stability to weather disaters like Katrina.

As a state farm agent myself i am amused at the lack of knowledge most people have that are posting here. First of all its unlikely 2 sisters would work the same claim area as independent adjustors. When i consulted the State Farm directory it shows one of the 2 sisters as an external employee. more than likely that explains why only one has a State Farm jacket on.
As an agent we counsel every person on the need for adequate insurance coverage in case of a claim situation. Most people only want the minimum they can get by with. They may have a $200,000 home but only want to cover $130,000 because that is all they owe. Then a fire may come along and total the house. You guessed it! They want us to pay $200,000 despite the fact that they only paid for $130,000. Then we are the crooks for not paying them $200,000 they feel they are entitled to receive. Much the same as in the case of the unfortunate hurricanes. It was amazing the number of people that lined up outside my Texas office to collect a check. Several didnt have flood policies since it wasnt a requirement to have one in their particular area. They would say it wasnt worth the money. Yet, they expected State Farm to give them money anyway on their homeowners policy which excludes natural rising water. Yet once again we are to blame for their lack of proper coverage due to not wanting to spend the money, etc.
Before you cast stones and believe a story that is more than likely due to the sister or sisters being disgruntled, know all the facts. These 2 (if there are 2) obviously had to come on as independents and were not eligible to work as regular State Farm employees and are not happy about that.
As for shredding papers…..dont all corporations shred sensitive documents that contain social security numbers, drivers license numbers, addresses, phone numbers, etc? If we didnt shred them then you would attack for the lack of discretion. Tell us where we win that battle and what you would rather us do.
Grow up people.

Pretty poor article and even sadder comments. Not one person has said what is really going on–in most cases, this is State Farm shifting their costs to the AMERICAN TAXPAYER, not sticking to the policy holder. Flood insurance, which most people in the area have, pays whatever the insurance company doesn’t. So if SF can convert wind damage to flood damage, the federal government just ponies up the rest. FEMA is far too incompotent to figure out the real extent of flood damage. Usually, the customer doesn’t care as long as someone pays, even if it is the taxpayer.

I can’t believe that I just read all of these posts.More than half the people in this country really are idiots.Where do people think all these billions of $$ come from?If people who build their houses in areas that flood and are prone to hurricane damage don,t pay for the coverage,what do they expect.P.S.I don’t blame Bush.I think Wal-Mart should pay for it all.

There is always two sides to every story. ABC prides itself on just showing one side. Fair and balanced would mean no story. Bottom line is without State Farm and the amount they paid out in New Orleans the city would not have recovered. Look at the statistics people.

It doesn’t surprise me in the least. I worked for State Farm for 17 years. In the past 8 or so years, they have done a complete turnaround – executives still getting huge bonuses while the company is losing money, downsizing extensively to cut costs, treating employees like crap and eliminating more and more of their benefits, DUIs in company cars that they have tried to cover up, etc.

I have had State Farm for 34 years and have had the best of service. That is why I decided to work for a State Farm agent. It is a reputable company and I don’t believe any of the garbage that is being said. People don’t look at their policies to see what it covers and don’t really care until it is time to file a claim. Then when the claim is not covered, they start complaining.
Too many people seem to have selective memory. They tell you to cancel certain coverages on their policies to save money, then they need the coverage and are adamant that they didn’t cancel it.
To all of those that are considering canceling their insurance with State Farm, I wouldn’t jump ship just yet. You may be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. I have had to deal with other insurance companies regarding personal claims and they are much worse than State Farm could ever be.
You can always check JD Powers to find out which is the best company. Do your homeowork and there should be no surprises when disaster strikes.

WAHHHH…the government won’t rebuild my house for me. WAHHHH…my insurance policy, which specifically doesn’t cover flooding, won’t pay for the FLOODING to my house.
This is what you get when personal responsibility goes out the window and the entitlement mentality sets in. Liberals have been in control of that state for alomst 1/2 a century and, shockingly enough, we now find that the entire local political system is clueless and corrupt and LA’s citizens think the federal government is some sort of surrogate parent for them. With 50 years of liberal control, shouldn’t LA be a socialist utopia by now? WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!! YOU are responsible for YOU, no one else is. Not the governement, not the insurance company, not the tax payers of the rest of the country. Just you. The rest of the citizens of this country are happy to lend a helping hand to get you back on your feet, but you have to make the decision to stand on those feet by yourself.

ABS (Always Biased Slant)

ABC stands for “Always Biased Coverage”

Cry me river, build your house in hole on the Gulf then belly ache when the damage is denied due to flood. The only policy that covers flood is a goverment flood policy. If they were all too cheap to buy one then to bad. Insurance is not a bank account they dont “owe” you. If you want paid back, get a savings account.
Here is a good idea, lets let the goverment run the insurance industry. They can do a better job. Everyone should have access to free auto and home insurance! It is our God given right as americans.

If it’s proved that State Farm did what is alleged, then they should pay dearly. That said, all these people saying they got screwed probably should have read their policies in their entirety before signing on with any insurance company. When you buy a homeowner’s policy, it generally doesn’t cover flooding. If available, flood insurance would be extra. Had these people insured their homes for flooding, they likely would have been compensated. Like any other corporation, insurers must comply with laws but are still going to try to maximize their profits. I won’t even address why in God’s name people would live in a city that is a) surrounded by water and b) lies below sea level. Yes, New Orleans is beautiful, etc. If I ever lived there, I’d make sure my home was above sea level.

what i hate most is seeing that people are denouncing and telling people to boycott and cancel their state farm policies. i work for an agent who if he thought that a claim had merit he would fight it tooth and nail to get you paid. we had a storm here in missouri in march where an insured’s telephone poles were blown down and needed to be replaced. he forgot to right them in the policy and they were not going to be covered he offered to pay for them out of his own pocket. and that wasn’t going to be cheap either. think about the people like that who are really looking out for you before you do something crazy.

I have been a SF agent for 38 years, I have traveled over 40 times, each trips value was added to my income and I paid taxes on the total cost. I am sure there is some truth and some falsehoods to every story. Ask Trent Lott, he has to know both sides and how to use them. Ask the Mayor of N.O. about the unused school buses in the parking lots getting flooded and the people waiting to be rescued, couldn’t use city employees? I’ll never forget that sight. Don

The definition of insurance is the premiums of many to pay for the claims of a few. And it’s to put you back where you were, NOT to make you better than you were.
People, do you realize that if insurance companies were forced to shoulder all the claims, that YOUR insurance, as well as theirs, would be more expensive than any of us could afford?
I’ve worked for State Farm for 14 years. We’ve always been told to find the coverage, give the benefit of the doubt.
You have to take responsibility for yourselves. READ the policy you are buying, KNOW what is covered and what isn’t. ASK questions. I’m sure some of these people asked if they HAD to have flood insurance, NOT if the NEEDED it. Obviously, if you’re near a body of water, you need it, but unless a mortgage company requires it, you don’t HAVE to have it. People always want the cheapest way out.
I don’t believe these girls. There’s more to the story. And I can guarantee you that when their accusations are proven unfounded, ABC won’t have a segment on that.

A Homeowners policy cannot pay for damage by water. A Flood policy is needed. It’s Simple. People just did not have the protection that they thought they did. This is not the insurance companies fault. Every policyholder is delivered a policy which makes it very clear that there is no protection from things like flood, earth movement, landslide etc.
As for these two making these allegations, If it is true, it disgusts me, and I agree that action should be taken. On the other hand, I know of THOUSANDS of happy State Farm customers who had claims and been totally satisfied. Just a little reality.

I think many of you who are blaming the homeowners for not getting flood insurance are missing the central arguement, which has now been heard by the courts. The insurance companies, State Farm included, are claiming that damage done by high winds and/or storms was done by flood water. The homeowners are claiming that the hurricane winds caused much of the damage, and that the wind caused the water to rise – meaning that the winds, not the water, are the root cause of the damage. The insurance company attorneys are doing what attorneys get paid very well to do – playing fast and loose with definitions and language.
For those of you who are screaming that the liberal media is already condemning State Farm, I would suggest you actually WATCH the program tonight before jumping to conclusions as you’re accusing ABC of doing.

To Robert who says President Bush is to blame for everything in the United States. I guess we can blame the hurricane on him also. Gee he IS powerful!

What about the billions of dollars paid out by State Farm to their policyholders? What about the hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers? Did Brian Ross think to ever interview just one of these people? I am a very satisfied State Farm insured who has been paid very well for the few claims I had to file. Thank you State Farm from the bottom of my heart, and thank you State Farm for helping out so many of my friends and neighbors.

What greedy insurance companies!
Wait a second, State Farm is a mutual insurance company, which means it is owned by the policy holders. What would be the point of committing fraud and not paying what was due? There would be no point.
As a policy holder (and therefore owner) they have a responsibility to me to make sure they do not pay out claims for things that are not covered.
It would just be wrong for State Farm to pay out claims for uncovered damages. If it starts paying out claims for things that are not due, it won’t have the money to pay the legitimate claims that I might have in the future. I commend State Farm for being diligent with my premium dollars.
I suspect in this case we have a couple of adjusters, who had pity on some of these people who did not buy the correct coverage. They exaggerated the claim, and said wind caused some damage that flooding actually caused. When the management corrected there report, and enforced some guidelines, they went to the press.
Now we all feel sorry for the victims of Katrina, but there is a difference between a charity and an insurance company. I suspect these adjusters Sisters didn’t understand the difference.

All insurance companies are evil theives. We should line up 100 insurance company executives each day and blow their brains out until they get the message we are fed up with corporate America

After hearing all the testimony of former/current claim adjusters here on this thread, I’d like to point out a few distinctions between your sitiautions and Katrina. Firstly, as you are undoubtedly honest people serving honest people, you would recognize that the scope of Katrina and the potential disastrous effect the massive payouts would have on State Farm’s bottom line have to be considered. There is no doubt that such a catastrophe would force the higher-ups to go into evasive maneuvers, if only to forestall payments just a little. This isn’t just a fender-bender; it’s billions and billions going out quickly.
Secondly, I wonder if the insurance companies are counting on the federal or state government to pick up most the costs for reconstruction before they pay out on claims. I think they expected more participation on the part of government. Unfortunately, that did not occur.
Thirdly, it is reasonable to assume that insurance companies, who are in it for profit, would do what they had to do in order to keep those profits rising. It is also reasonable to assume that these insurance company execs, with high-paid lobbyists spreading money all over DC, don’t expect to ever feel the pinch of government oversight and legal action. They would do what they have to do to save the profit margins. It’s their job.
And to all those who cry about ‘personal responsibility’……What about the responsibility of the insurance companies to honestly inform their policy holders? Why does purchasing insurance have to become another case of ‘buyer beware?’

What needs to be remembered here folks, is that there is a difference between Flood Waters and Wind Driven Water. If the Wind blows out your windows and drives large amounts of water (Rain) into your house, that’s wind damage. The water wouldn’t have been there without it. Seems like they were having the reports show flooding (Not covered) rather than wind (Covered). Not all or even most of the homes there were under any amount of water, lots of Wind damage, tho.

After receiving a private email and reading through these postings I feel the need to let you know that we did NOT live in a flood plain when the flood in Cheyenne occurred and because we are land-locked and rarely, if ever suffer from ANY kind of natural disaster, we had no reason to believe we would be hit by a freaky flood. Nobody advised us beforehand to buy flood insurance and we actually had NO idea such a thing even existed. Now… with all the flooding that has occurred since our tragedy, it’s become much more widely known. We had absolutely NO idea that we would need something more than our regular house insurance policy. And to everyone who thinks their insurance company is going to cover them after a natural disaster… I sincerely pray you never suffer through one… it’s a shock and a definite eye-opener and innocence killer.

To the dupe defending Bush, saying that he wasn’t responsible for the hurricane:
Bush wasn’t responsible for causing the hurricane, but he’s certainly responsible for the damage it caused, and here’s why– They’d known for quite awhile that those levees couldn’t take a big hurricane, but the funds that were to be spent making bigger levees were re-directed—can you guess WHERE those levee funds were re-directed? That’s right: IRAQ. That’s a cold hard fact. Look it up.
The U.S. can somehow afford to send billions of our taxpayer dollars to Israel to help THEM build huge walls, but when we need levees built in our OWN country, oh, well, then our politicians just can’t help us. There’s something very wrong with this picture, and anyone who busts their ass to pay taxes to this corrupt government should be VERY angry about it.

Seems a little fishy to me. I’ve had State Farm for over 15 years. My agent has always been terrific. Next thing you know, these so-called whistle blowers will be claiming they found a part of a finger in their renewal bill.

After representing numerous insureds against State Farm for Rita claims, I must say I’m really not that surprised about this. However, I am surprised that Congress has time to spend weeks asking Major League Baseball playsers about using steroids but doesn’t have time to investigate these kinds of claims of fraud.

Hey, jbar, since it’s Bush’s fault, what happened to all the money during the Clinton years that could have been used to shore up the levees? If you’re going to rant about things, at least be logical.

I don’t believe this for a second. I work for State Farm and KNOW they wouldn’t do anthing like this. Listen, people have just lost most, if not all, of everything they own. Who has been there? State Farm, that’s who. State Farm has been there for people when their policy covers their loss. You can’t name a company with a better track record than State Farm. Instead of going straight on the offensive and attacking State Farm, why don’t you all do some research and read a homeowner’s policy? It is all there in writing. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone is paying these two women a lot of money to lie about what they are saying.

I had auto insurance with State Farm for almost 20 years. About 10 yrs ago, I had a 2 yr old car totalled (it was hit by a drunk driver while parked on a busy street). I was treated like a QUEEN by State Farm. My car was demolished one week, and a week to the day after the accident happened, I had a brand new car!!! I’ve always had nothing but great things to say about State Farm, and if their rates were lower, I’d still be with them today!! As far as to whether they’re guilty or innocent of the horrible Katrina fiasco, what ever happened to the American way of
‘innocent until proven guilty’?? There are some horrible things being said here, and I for one know there are 2 sides to every story.

We are facing massive cracks in our home due to extreme drought but no insurance will pay that – Doors won’t close. I know it’s not as major as a flood (have been hit by a tornado before), but I agree – insurance is like the electric companies – greedy pigs that should rot in hell!

Schlomo, what makes you think we don’t inform the consumer about their policies? I’ve been an agent with SF for 14 years and I inform my clients of what they are buying and what it covers and doesn’t. And I am sure that agents in flood prone are DO tell their customers that flooding isn’t covered and encourage them to buy flood insurance and I bet most of them don’t want to pay the high premiums for it unless their mortgage company requires it.
Again, you have to read your policies and ask questions. Make sure you understand what you are getting before you hand over the money.

The worst part of all this is that whoever pays, NO will be rebuilt just the way it was. The army Eng are already working on better Levees, STUPID! Lake Pontchatrain is 12-14 feet deep, they have to dredge it for ships to cross it. Start pumping the bottom out and spread it from Levee to Levee, fill it at least 10 above sea level, then fill in the Canals (They are there to DRAIN the rainwater) At least next time, NO flooding! While doing this the worn out Sewage and Water pipes could be replaced, Phone and Cable lines run underground, all at a cost of little more than what they will spend to set up for the next disaster.

Baaa!!! Baaa!!!! What a bunch of sheep! Let’s read what’s at best a 12 paragraph story detailing pretty much all speculation and hearsay and treat it as fact! Good Lord… READ your policies! ASK questions to make you sure have the correct coverage and what would be covered! At some point in this country, the consumer HAS to assume some responsibilty for their part! This is true not just with insurance but ANYTHING! This society has turned into a “poor me” and “it’s everyone’s fault but mine!” As far as shredding, PLEASE shred my documents! I want no one getting my personal information. Guess what? I’m willing to bet that anything they shredded they have copies of ELECTRONICALLY! What? They may be on the computers and stored elsewhere? What a concept! Baaa!! Baaa!!!

In Texas , they are called Snake Farm for their behavior in the mold clean-up.

Mr. Incredible, sorry to hear about the cracks from drought, but, is that really an insurable event?
I mean, don’t those appear kind of slowly? They don’t just happen like an earthquake, do they?
Wouldn’t it make sense to work with a foundation contractor before your house falls apart?
just curious.
By the way, my house needs painting and the toilet leaks and I can’t get State Farm to pay for that either.

I’d like to see more information from the sisters and from the company before I point the finger at anyone. Nothing’s been proven yet, correct? And if people have a problem with their coverage limits, they should address those with the company before a disaster, but yet it always seems that following a disaster it’s someone elses fault. Where is the personal responsibility? People choose to live in the danger zones and choose not to buy adequate coverage to protect their assets, so why blame the insurance company? Read and understand your policy! These people can disagree if they like, heck they can even file suit if they so choose, but before you jump against State Farm and believe what these sisters say, I’d wait for the verdict from the judge/ courts or some conclusive evidence.
Posted by: Dave | Aug 25, 2006 1:14:00 PM
Yes we’re on pins and needles awaiting your decision. So, if it’s true, should they read and understand how their policy will be changed by a crook at the company? And I’m curious, where can I move where there is no nature? If it’s too risky to live in the world, State Farm shouldn’t sell insurance in it. Where is State Farm’s personal responsibility?

I had auto insurance with State Farm for almost 20 years. About 10 yrs ago, I had a 2 yr old car totalled (it was hit by a drunk driver while parked on a busy street). I was treated like a QUEEN by State Farm. My car was demolished one week, and a week to the day after the accident happened, I had a brand new car!!! I’ve always had nothing but great things to say about State Farm, and if their rates were lower, I’d still be with them today!! As far as to whether they’re guilty or innocent of the horrible Katrina fiasco, what ever happened to the American way of
‘innocent until proven guilty’?? There are some horrible things being said here, and I for one know there are 2 sides to every story.
Posted by: Carole | Aug 25, 2006 4:45:38 PM
Plant.

Those that didn’t purchase the proper coverage and chose to live in flood prone areas sure are quick to point the finger! Take personal responsibility for your property and your DECISIONS. Spend your hard earned money wisely and invest a little time to review the coverage you purchased. No matter what insurance company you have, FLOOD is not covered. It might be a little odd that only 2 “adjusters”, and sisters at that, saw what they perceived as cheating. The catastrophe teams working that entire area consisted of thousands of adjusters. Let’s get the facts, not just the sensationalized story bits, before we pass judgement. Millions of State Farm customers have been satisfied I’m sure, along with Allstate, Nationwide and many smaller companies customers. Shame on americans who throw stones – take a look in the mirror!
Posted by: Insurance Consumer | Aug 25, 2006 4:54:08 PM
Corporate Shill. Yeah whistle blowers usually come out in droves. Everyone risks their jobs when something crooked is happening. Guess we don’t need those whistle blower protection laws any more. Thanks Insurance Consumer!

It’s amazing how some people will believe a couple of disgruntled employees over a company with 84 years of exemplary service to policyholders. Some people think that insurance is designed to cover any possible bad thing that can happen to you. Any such insurance policy would be way too expensive for 99% of us to afford. An insurance company is a business, so why would you expect them to pay for something that’s specifically excluded in the policy contract with the customer. If your cell phone company incurred higher than expected overhead and tried to bill you in excess of your contract rate, would you pay it? I don’t think so. Don’t expect an insurance company (or any business for that matter) to pay more than what they owe to anyone. To do so would be unfair to their other customers who would have to make up the difference in higher premiums.

There are crooks and good people in this world. This story could be bunk and it could be real. Let’s not trash the insurance industry because of it!
Insurance companies need to make money (we call it capitalism), and sometimes rotten people work too. This is life folks, don’t rely too heavily on a corporation to bail you out and cometimes mean people have to work too!

I live in MS and lived through Katrina. We have Alfa Insurance and our agent & adjustor was great. We had roof damage, trees & fences down, our hardwood floor was ruined because the wind drove in water under the door. About 10 days after the storm an adjustor came out, we had our check to cover everything a week later. We couldn’t be more pleased with our agent and Alfa. Now my neighbor down the street had State Farm. They had gaping holes in their roof. State Farm refused to pay, saying Katrina didn’t damage it. She couldn’t even talk about it without crying. They lived for about 6 months with tarps over the holes, rain pouring in the house with every storm. Eventually it was fixed, but my friend went through hell to have it done. I am not one to blame the government for all the problems in the country; I think that is stupid and self serving. I have absolutely no respect for slimeball lawyers like Dickie Scruggs, but in my friend’s case, she trully was screwed by State Farm. If what the Rigby sisters are saying can be proven true, then State Farm needs to be held accountable and then some.

Insurance companies lobbied heavily for tort reform so that those making claims will be deprived of full recovery and profits magnified. Maybe those terrible trial lawyers were right!

This is a true testament to the intellectual low this country has come to. You have two independent contractors (which by the way, have no access to managerial documents or even know hoot nor hell about the employer’s business practices) working with the dirtiest ambulance chaser in the South. Sounds similar to his tobacco case…”we’re too dumb to read the labeling that says “this product can cause cancer” to know we shouldn’t have started smoking in the first place, so we want you to pay for our stupidity and our medical expenses. Remember the old adage “Fool me once-shame on you. Fool me twice-shame on me.” This lunacy is the “twice,” and SHAME ON US for following the ambulance.
As to all the previous comments saying they’re taking their insurance elsewhere, go right ahead and leave. Let State Farm leave the Gulf Coast. Let all the other carriers follow suit. (And why not? State Farm is the largest in the business. You think if it leaves, everyone else isn’t going to get out of town too?) Let the states take over the insurance business, and let’s see how long it takes you to come crying back to insurance companies begging them to take you back. Ever dealt with the Department of Motor Vehicles? or the IRS? They are living monuments to ineptitude. And if you think those intenties are bad, wait for a government-run insurance policy! Nothing will be covered. Everything will have an extra cost. And the Titanic would have had a faster turn-around time when you have a claim!
In other words, you pay for what you get. People who insure half million dollar homes for less than half their value are fools. And then they want to blame everyone else but themselves for their own stupidity. Ever wonder how New Orleans managed to have so many homes burn to the ground after Katrina? (never mind the fact that the electricity wasn’t working, so there was no way it could’ve been an electrical problem.) They were intentionally burned because homeowners suddenly realized how much of a major screw-up they had committed by not buying flood insurance. Your home is your castle! Protect it, stupid! New Orleans is how many feet below sea level? They get a 3-inch rainstorm there and start freaking out about flooding. And you think wind caused all the damage? Did you happen to notice Oh-I-don’t-know THE TWENTY FOOT WALL OF WATER COMING YOUR WAY!?
Grow up, America! Quit blaming everyone else because you’re not happy with your life, overweight, and have an underinsured house and car. Look in the mirror and take responsibility for your own life!!

These people didn’t need flood insurance. Their houses were “flooded” by water that was caused by WIND, which homeowner policies cover.
From Merriamwebster.com:
hurricane
[1,noun]hurricane[2,adjective]
Main Entry: 1hur·ri·cane
Function: noun
Etymology: Spanish huracán, from Taino hurakán
1 : a tropical cyclone with winds of 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour or greater that occurs especially in the western Atlantic, that is usually accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning, and that sometimes moves into temperate latitudes — see BEAUFORT SCALE table

Don’t forget the thing driving water damage claims is people that by their own choice did not buy national flood insurance. There is a huge motivation for people to want their claim to be wind damage driven. If I were State Farm I would be very sceptical of claims that were written up as wind damage in areas where rising water was the real cause. Like Carol said, there are two sides to this story. The one thing you can bet on is that you won’t here both of them on the 20/20 story.

There “by your side” when you are writing a cheek for your primemum; but when you need them its; didn’t you see the samll print, our escape hatch.

I suppose it is the right of ABC News to print every piece of gossip they can about a good company.
But I’ll tell you that is exactly what we have here: gossip. Pure, unproven gossip.
Consider the source: ABC News. Do you really need more reason to be skeptical?

Not sure if this was noted in any of the many previous posts, but under federal and state whistleblower laws, the Rigsby sisters may be entitled to 15% to 25% of the amount recovered from State Farm as a result of their whistleblowing. These ladies will likely become multimillionaires. Do you think this might have been a factor in their decision to come forward?

When our office building burned down in 1991, we were “insured” by State Farm. Their lies and flat attempts to cheat us resulted in it taking 14 months to rebuild something that shoud have been done in less than six months. Anyone who insures anything with that company is asking for trouble if they hasve a substantial claim. Believe me, they were nothing like a good neighbor.

They are in complete denial. Check it out. I need a lawyer.

“Those that didn’t purchase the proper coverage…”
Why read any further? Not really his fault tho, I blame the media.
Flood Insurance is a federal program, and only those in flood-prone areas (based on the 100-year flood plain) are even ELIGIBLE to purchase. Katrina is widley viewed as a once every 400/500-year event.. So I guess you can expect what, five 1906 SF earthquakes before the next Katrina…
Speaking of which, I hope all you folks in S.F. are paying real close attention to all this. Your property values are 50x ours, so I guess you guys will be 50x more upset as we are when your city falls down and the rest of the country treats like an episode of CSI and then before falling asleep on the couch decide it’s best you not rebuild…
You live on the SAN ANDREAS FAULT for Christ’s sakes! What are you thinking? You deserve what’s coming… sound famliar?
Oh yeah… that earthquake insurance you are paying for? Can’t wait to see the look on your face when your insurance company decines your claim because it was your next-door neighbor’s house collapsing on yours that caused the damage, not the earthquake. SAME argument being used daily down here for a year.
Blame the media. This isn’t a black vs. white crisis. Not a Dem vs. Rep fight to the death. They media only profits from ratings driven by controversy. What controversy? Largest natural disaster in America’s history. I don’t care if you have the Emporer of Rome in charge, if any area the size of Kansas was suddenly over the span of 5 hours there’s going to be some tragedy. This isn’t a reality show to entertain the masses and to pick sides. What happened here can happen virtually anywhere. Look it up: a Cat 3/4 hitting N.Y. and wiping out most of Manhatten is 3-4x more likely than Katrina was. Already mentioned S.F. How about the midwest states that are guaranteed catastrophic flooding every 20 years or so. Tornado alley, what are you people thinking? Heat waves in Chicago, sharks off the coast of N.C. (ok I quit)… Point is we are all in this $hit together, like it or not. If we aren’t naturally coming together over this, there’s really no point – we’ve all already lost.
I must admit as a renter, I knew nothing of the complexities of all issues involved until this.

OK PEOPLE, YOU HAVE TO READ YOUR POLICIES. I CURRENTLY WORK FOR STATE FARM IN AN AGENTS OFFICE. EVERYDAY THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO FILE CLAIMS THAT GET PAID. THESE ARE CLAIMS THAT THE POLICY “CLEARLY STATE SHOULD BE PAID”. YOU AS INDIVIDUALS PURCHASING THE INSURANCE SHOULD READ THE POLICY INSTEAD OF WAITING UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS AND ASSUMING SOMETHING IT IS COVERED. “FLOOD IS NOT COVERED UNDER A HOMEOWNERS POLICY” FLOOD INSURANCE IS REGULATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND CAN BE PURCHASED THROUGH COMPANIES LIKE STATE FARM. I GET SO TIRED OF PEOPLE EXPECTING SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. KNOW WHAT YOUR POLICY SAYS, KNOW WHAT IT COVERS AND DOESN’T COVER AND PURCHASE THE ADDITIONAL INSURANCE. THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT TO SAVE EVERY RED CENT AND NOT PAY ARE GOING TO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. YOUR IGNORANCE IS YOUR GREATEST ENEMY, NOT STATE FARM. ALSO, STATE FARM IS A GREAT COMPANY, FAMILY ORIENTED, HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY PEOPLE WORK FOR THIS COMPANY AND WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON THAT. THOSE OF YOU WHO CHANGE INSURANCE COMPANIES OR SLANDER STATE FARM BEFORE YOU KNOW ALL OF THE FACTS (OR LACK OF) ARE NOT HURTING STATE FARM BUT YOURSELVES. BELIEVING THINGS YOU HEAR WITHOUT ALL THE EVIDENCE IS WHAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA TODAY. WE CAN’T THINK FOR OURSELVES.

I work in a State Farm agent’s office. We insured a man who never, ever paid his bills on time. We would always call him when his premiums were past due so his coverage wouldn’t lapse. One day, he let it go too long and his VW Bug policy lapsed. His daughter then totalled it. We had every right to deny this man his claim but because we are a “good neighbor” we still paid it. $20K to replace the vehicle. He turned right around and left to go to a sub-standard carrier because his rates increased. We felt cheated by this man, we did so much for him and he never even said thank you. I don’t know of many insurance companies that would do this for their clients.
I can’t believe people are going so far as to cancel their SF policies because they assume this story is true.

I’ve been with State Farm over 25 years and have always been treated fairly. All claims were taken care of in a timely fashion and they have always gone out of their way to assist us. 17 years ago we had just purchased a house in Illinois for $40,000. During the first month of ownership we were out of town for a few days and a water fixture in the main bath broke flooding the entire house and basement. State Farm took care of it, put us up for the 3 months it took to put the house back together, spent far more on repairing the property than we had paid for it and assured us all would be taken care of then and for ever. And It Was!! I have to wonder why stories of good experiences are never told in the press – buess it must not make for good headlines…..

Some of the tract builders who generate the most complaints, as well as fines from the federal government, are being allowed to rebuild New Orleans. KB Home is one of the main developers involved, and has been fined by the FTC and HUD for issues ranging from predatory lending, high number of defaults, shoddy construction, breach of warranty, and abusive arbitration practices.
After the hurricanes, & the denial of insurance claims, the last thing this region needs is shoddy new construction with an illusory warranty.
Shame on the govt officials who didn’t “do their homework” before approving the builders who are going to be building thousands of new houses there.

State Farm tips on claims…from their website.
Look for potential safety risks. Take reasonable steps to correct them.
Take reasonable steps to prevent further damage.
Keep an accurate record of your repair expenditures.
Separate items that may be cleaned and/or repaired.
Check with your claim representative before you discard any items you plan to claim as damaged.
Review your policy for specific coverage information.

These allegations are nothing but garbage. I was a State Farm catastrophe manager and am now an independent adjuster. There is no better insurance company to work for or be insured by. We paid every red cent that was owed. But if it is not covered, it’s not covered. State Farm is a great company! Don’t let these two women and a biased group like ABC news mislead you.

Two years ago, Florida got hit with several Tropical Storms & hurricanes (do Frances, Jeanne, etc. ring a bell?). Our homeowners ins. was with Allstate – we had no claims & our policy was paid up-to-date. However, we received a letter telling us that our policy was ‘not being renewed’ (i.e. dropped). No explanation, just one month to scramble around during hurricane season to try and find another insurance carrier. State Farm not only sold us a policy, but increased our coverage and lowered our premiums. They are one of the few insurers out there willing to take a gamble on those of us in the hurricane belt – and I fear that witch-hunts like this could cause them to pull out.
Oh, and by the way, anyone who lives in hurricane areas has been told that flood damage isn’t covered by Homeowners Insurance! It’s not like there have never been floods here before. We aren’t in a specific ‘flood zone’ but still have made the investment in the Federal flood insurance.

I live in Florida. If you want to see an insurance MESS come here. Some who have never had a problem with insurance companies probably live in states where they’re not allowed to get away with murder. All water dammage is NOT caused by flood and you idiots defending the insurance companies should know that! Hurricanes are high winds and rain. Lots of rain. I’m in an area that doesn’t flood, but what happened to many during hurricane Ivan was roofs dammaged by wind and or falling trees which let in the rain, so some people ended up with maybe a foot of water in the house. This is what the insurance companies are refusing to pay and it’s wrong. These homes didn’t “flood” because the creek rose, or storm surge, the water dammage is because of RAIN! which wouldn’t have gotten in the house if the roof hadn’t been dammaged! According to my insurance agent, flood insurance doesn’t cover this kind of dammage because it doesn’t fit the defination of “flood” meaning it’s not storm serge and not due to rising water.

Right on Comrades! Down with State Farm and Personal Responsibility!

I’ve had three major claims with State Farm and I couldn’t be happier with them. I’ve been with them for 14 years and have no problem continuing. My dad was an adjuster back in the day so I knew exactly what was and wasn’t covered when I bought my policies. I know every word of the fine print and know exactly what it covers and what it doesn’t. Because Hugo came through my hometown, I now have flood insurance even though it’s very unlikely that I’ll ever need it. Did it cost? Not as much as you think as all of my policies are with them so I have a massive discount.
People- READ YOUR POLICIES!!! Know exactly what is covered or be prepared for the consequences. Any water damage that I get is covered because I bought the correct policy.

As a former insurance adjuster, and a State Farm insured, I can’t begin to tell you how many false and inflated claims that I have looked at. Like the old say’s goes, it’s okay to cheat the insurance company and the government. You whiners should have learned to read while you were offered the oppertunity to, i.e. school.

How nice two idiots who were run out of the catastrophe operation by more than one company, now carry this weak and unsubstantiated storey to ABC on the wings of one of the most crooked attorneys in our history. Wonder how much old Dickey Scruggs is paying these two losers? If anyone fails to agree with a claim decision, hire your own engineer. Wind-covered. Flood, driven by wind or not, is not covered. Notice the picture on this story, smiling-faced disgruntled claims person wearing a SF coat in the middle of the summer- publicity stunt and yellow journalism at its best. If people really understood the real motivation behind 99% of all claim representatives is to pay and close a claim that stays closed. There is no incentive to deny a loss. Most claim reps work very hard to FIND coverage. No company in the industry pays claim professionals any more or less based on claim indemnifications. Generally, the consumer pays on the back end by higher premiums as claim payments increase. Therefore, a PROPERLY handled loss (translation-paying the COVERED damages) results in a more affordable and attainable product for us all.

This is nothing new for State Farm. I know from dealing with them myself and also talking to others, that they are extremely helpful as long as they are on the receiving end, but put in a claim against them and its a different story. You better have a good lawyer.

People continually assume wrongdoing when they don’t get an answer they want.
What happened to the time when people took responsibility for their decisions? Everyone had the opportunity to purchase flood insurance, and they didn’t. Why should everyone else have to pay.
I am sick and tired of the general public blaming everyone else for their bad decisions!
Does anyone seriously believe that a large company like state farm can bring in shredder trucks, shred damaging documents out in the open, and not get caught??
Please!?

I’ve been a State Farm employee or agent for more than 14 years, and no one has ever asked me to give a policyholders anything less than every penny they have coming to them, based on their policy. I wouldn’t put any stock in this story, this is ABC News, and I would strongly encourage everyone to spend a little more time with your agent discussing what is and is not covered by your policy.

Their claim: A large insurance company and industry leader was stupid enough to push independent adjustors to help cheat their customers during a major catastrophe, knowing this would potentially open them up to legal problems and bad press. If you believe that I don’t know what else to say.

After reading all of the above I have come to the conclusion that most homeowners are crooked, fraudulent, and dishonest. hows that for a take on this discussion.
Let me put this as simply as I can if you live within ten feet above the level of any body of water be it a river, a lake or the ocean and you don’t have flood insurance your stupid. More so since most flood costs about a $1.00 a day.

Folks: I’m not a huge fan of corporate America: nearly everything they do contravenes the most basic principles of the Republic. I am thus dubious enough to READ contracts I sign, to ask questions if I don’t understand a provision, and to insist on answers and accountability. Key points to remember:
1. Only the Fed pays flood claims, period.
2. Due to claims fraud, the insurance companies have instituted tests, checks and balances to prevent fraudulent claims: I believe after all the major disasters that have occurred since, and including 9/11, there have been numerous stories of claims filed, and collected, by people who were not even in the SAME STATE as the event!
3. We have inculcated a national entitlement mentality, that we are owed a job, perfect health and perfect security from cradle to grave. If we don’t get what we want, right now, we stomp our McDonald’s fattened feet and scream for a lawyer, then denounce lawyers as greedy opportunists.
I’ve seen numerous statements here demanding intervention by the government. What profession comprises the largest number of legislators? Anyone? You in the back. Yes, that would be lawyers. Therefore, do you really think they’re going to drive their business off a cliff by legislating themselves out of business? No, of course not, and such legislation would never pass muster since it would abridge your right to seek legal redress. If you’ve been following the discussions, all of this comes back to one thing, that is the inalienable right of citizens of our Republic to assume responsibility for their own destiny. Remember: READ the contract, ask questions, do your research. To hold your own in a system dominated by legal Machiavellians, you must learn to think like them. Try it. It’ll be fun.

insurance isn’t a savings account, just because you’ve been paying money doesn’t mean you can withdraw it at any time with a claim.
Homeowners insurance is a contract within the contract there are certain things that are covered and certain things that are not.
The government has decided to provide flood insurance (of course you still have to pay for it) but if damages were caused by flood then a normal insurance policies don’t cover it, it is unfortunate that many people along the coast did not apply for flood insurance with the government. But that is NOT state farms fault or allstate or farmers or anyone elses.
I lived in a flood plain once and my mortgage company required me to have flood insurance.
people want the luxury of living on the coast without the cost…

The CEO Of State Farm is close friends with George Bush.
The country and State Farm run the same way.

oh,by the way, mold isn’t covered either. let’s cover that too. if you are at risk of a storm surge get FLOOD INSURANCE, DAH

Good job Fred (posted @ 6:12). Finally, the voice of reason…..

When you are called to jury duty, serve. When you hear that case and you wonder why the defendant or insurance company says they are not liable or that the plaintiff was not hurt, remember this story.
Payback’s a bitch.

Whether it is State Farm or whomsoever, there is no real difference in the way these insurance companies will operate to defraud policy holders with rightful claims. Insurance is and always has been a scam, with life insurance being perhaps the greatest scam of all excluding religion, which promises something you can never sue for to collect if you don’t receive it.
Insurance carriers will stiff small policy holders, pay off corporations who have already collected more than their share in FEMA funds, and then declare huge losses that are nothing more than chinese accounting. Then they will stiff policy holders worldwide to cover these phony paper losses..
Its a no win situation for loss payees, and a huge win for stockholders and management. Watch the bonuses and other perks upper management of these companies receive in the next two or so years..
Don’t ask for regulation to correct it, in insurance companies own the regulators, just like power companies do. And we all know how those benevolent public monopolies have stiffed us.
Tai Pan

I used to work for State Farm as a claim rep, I was never told not to pay a claim or was told to change a report. I worked Storm Duty after Frances and wrote hundreds of checks to people. If they did this then they should be held accountable, if not then let it be. Let all the facts come out before you judge.

From a Florida adjuster friend who worked in the NO area for State Farm:
HALF the ADJUSTERS quit the FIRST week because of State Farm’s questionable practices. They provided direction everyday for limiting policy coverages. Many adjusters could NOT take it. He personally witnessed 20-30 adjusters leaving the building in TEARS stating “I cannot do this to these people!” They made it almost impossible for them to process the claims properly.That is just some of the story.

I have had three major nightmares with this company — including the fact that I will walk with a cane for the rest of my life, in constant pain, due to having been rear-ended by a car owned by the company — which they’d ‘totalled out’, but allowed the ‘owner’ to continue driving (long enough to drive it into MY car) After they’d made settlement with her, paid her, and had it signed over to them.
As bad as that nightmare was, one of the OTHER nightmares is even MORE ov a blood-pressure raiser for me. Unfortunately, I am prohibited from giving any details due to a ‘settlement’ I was forced to sign, after my ‘good neighbor’ insurer hung me out to dry, rendering the ink in my policy WORTHLESS.
So, why do I stay with them? Two reasons. First, IMO any other company would be just as, ahem, ‘honest’ as another, and second, it galls them to NOT have me slink into the shadows after having experienced first hand the quality service they provide.
Your laugh for the day: My first agent with this company had a little poster on the wall in his office. It said that the key to success is sincerity — and once you’ve learned to fake THAT, you’re set.

Pretty simple. If you don’t pay for flood insurance and you get flooded…then you are screwed. Some of these are the same people that refused to leave then our Coast Guard had to risk their lives to save them. These are the same people screaming for the Government to take care of them. Why? Because they have depended on them their entire lives.
Here is the scoop…No one owes you anything in life. If you move into a bowl…there is some risk. If you don’t leave when you are told to…don’t cry when it all hits the fan. Don’t expect your local/state/federal government to take care of all your needs. It’s a shame these folks hadn’t learned to stand on their own two feet. They would be better adapted to do so now. This is why it’s called a NATURAL disaster. Nature-1 Man-0. No one caused this and it’s going to take a lot of time to fix it. I personaly think they are nuts for wanting to build in the bowl again. If I were an insurance company, I would refuse to insure any idiot that would move back in that hole.

“should they read and understand how their policy will be changed by a crook at the company?”
BINGO, we have a winner!
In my case, they went so far as to say that they’d cover OTHERS in our situation in the FUTURE, since the policy did say what it said — but as for us, we were hung out to dry. They were NOT going to cover OUR claim — a claim that was clearly COVERED by our policy.
When my wife complained to the Nice Man at the office, he LAUGHED at her, and said, “Go ahead, sue me, I’M INSURED!”
Since there wasn’t enough “big bucks” to interest a lawyer (working on contingency), and since we couldn’t afford to pay out-of-pocket legal fees, we were screwed.
Words cannot convey my disgust for the entire industry. The more regulation, the better. They need to be put on as short a leash as possible. And I say this as a free-market CONSERVATIVE.
The industry has abused the power it’s appropriated to itself. Since it is apparently incapable of policing itself, it needs to be HEAVILY regulated.

State Farm was one of the first insurance companies to send their Catastrophe teams to the front line. They follow the guidelines of the policy and all anyone has to do is read their policy to see what is covered. It is really a no brainer!! Yes it was a tragedy that happened and many were affected by it but it doesn’t change the fact that if you live in a known area that is bound to have flooding and don’t have the coverage to protect yourself then you have no one to blame but yourself. I’ve had State Farm for many years and they’ve always been quick to pay my claims and were always fair. You can always find cheaper insurance than State Farm but you get what you pay for. USAA is one of the worst to pay claims!! If I am going to have insurance it will be State Farm because they have always been there for me and everyone I know that has State Farm.

Why does everyone feel like this is “insuracare” from the movie “incredibles”. We see every day news that is designed to show how the public is getting screwed by the government. Screwed by Big Oil. Screwed by the Drug Companies. This is quite frankly the absolute most RETARDED news story ever conceived. Here is what I got out of this article. 1. They hired 2 independant adjustors to handle claims that much faster. I’m sure that this part was reported. 2) There is a huge shredding truck, shredding documents. WOW! There’s the “smoking gun”. Ever hear of “IDENTITY THEFT”.
Seriously, people, think. Why would the largest property and casualty insurer on the biggest stage under the biggest microscope try and screw people when they need ‘em most? But I’m sure it’s all true because it was reported on the news.

Two non- State Farm employees decide to get their 15 minutes of fame. My family member is one of the hundreds of volunteers at State Farm who go down to all these disaster areas. He is gone for 6 to 8 weeks at a time working 12 hour days, seven days a week. According to him it’s the opposite policy than these two so called whistle blowers state. It’s drummed into their heads over and over again, If we owe the claim we pay it. According to him the customer gets the benefit of the doubt.

In Denver State Farm is refusing to pay claims in one condominium bldg. for water damage which other insurance companies are paying.
State Farm said they would pay the claim only if it was shown that the homeowner did not take action to stop the leak immediately when informed. When such documents were produced, they backed off that statement and still refused to pay.
The Homeowners in the condo building will be forced to file a lengthy class action suit. Why would anyone DO BUSINESS WITH STATE FARM?
The documents which ABC news said were erroneously sent to the policyholder are a smoking gun!

Katrina is no one’s fault. It was a natural disaster. If you read the writings of Nostradamus, there in code, which goes vertically are the letter that spell New Orleans. It was meant to happen to New Orleans. It is a immoral, sleazy city with a lot of bad things going on. It was meant to wiped out by God. Just as the first time the world was wiped out by God, because of sinful behavior. I do feel for the good people. But, people in New Orleans clean up your act and read the ten commandments. The rules God made for everyone to follow by through life. The government you blame is also saving your ass, with billions of dollars. Have a little gratitude!

49% of the people filing insurance claims are morons and couldn’t take care of themselves if they tried. All semblance of self-sufficiency has been bred out of them by government schools. The other 51% are to some extent filing fraudulent claims or uncovered claims. They do not read their policies. They have no clue what is covered and what is not. They build/buy sub-standard homes in low wetland areas that should never have been built in the first place. 364 days per year they whine that insurance premiums are too high. When they get hit by the inevitable storm it is all someone else’s fault. Quit whinning. Get out and fix the damage and go on with your lives.

STATE FARM, LIKE AMERICA, GETS AWAY WITH IT BECAUSE 90% OF AMERICANS ARE LAZY AND DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN GOVERNMENT. STUPID LAZY PEOPLE ALWAYS GET SCREWED BY BIG COMPANIES AND GOVERNMENT.
GET MAD, GET CONTROL…OR STAY LAZY AND STUPID. SHAME BUT TRUE!!

This is for the people who wonder why people live in flood prone areas. The government put many Air Force, Navy, Marine bases next to the water, shipyards are where there is water, many colleges are close to the water, where are the ports located? It is people that work and support these places, so before picking on where people live, get the businesses to move and so will the people.

Am I the only one to notice the guy’s name is actually “Drinkwater?”

Brilliant!!
What the world needs now, is whistleblowers, sweet whistleblowers.
There are countless people in this country who out of fear avoid being heroes.
These women are heroes, and that should settle the question of womens’ role in society.
Where men destroy, all too often wonderful women come to the rescue of us all. Maybe what we all need right now is some serious mother love.

Whatever happened to personal responsibilty? If you are going to buy property in a flood zone or hurricane zone, then you should have flood insurance.
I believe the government should make flood insurance mandatory in flood zones so taxpayers don’t have to bail them out. The flood insurance bill should be included in the property tax bill. If you don’t pay your flood insurance bill, the county sells your house.

Remember: This is unproven!

Rick, if you had insurance that long with State Farm they would not have cancelled you over one comp claim. If you’d had a new policy, within the first 6 months, if you have a claim over $750, they have the right to cancel.
I know. I’m an agent.

I am willing to bet that the people who are complaining are the same ones who were to busy to meet with their agent when he called to sit down and review their policy.
For every bad story like this there are 10,000 who where saved by having State Farm. Of course the media won’t run those happy stories now will they?

I have been a State Farm Agent for over 20 years. My only complaints against the company have been for paying TOO much – for things I thought we did not owe. As several adjusters have stated, they are instructed to find any way possible to pay for the loss. They do an excellent job.
In 1999 a client called saying he thought he might have a sinkhole threatening his home. (It was an old home, without a concrete foundation and he found some cracks in the walls.) We filed the claim and the claim office hired an engineer to check it out. Engineer said it was not a sinkhole. The client hired his own engineer. Guess what! Their engineer said it was a sinkhole.
State Farm paid the face amount of the policy, in addition to additional living expense for a rental home until the claim could be settled and my client could find a place to live.
Fast forward to 2006. Guess what! There is now a NEW HOME sitting on top of that “sinkhole.”
You see, the first engineer was correct after all. There was no sinkhole.
Interestingly enough, as a couple of posters have already mentioned, State Farm’s market share ALWAYS INCREASES after a catastrophe hits an area.
I wonder why?
We are LIMITED in the number of homes we can insure. (Of course, if insurance was such a rip-off, then we would want all the homeowner polices out there.)
So, as for you whiners who say you are going to cancel your SF policies – PLEASE DO SO. I would much rather do business with people who have common sense.

what do you call 8 feet of water in your home?
hmmm………..let me think for a sec……….a flood???
oh silly me………
how could i be so dumb as to not think 8 feet of water in my home is not considered a flood by my insurance company because it did not come in the form of rain from the sky?
because it was a storm surge and broken levees it is not considered a natural flood!!
and our government can’t do anything about this??
please!!!!!!!!!!!!

I read some of these comments by the people who are complaning that they are paying the bill for the people who live in the path of hurricanes. Every state in the union has it’s natural disasters. I.E. Hail,wind, tornados,wild fires, lightning, floods and earthquakes-ect.When any these happen we all pay— the insurance compaines see to that in the form of rate increases.I had a waterfront home in coastal MS.I paid a anual homeowners premium of $2400,a flood insurance premium of $400,and my policy had a additional 2% deductable for “hurricane damage”.I paid thru the nose for my insurance coverage.My home is now gone,eyewitnesses who stayed in the neighborhood during the Katrina, testified under oath that the homes were destroyed by the wind before the water rose.Weather reports show numerious tornados in the area,wind gusts near 150MPH.Engineering reports by a private”honest” company agree that the homes were destroyed bu the wind.State Farm AKA snake farm was quick to pay out the flood because it was Uncle Sam’s money they were spending.Not a penny of my homeowners was offered.I retained a attorney,they laughed at his letter demanding payment.I now do not want a settlement I want my day in court in front of a jury,I want my homeowners payment,loss of use money,attorney fees and any other “bad faith”damages that i am entitiled to.I ask the folks out there to do them selfs a favor and switch their insurance coverage to any one except State Farm,they are truly a bunch of snakes.If you are insured with SF and have a major claim-you will be out of luck.

“I guess all those photos of houses covered in water were doctored by GWB. If you morons can afford premium cable, PS2, Xbox etc., than use your welfare, section 8, WIC, food stamp and the medicade/medicare money savings to buy the right insurance…oh yeah, and shut up.”
And maybe one day you and the other arrogant fools on this blog will find out what it’s like to suffer a disaster, and then you’ll shut your ignorant mouths. It’s very revealing that the only people mentioning GWB on these postings are knocking down straw men and issuing ad hominem attacks against people they don’t even know.

We were State Farm customers for 20 years, and they treated us quite fairly.

I personally worked for State Farm and have seen internal memos and announcements that stated they were raising mandatory deductibles, etc., in various parts of the country so that they DID NOT HAVE TO PAY CLAIMS. They made promises to their employees on paper that were denied in the privacy of a one-on-one conference. We had a male claims manager who was caught in a compromising position in a conference room with a female employee — Guess what? He was promoted and she was fired. You do not know the half of the stuff that goes on in this company.

If you’re ex-military, go with USAA, they’re great.
Sometimes they almost make me feel bad, falling all over themselves to do the right thing for me.
I hate insurance companies. They love getting the money, but when it comes time to part with it, they’ll fight you tooth and nail.

I am just glad to hear something about the Gulf coast instead of always New Orleans and their brave mayor.

Finally! Someone looking into the practices of State Farm. In 1990 our family home was vandalized and set on fire. State Farm insisted we rummage through burned clothing, charred furniture and catalog everything, even socks! then they never even looked at the bags (all needed to be seperated, white, colored, linen) then would only pay item for item. I could go on for an hour about the mistreatment my family underwent at the hands of State Farm. In the end we were forced to go to mediation and ultimetly lost out home. Hurray for you sisters for standing up for what is right.

Kerri and Cori Rigsby, these beautiful women should be given the TIME man/person of the year award.
They helped expose something that a large percentage of blue collar hard working Americans have always known – that the insurance industry as a whole is nothing more than legalized theft.

I am disappointed in reading this bickering on this board. If agents of State Farm did as the charges allege, they should be dealt with. There are both crooked and helpful people in any organization. I can say that people are naturally skeptical and resentful of insurance companies because of various bad experiences in the past. I can also say that insurance companies are increasingly burdened by irresponsible people who sue when a traffic signal doesn’t have the right shade of green.
Blaming President Bush is also futile. Sure, he’s probably responsible, but let’s deal with him after we’ve solved the problems in New Orleans. Blaming him doesn’t help any homes get built faster and doesn’t help the millions of people who were displaced by the storm. I personally think he should have been more proactive, and I think the evidence has all but established that. Yeah, Michael Brown was the fall guy. Yeah, Bush was briefed fully early on. Let’s put those in the distance and make some progress.
The partisan blame game seems to have truly clouded some people’s judgement. I encourage everyone to do what they can to help the victims. I donate to my church’s aide program, and have actually run a supply drive in my area. People are truly desperate down there, and they need our help. We have two options: we can choose to help them and put any beliefs aside temporarily or we can stick to our beliefs and “let them eat cake.” I know what I choose. I hope my fellow Americans make the same choice

The Insurance Adjustment is a flute. Just from watching the 20/20 video, you could see the slab anchor bolts are bent. Would rising water distort them, of course not. They had to be bent from the force of WIND. I’m no engineer, just using common sense. Come on State Farm – pay up on the evidence that is apparance.

All insurance is a rip off…we are with a different insurance company and have a separate rider on our policy to cover our electronic equipment since we live in an area prone to lightning…this rider’s premium cost is figured at a higher rate than our regular home owner’s policy, but we felt it was worth the extra cost to cover our equipment. Well, after a few years, lightning took out our VCR and a component of our satellite system, when we tried to submit a claim, we were told that if we did so, our premium would be increased or we would run the risk of being dropped all together by our insurance company. So I ask you, what do we pay insurance premiums for?

Just to get things clear. Not only was State Farm the first insurance company to show up in most areas (often times by several weeks), they also arrived and began helping customers before FEMA or the Red Cross in some instances. Just because people fail to read legal contacts that they sign (the insurance policy) does not mean an insurer is “cheating” or “screwing” people. It’s time people in this country step up and are accountable for thier responsibilities.

I know everyone really would like to blame or attack State Farm over this story, but it really was short and vague on the details. Most of the allegations were thrown out there and addressed as unproven opinions. I know that State Farm and most insurance companies want to pay what the policy covers.

Katrina Victims are not the only ones that are being Cheated by State Farm. It is happening in Michigan too. My family lost everything the house, clothes, and item that can never be replaced. Due to Toxic Mold that was caused by State Farm not allowing use to do tempory repairs to fix the water leak in the roof that was caused by Ice Damns. Ice Damns were covered on our policy. We left our home with 3 changes of clothes each and had to start all over. Thanks to State Farm. We had been fighting them in court over 6 years. There are many other families in Michigan that are still facing this. WATCH OUT!!! State Farm will cheat you out of whatever they can and if you take them to court they will try and drag it out as long as they can. Just so you will give up on fighting them. Please don’t give up. This company needs to be put in its place and CLOSED DOWN!!!

I would like to see these investigations go further.Please let all the families know there is power in numbers. They need to keep fighting for the homes they deserve and to keep it from happening to others this way!! We had a similar situation. Our house burned in 2002. Our insurance company – good ole State Farm. Needless to say 2 years and a few thousand dollars in attorney fees later ,we are finally back in our house. My heart goes out to all those who pay so much money for coverage only to find out they have a lot more to weather than the hurricanes, fires and floods. State Farm took so much more than our premiums. They keep you from getting your life back. God bless all who are dangling from the threads of state farm to get there lives back in order.

I am a General Contractor and have been dealing with these Ins. companies for years. Just saw you show on State Farm and how they riped off these poor people. I have found if these people when they can, have a General Contractor repersent them, let the general contactor deal with the adjuster, I promise you they would not get by with all the things they have done to these poor people. My company did a job right after the storm, it was a funeral home, the adjuster came out, took a few pictures, told them they could get started any time, no money just get started. Finally a estimate finally came, still no money, roofing leaking every time it rained. We went on a fixed the roof, chapel ruined!!! When the amount came, I reviewed the statement and found they were over $20,000.00 short!!! It took me over 3 months to get the extra money. My point is, the insurance companies have three different prices, one for the niave homeowner, one for the homeowner that knows a little bit and then the price when the homeowners say “I have a General Contractor!!! If people knew how bad they are being ripped off by these insurance people,you would really have one hell of a story to tell. At the present, I am working on another such issue. My point is, you need to be represented by someone(General Contractor) when you have a large claim. You will get the money you deserve from the insurance company, not what they want to gice you!!! Thank you, Larry

This is a criminal conspiracy. The executives of this company should be prosecuted under RICO and thrown in jail.
When a guy steals a car, he goes to jail. When these insurance executives steal millions they get bonuses.

We saw this with our house in Bay St. Louis. We were told by a contracting Adjustor for State farm that he saw so much fraud that he quit his position. He submitted our claim 3 times before he gave up. We had Wind, Homeowners and Flood. We were covered. Not many of home owners down there had coverage. We had it and we were lucky. We finally got paid. Believe me, we were surprised.
Then there is the story of the Donut shop accros from the Waveland police department.
A large number of Policemen, hanging on to the little shrub outside the police department, watched the donut shop be blown down by the wind.
The little shrub will be forever enshrined of because it saved the lives of many policemen that day.
The insurance company said the damage to the donut shop was caused by flooding. They would not pay the claim. Imagine the lawsuit,(which I hope happens.) when the 20+ policemen testify to what they saw…….
And the poor guy is so busy taking care of everyone else that he has not done anything for himself. Everyone down there will know exactly who I am talking about. I don’t need to name him.
Just remember, what goes around, comes around. The insurance companies will be remembered.

I’m not at all suprised at state farm they have been doing this for years. In the seventies after we were hit from behind while sitting at a red light, totaling our car ,and sending me to the hospital. our state farm rep. lied to us ,telling us we were signing papers to release funds the man paided,not signing away our rights. IF THEY DO THERE OWN POLICY HOLDERS THAT WAY BACK THEN, I’m not at all surprised they do it today!

You people are morons. I am reading about people cancelling their insurance at the smell of a story. What about the other insurance companies completely pulling out of danger areas like New Orleans – All State anyone? Independents do not have the kind of access to information that these two are claiming. Doesn’t it sound pretty stupid of State Farm to pull up a big shredding truck right out side their office and destroy huge amounts of data. And just because paper data was destroyed you don’t think there are electronic back-ups. There is so much regulation in the insurance industry you keep as much proof as you can as to why you did or didn’t pay for something. Media only covers the dramatic. It is too bad the only people that decide to respond are the people who claim to have had a bad experience – WOW sorry you were too stupid to read you own policy and know what was covered. Insurance companies are reimbursed from the federal goverment for flood claims and are forced to sell flood policies as a result. What does it hurt them if they pay flood to people who have it when they are reimbursed.

Jeff- State Farm didn’t save anyone, ever. Just ask around.

Why should the rest of us subsidize people to live in flood-prone areas. We should not have to pay for other people’s stupidity.

I am a forty-three year agent with this company and I have never seen something like this happening to a policyholder in all my career. I don’t live on the coast, but we have had a lot of weather claims. I always stay on top of all claims and make sure that the policyholder gets what is coming to him. I was shocked at the expose’ on ABC 20-20 tonight. I just hope this information presented is not true.

The tale of another tape, playing the same mournful lyric: Once again, the lawyers have it all, both ways, in creating the mess and the subsequent litigation.
Rack’em up boys…State Farm did not do this alone, their legal counsels guided them every step of the way – just like they did at Enron, Sunbeam and MCI, if anyone paid attention.
Say it ain’t so…
- Flavious, Esq.

State Farm is the only major carrier left along the coast. Everyone else has left the area. While Scruggs continues to line his pockets, you morons and naysayers continue to believe everything you hear and read. The only constant here is State Farm -paying what we owe – not one dollar less, not one dollar more.

While I feel sympathy for many who live in the Gulf Coast and feel that this is a terrible tragedy, one should remember that policy holders must read their policies. You must determine what is covered by your policy before a disaster strikes! For example, I live in an earthquake zone, which would not be covered by my homeowner’s insurance. Additional coverage would need to be taken out to cover my home in the event of an earthquake. This holds true for those in hurricane prone areas that require flood insurance. State Farm is owned by the policy holders and has no reason to short change those on the Gulf Coast. However, everyone loves a good “stick it to the big company” story. How terrible! I have had State Farm Insurance for years and would never consider switching. For those who are displeased, you have a choice in insurance.

I know Cori and Kerri VERY well. It is interseting that Cori used her maiden name. I worked with them during this time period as an independent adjuster. They have many good qualities, and a few that are not so good. Without boring you with the details, I would like to say that they do have personal issues with State Farm and employees of that company (as well as other companies). This has clouded their judgement before and did so during their tenure at the catastrophe operations site. Its a shame that so many people comment on what they do not know. Listen carefully to the facts. Those that attack often do so with emotions, including in this forum. Those who can substantiate their position rarely need to be so heated up. I won’t reiterate what has been said regarding policy language, though some information was wrong in this forum. I will say, however, that judging this company with such one-sided arguments is as foolish as asking the devil if you should worship God. (NO, the accusers ARE NOT THE DEVIL, and BY NO MEANS IS STATE FARM GOD!!) Learn for yourself and find out why/if something happened before judging.

Lets take a step back—-you live 30 yards from the Gulf of Mexico and don’t carry flood insurance? Hmmmm….sure, why not try and blame it on someone…why not blame it on the insurance company. Ever heard of accountability?? Guess this will play out in the courts….hopefully ABC will run a follow up when State Farm prevails and the Rigby sisters are flipping burgers.

A few years ago there was a significant hail storm here in Kansas City area. We didn’t think much about it at the time, but State Farm called us to ask if they could come and take a look at our roof. 3 days later a check for $11000.
Thank God for State Farm

Now why doesn’t this suprise me? I filed a claim on one of their insured this month and they denied the claim before the police report was even done…and the their driver got the ticket for filing to yield the right of way from a private parking lot! I had to get a lawyer to settle this minimal claim…no wonder thier premiums are so high.

Strange that every response from insurance people is “you should have had flood insurance”. People are giving first hand accounts of houses burning down and car accidents. You guys are a joke!
Say the same lie enough times and the masses will believe it, Right!
Let’s be honest here, insurance companies are in the business of selling policies not paying claims.
My advice is invest in insurance companies. It works for Warren Buffett. If you don’t know who he is do a Google search.
I live on the water and my most inexpensive insurace policy is the flood coverage so cut the crap.
I’m a contractor and all my customers that are fighting their insurance companies for roof and interior damage from the hurricane in my area have the same thing in common, State Farm! Go figure.
And for those of you upset because you think you are subsidizing my lifestyle because I live on the water, get a grip. This is the least of your problems. If you can’t afford waterfront property just enjoy what you have and don’t be jealous.

When the president says mandatory evacuation it also includes black people. and no one is an african american you are either american or not.If you choose NOT to leave you get whats coming period.Flood is exculded on any homeowner policy, but “wind driven precipitation is covered. No wind no surge. its a tough call, but a contract is a contract. if you dont read yours….too bad so sad…it’s always caviat emptor

I am a 23 year State Farm Insurance policyholder and also an 18 year State Farm employee and Agent. I was appalled but not surprised at the completely biased and one sided nature of your report. To take the word of two independent adjusters and a plaintiff’s attorney without any corroborating evidence is very discouraging. State Farm is not just some secret corporate entity, State Farm is 17,000 Agents like myself. State Farm is all of the mem and women that work in these offices and State Farm is the 50,000 plus employees that are present and active in communities all over this country.
I have read all of these comments and there are a lot of valid points on each side of the issue but let me say this. I have worked in claims as an adjuster and in management and not one time in my 18 years have I ever been asked to do anything immoral, unethical or illegal. I would hope that the next time that you use a television show to slander the names and good deeds of over 100,000 people that you would do a little more homework and use a little better judgement. Fair and balanced is how the media is supposed to operate and unfortunately in this case that did not happen.

ABC’S 20/20 MISCHARACTERIZES
STATE FARM’S CLAIMS-HANDLING PROCESS
Bloomington, Illinois, August 25, 2006 – State Farm® is outraged by a misleading story aired on this evening’s ABC 20/20 program and by depictions made by two external independent claims adjusters, Cori Rigsby Moran and Kerri Rigsby. The story mischaracterizes State Farm’s claims handling process in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The ABC report alleged that engineering reports were altered to deny claims. “How the program characterized State Farm’s claims handling is grossly unfair,” said Susan Q. Hood, claims vice president, State Farm Insurance.
“The fact is that we sought engineering reports in about 1100 cases, less than two percent, of the more than 84,700 property claims that we handled in the state of Mississippi. We issued payments on more than 60 percent of those claims in which engineers were involved. And in the claims where engineers were involved, we paid far more on homeowner claims than we did on National Flood Insurance Program claims. To be precise, we paid more than $26.5 million in homeowner claims and only $3 million in National Flood Insurance Program claims.”
“This evening’s report inaccurately portrays State Farm’s claims handling policies and our commitment to our policyholders,” said Hood. “Our claims associates are committed to operating at the highest level of business and ethical standards. State Farm is committed to paying what we owe, promptly, courteously, and efficiently.”
In Mississippi, where the ABC story focused, State Farm paid out more than $1.1 billion in auto, homeowners, and commercial claims. It also paid out more than $790 million in national flood insurance claims for the federal government.
Less than two weeks ago, a federal court ruled that almost all of the damage caused to a coastal home in Pascagoula, Miss., was due to flood not wind. The vast majority of the claims in dispute are also situated along the coast.
In the segment, ABC’s Brian Ross shared documents (from among documents shared with Ross by Rigsby and Moran) with attorney Wayne Drinkwater, who represents State Farm in Mississippi, saying the documents demonstrated that there were conflicting engineering reports and that State Farm denied claims. One claim shown to Mr. Drinkwater belongs to a Biloxi, Miss., policyholder who, despite ABC’s and the two external independent claims adjusters’ assertions, did receive payment and has declared that he is satisfied with his payment and the way his claims were handled by State Farm.
The two women also alleged that State Farm had shredded documents. Like all other large companies and government entities, State Farm has a records management program, which among other things protects the privacy of its customers and appropriately maintains records for regulatory and tax purposes.
State Farm has tried to meet with the two women adjusters who appeared in the ABC 20/20 segment to discuss their concerns. They have refused to do so, despite repeated requests. They are represented by attorney Richard Scruggs.
State Farm handled more than 295,000 property claims and paid (not including payments made under the National Flood Insurance Program) more than $3.1 billion as a result of Katrina. Thousands of State Farm agents and employees from around the country and Canada joined the thousands of agents and employees who already live in the gulf to respond to these storms. “We dedicated these kinds of resources to handle and pay claims, not deny them.” said State Farm vice president Mike Fernandez.
State Farm has been working for months with, and providing documents to, the Mississippi Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s office and continues to cooperate with Mississippi and federal officials as they investigate these and other allegations.
“What’s so often ignored is that we have thousands of dedicated people, some of whom suffered their own losses at the hand of Hurricane Katrina, who have worked extremely hard in a professional and ethical way to resolve each claim consistently and in accordance with our policies and our commitment to our policyholders,” said Hood.
State Farm is a mutual insurance company, not a publicly-traded company. It has been the largest insurer of cars in the U.S. since 1943 and the largest insurer of homes since 1964. It also offers a number of other financial services.
State Farm Insurance

I would need to see the evidence before I would jump in and believe these two ladies story. Sounds to me like they have an ax to grind somewhere. Perhaps they were trying to inflate claims to inflate their service charges, and got caught? Could it be they have been promised a hefty payment by Lawyer Scruggs? Stranger things have happened.

Insurance companies are nothing more than legalized Mafia. We trustingly pay our premiums on time with the so-called assurance that if something happens, insurance covers the loss. Whether it’s from Katrina, a fire, or earthquake, insurance companies are creative and inventive in finding ways to keep their promise. Insurance companies are not there for us, they are there for the money.

Ok is this news, we have an example of a bad insurance company.
What would be newsworthy ? If you tell us an example of a good insurance company. Tell us who the good ones are so we can all change our policies and reward the honest ones. Tell us the good stuff so we can learn for next time, not complain about this time.

I have just spent over an hour reading the comments posted on this site. I now understand why most of the rest of the world laughs at Americans when we travel.
We have become such a society of sheep. No one has the ability to think for themselves. It is much easier to listen to a “news” program (everyone knows 20/20 ranks right there with Nightline and CNN for non-biased reporting….right?) then to actually use our brains and THINK!!
Perfect example….If the Rigby’s were SOOO concerned about what State Farm was “making” them do, why didn’t they report this 6-8-10 months ago? Why now when the independant adjusters are scrambling TRYING to find work?
Why would a multi billion dollar company like State Farm risk the negative publicity, HUGE fines and possible government sanction to save a couple hundred thousand or even a couple of million dollars? They could conceivably be fined HUNDREDS of millions of dollars (and bet me that IF they are the Rigby’s won’t be the first in line with their hands out asking for their cut?)!!
I wonder how much 20/20 paid the Rigby’s for their “exclusive” story?
People, if nothing else this should teach you one thing…..READ your policy!! It’s a contract. Would you buy a car without reading the contract? Very simply put, surface water from the exterior of the building (ie. flood), whether driven by wind or not (ie. storm surge) is SPECIFICALLY excluded in most policies. Look at yours.
While I feel sorry for the people who lost everything, does that mean they should get “special” treatment and have coverage provided when their policy specifically excludes it? When they live 50 feet from the beach where there was a 40 ft. storm surge?
Every person on this site who thinks State Farm and all the other companies should pay no matter what….Don’t complain about your premium rates.
If you want to know what Gov’t insurance is like, ask the people of Florida with Citizens Policies. One half the coverage for twice the premium. Ask the people of Louisiana (where I live) who had a 30% surcharge on their premiums this year to reimburse the State of La. what they spent on the homes that had NO coverage.
You wanna leave State Farm….. Go for it. I am sure they won’t miss you at all.

THIS is why Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway is worth tens of thousands per share… outright theft lobbied for and delivered by his manservants.
Like a good neighbor eh?

My family went through Rita and SF took great care of us. We’ve been with them for 25 years and have always had proper treatment.

Agreed that insurance consumers need to understand their policies, and that insurers need to write policies because they cannot provide limitless coverage.
HOWEVER- Insurers are in the business of risk. Nonetheless, they are as risk-averse as the rest of Corporate America while pursuing ever-increasing profitability. Like casinos, they make money by taking in more money than they pay out. That is the goal. You are “in good hands” or with “good neighbors” only within the context of achieving this goal.

All insurance companies are like casinos. It’s rigged so that the house wins. The companies put down a bet…say $300…that your house won’t blow away. If you want in the game, you have to “call” the bet. And then next month, the company places the same bet, and again you have to call the bet…and every month it’s the same. Every month that your doesn’t blow away, the house wins. Isn’t that called “gambling”? Insurance companies are involved in illegal gambling under the guise that you must participate, or loose everything you have. They are forcing you to gamble. Like Bob Dylan said “When you ain’t got nothing, you ain’t got nothing to loose”. You also have nothing to insure…and the house looses.

The inter-net is a powerful tool so I challenge everyone reading this story to send it to everyone they know. The only was to get to the corporate giants in bad publicity. we owe it to the Katrina
victims. Because there will be more to come and they need to know when the time comes they have to pay-up or pay the consequences.

The general Public too often see a large Insurance company & think “make em pay”. Guess what, we ARE that company. The Policyholders will end up paying for any settlements the Insurance Companies have to pay. Does that make sence? Have you ever met Mr. Statefarm? The only people who gain from these type lawsuits and large settlements are the Attorneys. I have worked for many Insurance Companies (including State Farm)over the past 25 years as an Independent Adjuster (just like the 2 lady whistleblowers). And I have never been instructed to do anything dishonest or unfair. In fact, Every Storm I’ve been on, we were all instructed to “make sure you look for & include all the damage & give the Insured the benefit of the doubt”. Every Insurance Company I know of has reinsurance for catastrophic losses. They may have a $5 million deductible but they don’t stand to gain anything by cheating their Customers.
I have to wonder 1st, was the damage caused by a 10′ or greater wall of water which isn’t covered unless you have a flood policy. And 2nd, did the whistleblowers try to set the Company up for their own gain? They should know that shredding has become common practice with every Company that deals with public information, after the recent identity thefts. They seemed to be trying too hard to make a case.

After reading several of the postings, I could not help but notice a recurring theme that suddenly all insurance companies are money-sucking, fraud-ridden institutions. Indeed there are some very unethical companies out there which have given entire industries a bad name. Enron and the Arthur Anderson Accounting firm come to mind. However, that does not mean that all energy and accounting firms operate outside the law. Let’s face it – insurance is an undesirable product to purchase, so insurance companies are an easy target. But keep in mind that there are also plenty of ethical insurance companies out there. Sadly, these quiet companies who operate with integrity and honor their contracts are the ones that don’t make the headlines. The lesson learned here is to do your homework and research your insurance company. Each state department of insurance maintains complaint logs for all insurance companies. Find out who is reputable and switch. The lowest cost operators are not always the best.

Insurance Companies gamble that the policy premiums received will be less then the claims and expenses paid out. They complete exhaustive sudies and use actuarial matrices to just about guaranty their lucrative returns. In the case of KATRINA they lost their bet and must pay for their losses and be held accountable. If State Farm is guilty of the accusations made in the article then it suggests unjust enrichment. Furthermore, the promises made in the policys were made in bad faith and to the severe detrimental reliance of the customers. Additional punitive damages should be assessed against the insurance giant and allocated to those of us who have been injured for such gross misrepresentation. Simply put a fraud has been perpetuated against those of us who felt we were purchasing security and liabilty protection and bought nothing.

ALLEGATION: State Farm systematically cheated many of its own customers to avoid having to rebuild the homes of people who lost everything….Supervisors demanded that damage reports be buried, replaced or changed so that claims would not have to be paid.
FACTS:
State Farm handled more than 295,000 property claims and paid (not including payments made under the National Flood Insurance Program) more than $3.1 billion as a result of Katrina.
In Mississippi, where the ABC story focused, State Farm paid out more than $1.1 billion in auto, homeowners, and commercial claims. It also paid out more than $790 million in national flood insurance claims for the federal government.
ALLEGATION: State Farm used a special shredding truck. It was used to destroy key documents.
FACT:
Like all other large companies and government entities, State Farm has a records management program, which among other things protects the privacy of its customers and appropriately maintains records for regulatory and tax purposes.
ALLEGATION: State Farm put pressure on engineering firms to bring in the kinds of reports State Farm wanted…If it was water, State Farm was off the hook and if it was wind, State Farm had to pay. State Farm said, if you don’t come back with that kind of report, we won’t pay your bill.
FACTS:
We sought engineering reports in about 1100 cases, less than two percent, of the more than 84,700 property claims that we handled in the state of Mississippi.
We issued payments on more than 60 percent of those claims in which engineers were involved.
In the claims where engineers were involved, we paid far more on homeowner claims than we did on National Flood Insurance Program claims. To be precise, we paid more than $26.5 million in homeowner claims and only $3 million in National Flood Insurance Program claims.

Like a previous poster, I am surprised that Cori MORAN used her maiden name of Rigsby. I wonder what else she is saying that is untrue. Also interesting that they are represented by a guy who knows he has a $250,000 flood insurance cap, but builds a million dollar house in a flood plain anyway. Oh, it’s not covered? I guess I’ll just start a class action suit. Guess who wins in this folks….Dickie Scruggs. Who loses? All homeowners in the gulf when all the insurance companies pull out because of these fraudulant lawsuits. State Farm stayed when many others left. So use your head, and read your policy. And for all you Einsteins out there taking this story as gospel…get a clue. John Stossel? All he’s interested in is the Nielson rating, nothing else.

My adjuster for Hurricane Francis told me he quit State Farm the previous year, because they had him specialize in finding ways to NOT pay claims!!!!!
Everything you hear about State Farm is Absolutely TRUE!

State Farm has been amazing to me and my family; if I had to guess I would say they are shredding documents to protect my personal information from identity theft. (Which is the LAW)

State Farm should sue these two liars.

Please, America, think. What does 20/20 really sell? They are not interested in the *whole* truth. That’s called “boring news”. Focusing on anything illicit gets Americans to tune in. It’s why gossip mags and People magazine sell more than The Economist. 20/20 goes out of their way to try to get you to think that “the big bad insurance company” cheated all those poor Mississippians. Ask ten random Gulf Coast residents that had State Farm and I would bet you that they would tell you that of all the people that were supposed to help their local State Farm Agent were one of the few that came through. Maybe, just maybe, there is a sliver of truth to the three stories they aired. However, State Farm had paid over $1 Billion in hurricane claims in the region. That’s billion with a “B”. Why no mention of that? Why no mention that of all the claims that they handled only 2% (2% !!) had anything to do with an engineering report? Shows like 20/20 want to spoon-feed you to believe what they want you to believe. It’s working and it’s sad. Please, America, think. And, if you think big time trail lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs is all about helping his fellow man…think again. Ever wonder how much of the award trial lawyers get when they go after “big bad business”? Think, America. While you are questioning State Farm motives take just 5 minutes and question everyone else’s (including the adjusters who got their 15 minutes of fame last night).

State Farm in the BEST insurance out there! These two sisters I’m sure were paid off by 20/20 and that attorney Shruggs or whatever his name is…let’s talk about who the real “cash driven” crooks are! An insurance company that is under the constant microscope of the government and every state department of insurance or 2 sisters out of work and an attorney…also a TV show that is looking for high ratings. 20/20 will not say insurance companies are fair or state what good they have done when it comes to them seeking high TV ratings…just like the war in Iraq, the media will only report the “bad/bogus” for their own personal gain…it is a shame!

It’s easy to discern the intelligent responses from the people who just want to pile onto the insanity. Fact: Flood is not a covered peril under an HO policy. Insurance carriers have every right to determine the proximate cause of the damage whether it be wind or flood. I also agree with the people who complain that part of their insurance premiums are used to pay for those that want to live in high risk areas. In fact, I live in a normal neighborhood in the midwest and am required by the government to purchase flood insurance because my house supposedly sits on a flood plain that the odds of flooding are 1 in 100 years vs. the normal 1 in 500 years. This insurance isn’t cheap, and doesn’t cover squat. You can pay > $1,000 per year and your contents in the basement are not covered. And to the Bush Bashers – get lost. Our country will go to hell and back if any of the Clintons get back to the Oval Office. I can’t wait to read the blogs after Hillary sets up her national health insurance and you have to wait months to see the Doctor or a procedure is denied because it’s too expensive and you’re too old. Or you could re-elect Jimmy Carter and Al Gore and we could all go to a love in and hug trees.

Remember Allstate after the Northridge, CA earthquake? One engineer said he inspected about 40 homes yet his stamp appeared on over 600 reports. Adjusters came out and said the same thing was taking place. FBI raided Allstate’s headquarters with a search warrent. Nothing happened. The insurers own the government and are now making it almost impossible for their policy holders to sue them. They are calling for a special legislative session in Florida with the goal to stop people from being able to sue the insurers as their claim to “bring costs under control.” And as for Citizens Insurance, our last resort insurer, the ex-ceo of the insurance company just recently peaded guilty to demanding kickbacks from adjusters to issue contracts to go adjust the claims. He pleaded to accepting $145,000.00. How much do you think he actually got?
And our legislature, full of good Republicans, just lets it go on and on and on and on and on……….

I have never read such moronic statements in my life. No wonder we as a country are going down the tubes. Everyone is a victim and someone else has to pay. If you don’t want to “gamble” then don’t by insurance. That is what the people who did not buy flood insurance did and they lost. Now they want to blame everyone else and want their stupidity paid for even though they didn’t buy flood insurance. I bet they could afford the new plasma.
I bought a gallon of milk from my grocery store and it was sour. Let’s shut them down. The 2 X 4 I bought from Home Depot was warped. Let’s have a government investigation. Whine, whine whine. I took an aspirin for my headache and it didn’t go away. I need an attorney to sue Bayer and put them out of business.
All you people work for someone and the media can get your industry as well. In the minds of the “whiners” everyone is a crook but them? Ever hear about insurance fraud. How about all the people in New Orleans who defrauded millions from charities and FEMA.
Yeah, let’s close all the insurance companies and let the government run it like the Flood Program. What a bunch of sheep and morons are out there.

Many of you simply do not understand the nature of insurance. People pay premiums to share the risks of loss with others. In fact, most companies pay out about $1.20 for every $1 they take in. The insurance companies make their money by making wise investments. A mutual insurance company is owned by the policyholders not the stockholders so there in no pressure to make huge profits.
Belive me, if this was a story it would be carried by other news outlets. There was no proof offered. I am saddened that 20/20 would run with this story. They are not in the news business, they are trying to get ratings. This a case of a big time lawyer using the media to try to squeeze money out of big companies. Read the book “King Of Torts” you will learn a lot about Dickie Scruggs.

I used to work for State Farm’s Catastrophe team. The claims by these two women sound very bogus to me. Some of the people on this board may have had some bad experiences with SF (and some don’t understand insurance), but in my experience, SF has handled its claims in a highly ethical way and has paid out BILLIONS of dollars.
Everyone is quick to blame the big bad insurance companies, but when a disaster strikes, don’t forget that everyone else seems to try to make a buck. This includes contractors who descend on the ravaged area with inflated prices and shoddy work, attorneys who are trying to line their pockets (interesting these women are with Scruggs, who is Trent Lotts’ brother-in-law), and yes, policyholders who suddenly claim to own a lot more personal property than they actually did before the storm hit (the lottery-ticket mentality).
One of the previous posters was correct in that these offices are wide open. Which is exactly why I have a hard time believing that a team manager would demand reports be falsified in the presence of others. Trust me, no front-line supervisor is going to risk his or her job to do something illegal. No one wants to be on the stand trying to explain things while under oath.
These people are not getting a bonus based on how much they save the company. While it will take years to handle all of these losses, ultimately our goal was to fairly handle, pay, and close the claim.
Before you jump to judgement, let’s see how this plays out.

All these people who say they work or worked for State Farm and were told to rip people off are liars. I have worked for State Farm for 37 years and no one has ever told me to cheat the public.
The whiners are those who eat a meal at a restaurant and then when they are finished complain and want the meal for free. They are the ones who have 3 or 4 color tv’s and want free medical care, they are the one’s when they trade in a car want 80% of what they paid for it 3 years ago and call the car dealership crooks when they don’t get it. Thank God the people who live in this country were not around when it was founded. You “blame everyone but me crowd” need to move to some third world country and whine there and see what you get for nothing. Learn from your mistakes and move on.

When have you ever seen an insurance company pay? This is just on a large scale, so stick it to em as a group……They don’t want to pay for claims.

I just wanted to say that I think all of the posted comments are hateful!!! What about all the times that State Farm was the first to come through. People need to remember that an insurance company is not going to give you enough to pay off your mortgage. COME ON and get serious. . . READ YOUR POLICY people, become informed. TAKE SOME INITIATIVE AND LEARN YOUR POLICY. If you would take the time and see what your paying for since money is such a problem, maybe you would see that NOT everything is covered by your insurance company!!!!!!

The sad thing is that the government and its banks give you no choice but to buy the insurance for your homes and cars but they don’t get involved when these companies weasel out of their side of the agreements….

I have been a SF employee for 13 years after working for Allstate for 7 prior to that. If the allegations from these sisters are true, then shame on the supervisors who allowed it. However, I can tell you personally that we in the Northeast were kept abreast of everything going on during these horrible storms and know the company did everything possible to help. We had agents from every state visiting with supplies and volunteering for weeks and weeks at a time. Employees were touched and supportive like never before. I never saw such comradery like that before.
There are millions of policyholders who are grateful to our agents and claim folks who helped them during these trimes and we never publicized them for the wealth of our company. SF is the #1 P&C carrier in the country, and it is solely because of our claim service and value of our agency force. Because we really do care.
Insurance companies in general are targets of the media, but I wouldn’t work for anyone else. I truly believe this insurance company stands on moral and ethical grounds. Again, if this is true of those office managers, then the company needs to pay back and hold them accountable.
By the way, HO policies exclude flood because there is a separate policy for flood. Unfortunately, that is a difficult lesson learned most of the time. Agents should be reminding their clients of the need, but often the policyholder declines because “it will never happen to them”.

My daughter’s house was damaged by Hurricane Rita. Her experience with State Farm was excellent; in part because she called in her claim promptly. She was allowed to return to the area after two weeks and was met at her house by an adjuster the day she returned. He cut her an expense check promptly and told her to get bids for repairs. It took some time to get everything completed because every house in the city and surrounding area had damage but as soon as she accepted a bid from a contractor State Farm gave her a check. My daughter’s house did not flood….but she had flood insurance. Also, in my hometown newspaper today, there is a story about a resident who has been indicited for defrauding FEMA for over $12,000. He claimed he lost his primary residence in New Orleans, auto, and time from work because of Katrina. None of that is true and now, if convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison. Maybe he can do his time in the local prison where he works. Shortly after Katrina the local TV station interviewed a man who filed a claim as a homeowner and received a FEMA homeowners check for over $20,000 and bought a new truck. Then he said he wanted to GET BACK into government housing!!! Katrina and Rita caused horiffic devastation on the Gulf Coast. Much aid has been provided and many have filed fraudulent claims. As for the gals on TV making allegations against State Farm..want to take bets on how long it will be until they are offered a lucrutive book deal?

Maybe this is how State Farm (the largest Property insurer)got to be larger than its next three competitors combined.

The profits made by insurance companies is the worlds best kept secret… the indication would be when the elections are near and the money flows like water from the tap ….

Although I am ‘moved’ by the tragic losses and the points made about flood insurance, we have to understand that many of the people that suffered are poor. I am sure that if given the chance, many would move from the area. It comes down to personal responsibility within ones own means. I for one wouldn’t dare live on a coast with my family for the sole reason of nature. How many people in America actually have a choice? Many of the people in New Orleans are living in family owned homes for years and years without choice.
As for State Farm, I had them covering 3 vehicles and our home in Albuquerque, NM. Although they covered all $11,000.00 worth of damage, they dumped us after our truck went through a blockbuster video window that was 4 feet from the curb without a parking bumper. We spent much much more than 11,000 on our policy over the few years we were covered by them.

My daughter’s house was damaged by Hurricane Rita. Her experience with State Farm was excellent; in part because she called in her claim promptly. She was allowed to return to the area after two weeks and was met at her house by an adjuster the day she returned. He cut her an expense check promptly and told her to get bids for repairs. It took some time to get everything completed because every house in the city and surrounding area had damage but as soon as she accepted a bid from a contractor State Farm gave her a check. My daughter’s house did not flood….but she had flood insurance. Also, in my hometown newspaper today, there is a story about a resident who has been indicited for defrauding FEMA for over $12,000. He claimed he lost his primary residence in New Orleans, auto, and time from work because of Katrina. None of that is true and now, if convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison. Maybe he can do his time in the local prison where he works. Shortly after Katrina the local TV station interviewed a man who filed a claim as a homeowner and received a FEMA homeowners check for over $20,000 and bought a new truck. Then he said he wanted to GET BACK into government housing!!! Katrina and Rita caused horiffic devastation on the Gulf Coast. Much aid has been provided and many have filed fraudulent claims. As for the gals on TV making allegations against State Farm..want to take bets on how long it will be until they are offered a lucrutive book deal?

Don’t believe everything you read. Knowing these types of stories over the past few years, these “insiders” are banking on your emotional connection to Katrina victims. Keep your eyes open for a book deal for the Rigsby sisters. And wasn’t there a “Kerri Rigsby” listed in some Enron emails when those went public? Hmmmmmm……

Hey SISTERS. This is a great plan. You can’t handle your jobs as claim representatives any longer and found a way to capitalize on the suffering of those in the gulf area. What’s wrong? Too many days away from your families? Too many hours a day worked? Too much of your time committed to helping people in their time of need? I bet it’s going to be nice not having to worry about that any longer. I wonder what the financial gain is to these two independent adjusters from the media partners purchasing this story and from the lawyers with the same agenda? Let’s all slander the big insurance company. A company wide conspiracy! Come on…no proof or evidence has been presented, but it’s a good story to get everyone upset again just as we approach the first anniversary of this horrible tragedy. As you can probably figure out, I have worked as an adjuster. I don’t need to go into the wind/water aspect any more than it has already been covered. You need to read your policy. As for this big “cover up” that has now been uncovered by these two “courageous” whistle blowers…this is ridiculous. I was in Gulf area handling claims for 7 months after Katrina hit. I have never seen anything like that. It was horrible. I can’t imagine what the people who had no choice but to stay during the storm actually went through. I spend months at a time away from my family and friends to attempt to do my part in helping people recover from these unexpected events in their lives. I sat face to face with countless policyholders affected by this tragedy. I listened…I explained…I cried with some…and I adjusted their claim. I have never been told to change, dismiss, or cover up any information regarding the handling of a claim. I have, however, been told a majority of the time when I have taken a questionable issue upper management to give the policyholder the benefit of the doubt even if I myself do not agree that coverage applies. I have been doing this for many years and would not continue for this company if its business practices involved this type of dishonesty. State Farm employs many staff adjusters and in times of catastrophes of this size many more independents. Now two sisters come out with this story and it is aired almost 1 year to the day of this horrible tragedy. The amount of anger displayed toward the “evil insurer” would be much more useful if turned to the two who seem to be attempting to seal up retirement after 8 years of employment. Cheers to you ladies and good luck in wealth.

Everyone should remember, just because ABC airs a story does not mean it is true. News organizations are known for slanting stories to suit their bias and most news organizations these days are NOT ubiased. Video and audio clips are edited and shown out of context all the time. Every news organization does this and you cannot really trust any of them.

This is just one more example of two self-serving opportunists to dredge another slime-ball lawyer out of the muck to take advantage of the whistleblower law! If just one of their complaints is false, the whole lot of them should be packed off to prison. Just look at the smiles on their faces…this is all about them. They couldn’t care less about the “victims”. Just the money.

For those of you that don’t now nor have ever worked for an insurance company, you have no room to bash State Farm. When was the last time any of you got off your butts and set up a time with your agent to go over your coverages. Maybe if you did that you would know what is covered instead of assuming. We live in a very greedy world full of cheap tight wad people. If you pay your insurance and you know for sure that something is covered, then there shouldn’t be a problem getting what is owed to you. Dont forget about deductibles as well as special endorsements. If your so concerned about what would happen to you, instead of acting like your two and believing two EXTERNAL people who have never said anything before now, talk to your agent and find out what your responsibilities are as far as your insurance goes so when something does happen you will know what to expect. It’s not State Farms fault that people are lazy.

I spent seven months in New Orleans working on Katrina claims for another insurance company. I wrote almost $5 million dollars in claim checks.
I was told the following by my supervisors:
1.) Pay what’s owed.
2.) If you get into a gray area, decide in favor of the insured.
3.) Keep the insured happy.
Did I get complaints? Sure! From people that wanted more than they were owed. If they had wind and flood damage (but no flood policy) I paid them for the wind damage only. People need to read and understand their policies. Ask your agent to explain the policy provisions to you.
Also, I know adjusters that have worked for State Farm. They don’t believe these allegations. State Farm simply wouldn’t do what was alleged. Let’s wait for the whole story to come out.

I think this is one example of irreponsible journalism. Independent adjusters, like the Rigsby sisters, get paid 10% of claims paid to customers. They make a profit for claims paid, wether fraudulent or not. Also, any bank/insurance company in America is legally responsible for shredding documents regarding customer information. I think that more of an effort should have been given a more well rounded report of the facts.

Please keep in mind that if you live near a body of water—& even if you are not on a flood plain of record—-that you should purchase flood insurance.
Also, the one trial Scrugg’s lost last week in Miss. was revealing if you looked at the photos of the house in question: the second floor was intact, the roof was intact, and the windows were intact and not blown out from wind (in the wind vs water argument). The first floor had damage from storm surge with minimal wind damage. Storm surge is excluded from all homeowner’s policies. These people, and Scrugg’s and his merry band of lawyers, were trying to re-write insurance policy. How many others are just like them in this lawsuit?
This has been an argument from Florida to Texas after hurricanes in the past & people realize they are not covered after the storm. The insurance companies have iron-clad laws protecting their policies that these people signed.
Do I feel sorry for people who lost everything? Of course. But I do not want 1000 people, who have not paid into flood policies, to get money they don’t deserve.
A lesson to be learned: if you build a home or business near a body of water (or a fault plain for earthquakes) expect that Mother Nature may not be kind to you and insure yourselves as much as possible.
Stop expecting the US government to bail you out when things don’t go your way.

Sounds like a bunch of “the world owes me a living Democrats” posting on here… what is it that you people don’t get about homeowners insurance not covering flood damage? Buy flood insurance if you want flood coverage.

In 1978, as a young law clerk at a firm which represented State Farm on occasion, I came across a letter written by State Farm which was apparently a response to counsel that State Farm’s policy was geared to make the injured party sue, rather than to have State Farm settle outright. I was amazed and though that I had somehow missed the message, but counsel informed me that I had interpreted nothing out of place. This logic, I gathered was – offer nothing at all, or – offer nuisance money. Otherwise, have the injured party sue; the bet is that fewer injured parties will sue, thus taking the nuisance money, and those that do sue must consider what they are likely to receive after paying their attorney fees (contingency fees from settlement or award proceeds and court costs). In essence, State Farm sends a message.

“These people” aren’t asking companies to pay for flood damage — they are asking them to pay for the coverage that was written into their policies. WIND damage is covered. If there had never been flooding, these homes would have still been demolished. Because there was flooding, however, State Farm (and others) are trying to say that they are not liable, even though the flooding occured AFTER the wind damage. Ridiculous and disgusting.

I hate insurance companies. They use fear to scam people out of their money, then when you have a claim they drop you. Have you ever known a poor insurance agent?Insurance companies have the politicans in their pockets too. Insurance agents make big money and live high on the hog while the common man gets ripped off.
When you take out a policy, they have all these papers you sign with a bunch of mumbo jumbo crap like , we won’t cover this and we won’t cover that.— I HATE EM, I HATE EM, I HATE EM

I choose to believe that these women were doing what was right, when they saw something morally wrong. There are still people in this world just like them, who would do what they did without the promise of money or fame.
About investigating the backgrounds of these women….why wouldn’t the documents they provided the lawyer with speak for themselves against State Farm without trying to prove these women are “shady”? Can’t believe they would fake 15,000 documents when probably 500 or so would have done just fine to expose wrongdoing.
And I can truly see any insurance company doing something like this, when the very nature of the insurance business is counting on as few claims as possible so they can make a tremendous profit on those monthly premiums. How many people are cancelled just because they turned in a claim or two??

Insurance is BIG business. The Insurance Lobbies are HUGE and influence Federal, State and local governments. Health Insurance, Auto insurance… it’s all the same. Consumers and business needs insurance but I believe that the real cost of insurance and what they collect is much much more in premiums than is what is paid out in claims. And even it it isn’t what business is guaranteed to be profitable every year? But here in Flordia they always get approved to raise their rates. And who is running for governor…the prior Director of Finance and Insurance for the state! And who is very chummy with the insurance industry.Tom Gallagher.

Maybe if insurance polices were easier to understand and if insurance agents weren’t in such a big hurry and would take time to explain more – people would really understand what type of coverage they had purchased.
But really, in a hurricane with gale force winds, how can any insurance company claim that wind didn’t destroy homes and businesses and that all the damage was due to water?
But with billions of dollars at stake, it isn’t hard to see why they split hairs.

If this proves true, I will be changing my insurance to another company.
Sean
State Farm Customer

I live in MS and I know what my policy covers and what is does not. I know that the Mississippi Department of Insurance regulates the insurance company’s in this state with the exception of the National Flood Insurance Program.
My policy states flood is not covered even if it is driven by wind (hurricane is a wind storm).
My policy also states if there is two or more perils (that is what caused the loss) and the predominate cause of loss is not covered they wont pay. So if your roof was blown off and then your house was washed into a pile of debris from flood you are not covered by a wind policy. It don’t really matter what came first and is what caused the most damage to the SAME PROPERTY. Example (Your roof blows off (covered) then entire house floods (not covered) and then house burns (covered again).
This is examples of homes with flood covering the entire home. Remember that Flood coverage stops at water lines and wind (if covered) starts above that. It is against the law for flood and home owners insurance paying for the same thing.
Ok let’s go the engineer report, I know what an engineer reports is suppose to say. 1: what was the cause 2: what is damaged and by what 3: what is the direction to repair. If the engineer left any of these off his report he must alter his report to finish. Engineers are questionable some times too (not all are created equal). If we can not see the reports in question we can not judge. So let the reports come out and not bring the insurance industry to trial in the media.
Now for the people living outside the FEMA flood zone. The US government has given a little over 5 billion dollars for grants for these people (in MS and checks are going out every day), Because FEMA draws the flood zones.
Louisiana has been given over 6 billion for grants and their government has not come up with a plan to use the money. That is why New Orleans is the way it is.
Well I know living in MS I am prone to hurricanes and all these law suites are going to cause more insurance company’s to leave my area. I also know lawyers will retire from this and the insured will still be with out because his lawyer took half of what it would cost to repair the home. I have to say I am ashamed of my Federal politicians because they are suing their insurance company’s. They had homes on the beach and they were washed away. Guess what National Flood Insurance has a limit on a home of 250,000 dollars. I bet they are trying to get the rest out of their insurance company’s because their home cost much more than the limit of flood policies. They have the power to lobby for policy limits on the flood insurance and I think they should spend their time on that not suing the company’s for what they are not going to get.
Ok let me say this did you know (Most likely not) that you auto liability insurance. Let’s say your daughter crashes your auto into a 90,000 dollar car and you only have 25,000 dollar state min you are liable for the remainder of the dollar amount in coverage you are under insured. That’s why your agent attempts to sell you more coverage.

I like State Farm. Ignorance might have been taken advnatage of, but it is in the people’s hands to learn the laws and the boundaries of what they are signing their name to.
You can not always depend on people’s honesty, just your own. If we could, the divorce rate would be lower, and we’d all live in a Hallmark commercial.

I live on the MS Gulf Coast and know the Rigsby sisters. Interestingly, they are from this area, too. Funny how they didn’t have trouble doing their job until they came home and had to tell former neighbors and friend they didn’t have coverage. Among those not having coverage…you guessed it, their own Mother. Starts to put it in focus now doesn’t it? I believe she was insured by State Farm and now has a suit against them.
Dicky Scruggs found the lackeys he was looking for in the Rigsby sisters. This is his Modus Operendi. Just look at what he did during the tobacco trials. He wrote the playbook.

Lets look at the wind vs water issue from a common sense standpoint. If you have a house on or in very close proximity to the gulf and it has moved 5 feet off it’s foundation yet 90% of the shingles are intact, the shutters still remain attached would it be logical to assume that wind moved this house? if you say yes then you are either and idiot or in denial. I am a homeowner claims adjuster and I spent 7 months of my life living in substandard conditions, away from my family so I could help the people of N.O. I could go on for days about the fraud going on there but it wasn’t on the end of the insurance companies. Its incredible how many people who didn’t have flood insurance yet they claimed they had fur coats, rolexs, etc. supposedly IN THE ATTIC. Or the claims of looting an entire house of furniture when the house took on 5 feet of water! Can you imagine someone rowing a boat around the waters of N.O with bodies floating around to steal all your belongings? The claims were ridiculous and people wonder why insurance companies take the time to investigate. I call it due dilligence. I think these ladies have ulterior motives or have been paid handsomely by Dickie Sruggs to bad mouth State Farm. Never in all my years working for State Farm have I been told to alter an engineer report. We pay what we owe and sometimes what we don’t owe. No one ever talks about how people get estimates from unscrupulous contractors in hopes we will pay so they can use a lower bid and pocket the difference. I was on my way back to New Orleans and a lady bragged to me how she bought a new mercedes from the money she had bilked from the insurance company. I could write a book about the real fraud that goes on but no one wants to hear that do they?

A word to the wise, if you live along the coast make sure you and your insurance agent agree that you have the proper coverage. If you don’t have flood or windstorm coverage,make sure you get it.
The time is before the loss not after the loss. Agents want to sell all the coverage you need, just ask and listen to your agent. JJB 43 years as a concerned insurance agent in Texas.

People in New Jersey that had State Farm car Insurance were ripped off for years by State Farm till they were caught, Any one in the world that has State farm should drop them like a hot rock. people have the power to make or brake any company, they just have to stick togeather ( Only if they whould ) it seems to be a big problem these days !
Richard, New Jersey

Time to let the truth be known.
State Farm was one of the best paying firms in the Country until 6 or 7 years ago and then they changed the way the Helping Hands work. I have worked trying to get a fair claim for the Home owners for the past couple of years and recently decided that I could no longer help State Farm Customers because State Farm would not be fair with the home owner regarding the claim. Now just in the past month State Farm started claiming everything. MUST HAVE KNOWN the story was coming. Why dont they just pay what is due like they did years ago?

I have worked for State Farm in claims, for 39 years and been insured with them for more than that. Never once, not once, have I ever heard of a claim being handled with anyone getting paid less than was owed them. Many times I see people trying to get paid for things that are not owed them. Why is it, normally honest people don’t feel like it is wrong to try to get paid more than they are due from their insurance company? State Farm’s motto has always been ‘pay what we owe’. Thank God, most companies don’t just go out and pay everything people think they should be paid for. There would be no companies left in business.

Katrina, largest national destruction ever…1st responders WERE the greatest ever…all levels of government, especially local were found wanting. NOW WE HAVE NAGIN IN NEW ORLEANS SCREAMING ABOUT MONEY-WHO WOULD GIVE WHAT WAS RESENTLY FOUND TO BE THE STATE WITH THE MOST CORRUPT GOVERNMENTS (ALL LEVELS) MONEY WITH OUT A PLAN. MISSISSIPPI AND OTHER AREAS OF LOUISIANA ARE GETTING MONEY…WHY THEY HAVE A PLAN!!!

We recently had over $5,000 worth of damage done to our house due to a horrific wind storm. State Farm only paid $63.00 for one window that was knocked out, but would not pay the rest because it was “an act of God.” Reading through my policy, I did not find that “acts of God” were not covered. For State Farm, their dishonesty is just par for the course, and they should be shut down !

I work for State Farm and I believe that when you purchase insurance (FROM ANY COMPANY) you should go over your policies and read them. If there are questions as to what and what is not covered, you can talk to your insurance agent. Any Insurance company out there is going to pay for some things and not others. So many times people call and have no clue as to the coverages they carry and what they represent. There are seperate Flood Insurance policies. I have worked a catastrophe team and we were paying claims submitted; although, remember these were wind claims. Flood is a different policy. So get out there search the different insurance companies, they are all pretty much going to pay the same way. My mother and her husband were hit by a storm in Florida, actually 2 hurricanes w/in 2 days— they did all they could do to keep the water out, but like some policyholders they do not understand what their responsibility is during a storm. Unfortunately during the Katrina disaster, it was impossible. If I was affected by Katrina, I would first look to the governing bodies such as the Mayor and Governor of Lousianna for answers as to why they didn’t fight to get things rectified knowing full well for many years, that what happened was inevitable? ASK YOURSELF THAT! Also what caused these women to turn against State Farm? We do not know that side of the story. As for the shredding truck appearing, we are very strict with our customers’ personal information and even get audited if any of this information is left out on our desks—-that’s more than I can say for other business’ you deal with.
At this moment we have not heard from State Farm, but I think it was quite interesting of the little blip at the end “State Farm is looking into the situation.” Reporting is mostly one sided and that is the way of the world. State Farm did have an interview w/ 20/20 so what was said?

I work for State Farm and I believe that when you purchase insurance (FROM ANY COMPANY) you should go over your policies and read them. If there are questions as to what and what is not covered, you can talk to your insurance agent. Any Insurance company out there is going to pay for some things and not others. So many times people call and have no clue as to the coverages they carry and what they represent. There are seperate Flood Insurance policies. I have worked a catastrophe team and we were paying claims submitted; although, remember these were wind claims. Flood is a different policy. So get out there search the different insurance companies, they are all pretty much going to pay the same way. My mother and her husband were hit by a storm in Florida, actually 2 hurricanes w/in 2 days— they did all they could do to keep the water out, but like some policyholders they do not understand what their responsibility is during a storm. Unfortunately during the Katrina disaster, it was impossible. If I was affected by Katrina, I would first look to the governing bodies such as the Mayor and Governor of Lousianna for answers as to why they didn’t fight to get things rectified knowing full well for many years, that what happened was inevitable? ASK YOURSELF THAT! Also what caused these women to turn against State Farm? We do not know that side of the story. As for the shredding truck appearing, we are very strict with our customers’ personal information and even get audited if any of this information is left out on our desks—-that’s more than I can say for other business’ you deal with.
At this moment we have not heard from State Farm, but I think it was quite interesting of the little blip at the end “State Farm is looking into the situation.” Reporting is mostly one sided and that is the way of the world. State Farm did have an interview w/ 20/20 so what was said?

If I read one more comment blaming GWB for State Farm’s actions…. What utter, stupid, nonsense. How stupid do you have to be to SERIOUSLY believe that any of the supervisors who supposedly altered/destroyed documents to avoid making a payment against a claim did so at the behest of George W. Bush? Come on, folks…this kind of attack on the President smacks of pure mindless political hatred.

I live in Bloomington, IL, home of State Farm world headquarters. I can see their ugly black building complex from my bedroom window.
A few observations–
Despite their high socioeconomic status, State Farm employees are known around town as notoriously cheap tippers.
Yes, without State Farm Bloomington would hardly exist or so the mantra goes. Indeed, SF fits right into and indeed helped creat this region of central Illinois and helped define it as a conservative republican stronghold.
State Farm and the federal government are as tight as can get. For example, State Farm has a super computing network so big the federal government pays them to let them use it. God only knows the amount of information they share.
State Farm’s stiff upstanding corporate culture couldn’t be further from the image of the company they sell, ie the “like a good neighbor” product.
Just another greedy, smarmy, shady underhanded, backstabbing and filthy rich corporation that is in the pocket of our “MBA” president.”
Actually this makes me sick. Unless you’re a gun loving conservative don’t come to Bloomington for vacation.
The only thing Bloomington IL has going for it are the universities.

Do I belive that an insurance company, (any insurance company) would try and cheat you out of your claim money? are you kidding or what!..My mother had a house fire a few yrs. back and had to fight them tooth & nail to get her home repaired, I thought then, what good are these people that you pay and pay and pay into only to have to fight when they have to pay?, I will say it now as I have always said it, they are legalized crooks!!!…but on the other hand, if I lived below sea level, next to the coast where the only thing between my home and a deep flood was a dirt wall, I would think it wise to also have floof insurance, just an observation for those of you that insist on living in a bowl below sea level.

How many of you went into your agent’s office to get car insurance and said you just wanted whatever made you legal? And when your agent explained that’s not enough, you didn’t care, you insisted you only wanted to be legal? Probably the majority of you.
How many of you complaining here are going to call your agent on Monday and ask for an Insurance Checkup? Probably none of you.
As for being cancelled after a couple of claims, why shouldn’t you be? Say you have insurance for 10 years and you pay $500 a year for that insurance. That’s $5000. Now say you have 2 claims that amount to, I don’t know, $10000. State Farm just lost $5000 on you and you’d have to be insured another 10 years without a claim for SF to break even on you. State Farm is owned by the customers. And if people are having claim after claim, losing money for the company, thus causing rates to rise, I’d imagine the other customers would be glad for you to be cancelled.
I wonder if 20/20 is going to come back when these 2 women are proven wrong and do ANOTHER segment showing State Farm did nothing wrong? I doubt it.
Personally, as an employee of State Farm, I wish SF would pull ALL it’s advertising from ABC until given a fair shake to tell their side.
You know, many, many agents and their families lost everything in Katrina, yet they were out there the next day taking care of there customers from wherever they could find a spot to do it. They took care of themselves last.
What did you do?

Have condo on FLA coat. In 2003 contacted my State Farm agent to inquire about flood insurance and was told, “…you don’t need it. Your condo is on the 4th floor”. Four hurricanes later in 2004, with major damage to seawall which resulted in an assessment in excess of $5,000. State Farm refused to cover the assesssment stating the the damage from from flood..”…you should have had flood insurance…” Except they told me that I didn’t need flood insurance.
In addition, there is a exclusion in the homeowner’s policy for damage caused by “wind driven rain.” This exclusion did not excist when the policy was originally taken out in 1992 nor was there ever any notice of a change to the coverage. State Farm has effectively made sure that they will not have to cover any claim from hurricane damage.

By the way, you can buy flood insurance. Just ask your insurance agent. It’s expensive, but you get what you pay for Senitor Lott.

What a bunch of lemmings. I feel for these people, but these sisters are known crooks. Watch what happens in the next few months. These sisters will profit from the publicity. It is THEY who are NOT concerened about the policyholders and the people. Allow me to spell it out for those less fortunate to have my intellect: these lawsuits will cost policyholders in the end. Your rates will go up, and heaven forbid State Farm and Allstate go out of business. You will be sujected to cut-rate insurance companies who truly WILL screw you every time. Your rates will go up significantly due to lack of competition and you’ll still be complaining, and even more this time. Eventually, the government will take over insurance and you will get what you get….period. No choice.
I feel for these people and I’m sure some feel they have been cheated. But, the fact of the matter is that this whole things was started by Senator Trent Lott who was pissed that his mult-million dollar plantation, I mean mansion wasn’t covered because he didn’t have the foresight to buy the most basic insurance. Furthermore State Farm closed a major claims office in Louisiana and there was a massive loss of jobs. Can’t you shortsighted people see what is happening? You are buying into the media machine and just listening to one side of the story. There is another side and if YOU bothered to practice some critical thinking and not just go off on a tangent with every biased news story you might sound more intelloigent and your arguments might actually be plausible.

What is in this for these sisters? Call me cynical, but why did they continue to work there sneaking documents out to the “authorities” when they thought wrong doing was taking place? There is a lot of civil litigation going on and it would not be suprising if they were being paid by a plaintiff attorney or two.

My house collapsed causing over 100,000 worth of damage and my insurance company State Farm did not cover a dime. I now have 2 mortgages and it is going to be difficult for me to pay for my children’s education and weddings(they dont show that on there gooey feel good tv commercials). State Farm has denying claims down to an art…the claims adjuster did not work for SF he was sub letted from out of state firm, the supervisor who denied my claim was called in from California and returned after denying the Pennsylvania claims. State Farm is the worst insurance company in America

Truly horrible. Just stroll through the CAMPUS (yeah, CAMPUS, not just a building or two) of any major insurance company, and you’ll see exactly why this crap happens–unbelievable excesses that are only exceeded by payroll excesses.
Funny how you never see an insurance company taking up shop in a low-rent district.

It is really crazy how all of the comsumers are screaming and yelling about how they pay and pay and pay, but get nothing for it. State Farm does pay their claims and I am proud to be a representative for them. I see claims come in everyday to our office and I see how they are paid and often times, State Farm is paying for things they are NOT required to pay for. Everyone always cries,but boy oh boy, when they have a claim their hand is out waiting for the money, the first person they call is the insurance company and want to knwo how they can “get their money”. You think other insurance companies are not doing the same thing? Allstate, Farmers, AIG, Progressive, etc. all only pay what is COVERED by the policy. If the people living in the Katrina affected areas did not get flood insurance, then there is nothing State Farm can do. I live in California where we are threatened by the “Big one”..earthquakes. And yes, I have EARTHQUAKE insurance. Wow, what a novel idea. It just makes me so mad that the media only brings up State Farm. Of course, they only want to pick on the number one company. Believe me, the rest of the people who are insured by other companies are in a heck of a lot worse position. Yeah, the big bad insurance company, shame on them. They should just give money away to everyone. Heck, they shouldn’t be worried about a profit, they should just want to work for free!!! You also must remember, the insurance companies are highly regulated by the Insurance Commisioner, so their hands are tied a lot of the time when it comes to coverage issues. And as far as the sisters, they don’t deserve to work for State Farm and disgrace the rest of us who are proud and dedicated to our clients.

Got some PR firm comments down there…
Yeah, guess what – companies are out to make money. Best make use of legal recourse, cause it’s all a game. Your tears aren’t worth my $.02.

Why now? Why exactly 1-year later does this story break now? Any other time of the year they could have broken this story….

My adjuster was GREAT !
What followed was extreme rudeness by State Farm employees. I have both flood and homeowners insurance with State Farm and they have refused to provide me with any breakdown of how they arrived at the monetary amount awarded on my claims. They have left me with no alternative than to believe that they are hiding something and have not provided benefits in accordance with what my adjuster submitted to them.

The marketplace will dictate the fate of State Farm. If it is proven they were fradulant, then people will not use them and the company will fold. We the consumer have the power over any commercial company, that’s the beauty of a market driven economy.

The levees broke due to an increase in water pushed by storm surge and the power of the storm. Not by wind. This lawsuit has NOTHING to do with levees breaking as it is in Mississippi, where there are more class action lawyers than cotton.

I WISH TO OFFER A COUNTERPOINT TO YOUR ONE SIDED STORY “SISTERS BLOW WHISTLE ON INSURANCE CLAIMS.” JOHN STOSSEL SHOULE BE SAYING….GIVE ME A BREAK. AS AN INDEPENDENT ADJUSTER THAT WAS IN NEW ORLEANS, I HAVE TO DISAGREE WITH THE WAY YOU SAY THAT STATE FARM CONDUCTED BUSINESS. WHAT YOU FAIL TO REALIZE, OR MENTION, IS THAT THE SISTERS GET PAID ON TOTAL LOSS CLAIMS. IF THE HOUSE WAS WORTH $250,000 AND IT WAS A TOTAL LOSS THEY WOULD MAKE MORE MONEY THAN IF THEY ONLY SAID IT COULD BE FIXED FOR $50,000. THEY HAVE AN INCENTIVE TO CLAIM A WHOLE HOUSE DEMOLISHED, THEY MAKE MORE MONEY!!!!! I AM NOT ON THE PAYROLL OF STATE FARM, BUT ONLY KNOW FIRST HAND HOW THEY MANAGED THE SITUATION IN NEW ORLEANS. YOUR STORY WAS COMPLETELY ONE SIDED AND LACKED ANY TYPE OF REBUTTAL FROM ANOTHER INDEPENDENT ADJUSTER. I AM SURE THERE ARE MANY OUT THERE THAT WOULD GIVE YOU THEIR OPINION.

I knew about this 15 years ago. This is not news to me. I’ve heard the Vice President of a Insuracne Company brag that they have low loss on the book because they deny 50% of the claims automatically. These insurance companies are a master at fraud, deception, manipulation and thugs tactics. There are many article like these on other newspaper. I think there was even a similar program about Allstates Insurance either on 20/20 or 60 minutes. There was even one article where they target blacks specificly. Of course I work in the industry many years so nothing you can put out that will be news to me. I think that this is just the nature of business in America. Maybe all over the world.

Are you kidding me? The story should read, “STUPID PEOPLE LIVE VERY CLOSE TO GULF OF MEXICO AND ARE TO CHEAP TO PURCHASE FLOOD INSURANCE”. Lets face it, if they actually had flood insurance, there would be no story because there would be no problem.

I am outraged how according to the 20/20 report, State Farm apparently used fraud & underhanded tactics to deprive their customers of rightfully due claims.
I think all involved should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and the public at large should boycott State Farm. I hope they go out of business!

It amazes me how people are so quick to jump to conclusions.
You have 2 people who are independant adjusters, not SF employee’s, who are making the accusations. There were over a thousand adjusters in LA and the surrounding areas with SF but noone else has stepped forward to back up these statements? That is a little hard to believe.
As far as coverage in policy’s go, the company’s policies are written based on policies developed by the state. They have to be approved by the state before they can be issued. At least in FL.
Rate increases must be approved by the state before they can be implemented, and someone says that the industry is not regulated?
How many other companies must have their products designed and approved by the government before they can be sold?

How can you believe two independent sisters who are now working with this money grubbing attorney? Flood isn’t covered unless you have flood insurance, right? Why would we want everything to be covered under a homeowners policy, then everyone would be complaining about the rates because they would probably be 4 x’s the rate they are now! Stuff happens in life, and it’s not always fair, but you choose what kind of insurance you buy, it’s not someone elses fault if you didn’t fork out the money for flood insurance and you’re in a flood plain, come on!

State Farm ranks second on a list of the 100 worst insurance companies. The Hartford is first on the list, and Allstate is third. The rankings are based on the ratio of bad-faith (wrongful) non-payment of claims, compared to good-faith payment of claims. Search for “bad faith insurance” to learn more. As someone suggested, people should not do business with companies that routinely don’t pay claims. Sure, they’ll pay for minor claims like a broken windshield, but for big claims they throw their lying lawyers, adjusters and contractors at you until you either give up or die. Hurray for the whistleblowers in Mississippi. They had the guts to turn over 15,000 pages of documents to the FBI. Let’s hope it’s enough to make State Farm the next Enron, and send a clear message to other fraudulent insurance companies.
But, it’s not just property insurance companies that commit fraud. When the Mississippi whistleblowers reported overhearing a State Farm manager tell an engineering company to alter reports that were unfavorable to State Farm, or “we’re not paying your invoice,” it reminded me that insurance companies control what’s in reports because they pay the people who write the reports. In my own case, three different doctors and a battery of MRIs, x-rays and examinations showed a torn labrum, AC separation and other injuries to my shoulder, requiring surgery. My employer’s insurance company, Auto-Owners, hired an IME (independent medical examiner) to do a 15-minute exam and write a report saying the injury was a minor muscle strain. A politicized (corrupt) worker’s comp judge in Minnesota accepted the insurance doctor’s obviously fraudulent report and ignored the mountain of contrary medical evidence. Unable to do my job or come up with the $20,000 base price for the surgery, I’m still suffering and skirting poverty four years later. That’s workers’ comp insurance.
Here’s a quick story about health insurance. A close friend is a manager at a optical retail store (part of a national chain). She deals with insurance claims daily, and reports having to jump through flaming hoops to get insurance companies to pay for their insured’s eyeglasses and exams. One day while calling an insurance company about an unpaid bill she was put on hold while the representative talked to her supervisor. However, someone must have pushed the wrong button because she could overhear the supervisor tell the rep not to pay the claim until the optical store submitted it three times, because that was their company policy. That’s health insurance.
Big insurance is rich and powerful in this country, and they have an army of people who are paid to lie for them (as we can see from some of the replies in this thread). Chief among those paid liars are the state legislators who write the state laws regulating insurance. What’s the solution? In my opinion, we need publicly financed elections, so that politicians won’t be beholden to the insurance companies and other big corporations that finance their election campaigns. Until that happens we will continue to have “the best politicians that money can buy,” as Will Rogers famously said.

Hey R…if you hate Bloomington so much, why don’t you leave town. Some of us think it’s a pretty nice place to live. And by the way, the universities are not all in Bloomingotn…one is in Bloomington (IWU), and two are in Normal (ISU and Lincoln College).

I can believe this is true because it’s happening to me. The 1st adjuster and a structural engineer that State Farm sent out all said I needed a new roof, but there seems to be no reports to verify that information. The 2nd adjuster they sent to my house sat at my table with me and my contractor and agreed to replace my roof. Then he went back to his office wrote his revised report and ‘changed his mind’. I would love to move forward, but I can’t do it if I can’t pay the contractor. Go figure…..

In reading the comments I found one that I found quite illuminating. The jist of it was: State Farm exists to make profit, not serve it’s customers.
Well, Yes and no. State Farm and all other insurance companies do exist to serve customers. But they are expected by thier sharehoders to make a profit. The truth of the matter is that G.J Meherle did not start State Farm to make anyone’s life easier, he started it to make a buck. It is naive to think that any corporation in the service industry is there for any other purpose than to make money. McDonald’s exists not to make burgers, but to pay off investors. Coca Cola, Chrysler, The Gap. Regardless of what thier mission statements say, they are all in the business of making money.
There is a major caveat in buying insurance from anyone: Read the policy. Find out what the exemptions are. It should be common knowledge that regular homeowners policies do not cover flood damage.
Frankly, I would be surprized if the homeowners along the Gulf Coast will be able to buy homeowners’ policies anymore. The risk is too great to the bottom line that the insurance companies so desperately want to protect.

HEY EVERYONE–DON’T MATTER
BAD AS IT WAS, IT’S GONNA GET WORSE
N.O. AND ITS INCOMPETENT LEADER LIVE IN A BUCKET BESIDE A BIG POND
WHEN THE POND GETS STIRRED THE BUCKET GETS FULL–DUH!!! OH, AND AS FOR GETTING WORSE, THEY ARE BUILDING IT BACK IN THE SAME BUCKET!!! THIS IS MONEY DOWN A DRAIN THAT ALL CAN SEE, AND STILL THEY POUR MONEY INTO “REBUILDING”??
THE HUMAN RACE IS LOSING IT INTELLIGENCE DAILY.

I had State Farm Insurance way back long ago on my car. My car was totalled by a drunk driver who ran a red light and my husband was injured in the accident. The woman who hit him was with another high-risk insurance company. State Farm colluded with the other company to keep our claim from being settled until the car was a rusted, worthless hulk. They offered us $600 for the car and $4000 for the injuries even though the medical bill for the hospital alone was more than $10,000. State Farm accepted the terms on our behalf without even asking us, telling us that any additional expenses would be covered under our State Farm policy. They came up with a number like $5000 for the car and $20,000 for the injury. That was in 1984. We are still waiting for our money from State Farm. After one year, they told us the claim had expired and they had no obligation to pay. :-(

I have a question for JoJo in Cheyenne. You say that you are mad at State Farm for not paying you for a “freaky flood” but did pay you for hail damage. The question is, did you have flood insurance? If damage is caused by a covered peril, insurance companies will pay. But if a flood damages your house and you don’t have flood insurance, why would they pay you? I think a lot of people have a misunderstanding as to what insurance really is. As for State Farm and the Gulf Coast of MS, it’s going to be a miss clarifying what was wind damage and what was water damage from the storm surge. But again, you should carry flood insurance on your house!!!

I gaurantee every person with a negative comment on this blog has never actually read an insurance policy or tried to understand the language within one. i my self am an adjuster for the very company being bashed and I had to learn our policy in and out, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT!!! we are a country built on “what have you done for me lately.” Just because you pay insurance doesn’t grant you a return on your payment. Losses have to be covered for payment. A company doesn’t owe yuo just for having a loss, they owe you for a covered loss. People feel like they are owed, but they should really understand what they have paid for. Read your policy, and know your coverages. Then come back and complain. If you buy an auto policy with no collision, don’t expect a check when yuo mess your car up. If you buy a home owners policy and don’t get flood coverage. Don’t complain to the insurance company for your ignorance and your need to save a buck. State Farm or most insurance companies don’t deserve to be bashed for your own personal ignorance. Before you throw a stone, make sure you know what you purchased. if you have a loss and it turns out to not be covered, you have no one to blame, but yourself. Insurance is bought to protect a risk. If you as the consumer wanna risk your property by not buying suficient coverage or not reading and understanding what you purchased, you have no one to blame, but yourselves!!!!

Dear ABC News,
I am interested in a CD/Video or article copy of this article/specila investigative report.
Thank you
Don Simons

Once again, ABC has proven itself to be very one-sided and left-leaning and has shown to me again why I don’t watch them. Where is the other side of the story? Where are the people to back up these 2 SISTERS claims of corruption?
What has happened to self responsiblity in this country? All of these people made the decision to live where they live and to buy (or not buy) the insurance they have on their homes. I do truly hope and pray that the people devastated by Katrina can recover but put blame where it is due, not on the easiet targets (insurance companies and GWB).

Let’s face it. Whether your insured with State Farm or some other well known insurance company, you have no idea what kind of coverage you have until you need it. This is true with car insurance, health insurance, etc. Take the time to read your policy, especially the exclusion’s page, and by all means ask questions of your agent.

Please read State Farm’s response to this on the front page of their website.

I work for State Farm and have for 20 years. I can not tell you how many times I have asked a policyholder if they have ever read their insurance policy, whether it was auto, home, life or health. Pratically every time the answer is no. If the policy excludes the cause of loss then it is not covered. It is not fraud, it is simply not covered. If more people would read their insurance policies before a loss occurs they would know what is covered and what is not. It realy is that simple. But hey, file suit against us, bog down the courts with lawsuits, cause premium dollars to go up and then have a judge tell you the same thing we did….your policy doesn’t cover that type of loss!

I trust reporters as far as I can throw them. If you think insurance is a waste, dont pay for it! All of you moan and groan about paying for it but are happy when you need it. You can blame no one for this disaster but Katrina herself. I would love to know how this was Bush’s fault.
Everyone in America has become too lazy, especially the folks in the South. Look at the demographics!!! Maybe next time take the warnings from your local governments and get the hell out of their when a category 5 hurricane is coming straight for you. Common sense folks!!!
If anyone would actually sit down and read their policies like they should, they would know the ramifications of a flood versus a hurricane.
For those who think State Farm is bad for not paying claims and use bunk studies to back up their opinions, look at the facts. See who has the highest rated financial rankings in the USA. Don’t be surprised to find out State Farm has the best.

The majority of you simply make me laugh. “Why, it must be true. I read it in the Enquirer”
Get real. Two independent adjusters (that’s right, they didn’t work for State Farm) say it’s so, so it must be?

First of all I have to agree with the very few of you who are actually using there brains to think, if you do not have a flood policy you do not get paid for flood. It is very sad now days that we as american people want to point the finger and place the blame on everyone else. WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN ACTIONS. If you do not understand your insurance policy pay some one to read it and explain it to you BEFORE you have cat. strike. Hello it’s not brain surgery it’s it typed black letters READ IT. We have used State Farm for years and have never had them even batt an eye at a claim we have given them. If you people were to cheap or just plain stupid and did not purchase flood insurance that is your loss. Also earthquakes are bound to happen do you have your earthquake insurance or are you going to whine and cry to the media about that also. Does anyone know anything about these two “so called adjusters.” They look a little sleazzy to me. Wouldn’t be suprised if they weren’t smacked down for unproffesional behavior in the office and are trying to distract others from it.

Bottom line folks: Insurance is big business. Their primary mission is to take care of their customers, but also to generate revenue to continue to run a successful business and hopefully turn a profit. My only hope is that State Farm cares more about customers than revenue. But let’s be real – THEY WILL DO WHAT THEY MUST TO SAVE MONEY. There are always two sides to a story. I agree that you need to review your policy before filing a claim to ensure that you will receive a settlement; however, after working in the insurance profession for a number of years, i’ve seen insurance companies routinely circumvent standard ethical protocol in order to save money. No names or comments. It’s sad but a fact. God Bless the famalies affected by Katrina and let us hope that they are able to recover soon and that justice prevails if necessary

Bloomington, Illinois, August 25, 2006 – State Farm
State Farm® is outraged by a misleading story aired on this evening’s ABC 20/20 program and by depictions made by two external independent claims adjusters, Cori Rigsby Moran and Kerri Rigsby. The story mischaracterizes State Farm’s claims handling process in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The ABC report alleged that engineering reports were altered to deny claims. “How the program characterized State Farm’s claims handling is grossly unfair,” said Susan Q. Hood, claims vice president, State Farm Insurance.
“The fact is that we sought engineering reports in about 1100 cases, less than two percent, of the more than 84,700 property claims that we handled in the state of Mississippi. We issued payments on more than 60 percent of those claims in which engineers were involved. And in the claims where engineers were involved, we paid far more on homeowner claims than we did on National Flood Insurance Program claims. To be precise, we paid more than $26.5 million in homeowner claims and only $3 million in National Flood Insurance Program claims.”
“This evening’s report inaccurately portrays State Farm’s claims handling policies and our commitment to our policyholders,” said Hood. “Our claims associates are committed to operating at the highest level of business and ethical standards. State Farm is committed to paying what we owe, promptly, courteously, and efficiently.”
In Mississippi, where the ABC story focused, State Farm paid out more than $1.1 billion in auto, homeowners, and commercial claims. It also paid out more than $790 million in national flood insurance claims for the federal government.
Less than two weeks ago, a federal court ruled that almost all of the damage caused to a coastal home in Pascagoula, Miss., was due to flood not wind. The vast majority of the claims in dispute are also situated along the coast.
In the segment, ABC’s Brian Ross shared documents (from among documents shared with Ross by Rigsby and Moran) with attorney Wayne Drinkwater, who represents State Farm in Mississippi, saying the documents demonstrated that there were conflicting engineering reports and that State Farm denied claims. One claim shown to Mr. Drinkwater belongs to a Biloxi, Miss., policyholder who, despite ABC’s and the two external independent claims adjusters’ assertions, did receive payment and has declared that he is satisfied with his payment and the way his claims were handled by State Farm.
The two women also alleged that State Farm had shredded documents. Like all other large companies and government entities, State Farm has a records management program, which among other things protects the privacy of its customers and appropriately maintains records for regulatory and tax purposes.
State Farm has tried to meet with the two women adjusters who appeared in the ABC 20/20 segment to discuss their concerns. They have refused to do so, despite repeated requests. They are represented by attorney Richard Scruggs.
State Farm handled more than 295,000 property claims and paid (not including payments made under the National Flood Insurance Program) more than $3.1 billion as a result of Katrina. Thousands of State Farm agents and employees from around the country and Canada joined the thousands of agents and employees who already live in the gulf to respond to these storms. “We dedicated these kinds of resources to handle and pay claims, not deny them.” said State Farm vice president Mike Fernandez.
State Farm has been working for months with, and providing documents to, the Mississippi Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s office and continues to cooperate with Mississippi and federal officials as they investigate these and other allegations.
“What’s so often ignored is that we have thousands of dedicated people, some of whom suffered their own losses at the hand of Hurricane Katrina, who have worked extremely hard in a professional and ethical way to resolve each claim consistently and in accordance with our policies and our commitment to our policyholders,” said Hood.
State Farm is a mutual insurance company, not a publicly-traded company. It has been the largest insurer of cars in the U.S. since 1943 and the largest insurer of homes since 1964. It also offers a number of other financial services.

Wow, two sisters finally decide to come clean? Funny, how they make the front news headlines. Nice PR job for their own gain. I seriously doubt that SF defrauded customers on a broad scale. Could they mishandle a claim? Absolutely! Does America want to blame someone for its hurricane losses? You bet! Be careful about believing everything you read or hear! An old proverb says, “the first man appears to be right; until his accuser shows up!” Wait for the “rest of the story”.

Insurance companies are no different than every other company. Trying to make profit. Whenever a law is broken, whether its on the corporate level or elsewhere it needs to be dealt with.
But demonizing insurance and energy companies is painting with a broad brush. I have AllState and NJM and both have paid claims for me without hassle. Its a service people need and want.
Those that break the law just have to be punished. The rest of the legit businesses

I was shocked to see the info regarding State Farms claim practices because I am confident they are not true. I have represented countless claims for that company over a 20 year period & have never seen anything but honesty. They even train their claims reps to FIND coverage for a loss and pay based on policy coverage. If its covered – they pay. If not – they do not.

Flood insurance should be MANDATORY for anyone living along the coast, hurricanes happen EVERY year. People don’t want to purchase insurance, but then they expect the government (everyone else in the country) to bail them out when something happens.

IT’S AMAZING, that anyone could believe this. Imagine the number of claims that State Farm must have had overall in Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Florida. I am guessing it was greater that a half a million. Yet somehow these few number of people are right and everyone else is wrong. State Farm is a good company and cares about it’s policy holders very much. I have been a long time policy holder in Florida and have nothing but great things to say about State Farm. They have always shown up and helped me recover from the storm. They have been fair and honest. And if something was missed they were happy to return and compensate. Unlike these others I have actually took the time to read my policy and understand what it can do for me and what it can’t. What ever the policy can’t do for me I was able to purchase as well, ie.. FLOOD INSURANCE
WAKE UP PEOPLE

I have worked in the Insurance industry for over 30 years and find this 20-/20 story hard to believe. I think they should do a more thorough investigation before reporting a half baked story just to get ratings.

Whenever there is a flood in the northern states or anywhere, or a tornado in the midwest, or an earthquake in the west, or a volcano erruption in the northwest or in Hawaii, a snow storm or blizzard anywhere, a catastrophic fire in a large city, THE POOR, STUPID FOLKS DOWN HERE IN THE IGNORANT SOUTH DO NOT CALL YOU NAMES AND TELL THE WORLD THAT YOU DESERVE WHAT YOU GOT BECAUSE YOU LIVE IN A PLACE WHERE YOU SHOULD EXPECT SOMETHING DISASTEROUS TO HAPPEN!!!
Actually, southerners have been raised to have more class and manners than that…and if you will kindly check these facts, you will find that it is the SOUTHERN STATES that are the most generous of all the other states when it comes to helping their neighbors…even if they are clear across America.
Making derogatory remarks and calling names is very non-constructive and hurtful. For anyone who lives within 50 miles of the coast to move away because of the possiblity of storms (or else you deserve what you get), would mean that everyone along the entire coast of the United States, including Hawaii and ALaksa, should move. Of couse, we could also add that the folks who live where the tornados hit, should move, as well. And then, there is California, with the earthquakes, etc……SEE HOW RIDICULOUS YOUR COMMENTS ARE, NOT????

I have worked for State Farm for many years and also worked three years on the Catastrophe team. These two women are lying, independent adjusters don’t even work for State Farm, because we wouldn’t even hire them on as real employees. State Farm employees conduct themselves with dignity, unlike these two women. I personally paid many claims and all my customers always appreciated the service that my company provided. I am proud to work for this company.
If people would learn to READ THEIR POLICIES then we would not have these problems. Flood is not covered, one case has already found insurance companies not liable and all the rest will end up the same way. We pay what we owe, it is a contract!

My entire family was devastated by hurricane Katrina, and my husband’s family was devastated by hurricane rita. State Farm paid my grandmother the entire policy limits without even going out to see her house. They paid under her flood policy, because that is what caused the damage. All they did was verify that she lived in Saint Bernard parish. My parents were also paid with no problems. My grandma and parents had additional living expense money that was paid very quickly, and isn’t even offered under the flood policy, but due to the circumstances state farm paid it anyway! I don’t think it makes sense to condemn and entire company and it’s employees based on the word of these two women… And if State Farm hasn’t done anything to you directly why would you leave. In the gulf coast area it’s hard for us to find home insurance, you should feel blessed that you don’t have these problems. It seems to me that these allegations are solely in Mississippi, so makes makes it so different in MS than in LA, AL, and FL??? Sf had policies in all those other states…
OH and you don’t have to be in a flood zone to buy flood insurance!!!

I have been in insurance for 26 years and worked for several different companies. There has been NO ONE who takes care of their customers like State Farm. Throughout the Katrina situation, State Farm was the FIRST company to donate $1,000,000 out of pocket to the American Red Cross. They were also the first Company to pay the claims first, then ask questions later. I do not appreciate the lies that were told by the Independent Adjusters. They do not work for any particular company, and they were the first people to take Total advantage of the situation. Why not ask them how much money they made on this disaster? LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR STATE FARM WILL ALWAYS BE THERE!!

Think about it people……. just cool down and think. If you live on the coast, you NEED Flood insurance.
Let’s put this in language you MIGHT understand (but with what I’ve read, I doubt it seriously)..
You have car. You only want liability, because that’s all the state REQUIRES you to have. You don’t want to spend the extra $40 a month it would take to have Comp and Collision. Someone runs into you that doesn’t have insurance, or the accident is your fault…… Are you going to bitch and complain that the insurance company doesn’t buy you a shiny new car? Apparently the majority of you are!! State Farm (or ANY OTHER COMPANY) will only pay for coverages that you purchase….not what you WISH you would have purchased, or meant to purchase.
Lets say your friendly State Farm Agent has been trying to get you to come in the office for a couple of years to talk about Life insurance so if something happens to you, your family is not left in financial ruin…. When that time comes, you can’t expect State Farm (or ANY OTHER COMPANY) to pay on a Life Policy that was never purchased.
This is NO FREAKIN’ DIFFERENT!!
You live below sea level…..you’re close to the ocean….YOU NEED FLOOD INSURANCE.
Go ahead and leave State Farm. First of all, you now have claims on your record, and second, there are so many insurers pulling out of that area (if they are still in business at all) good luck on finding one.
Being “frugal” on an insurance policy doesn’t pay off in the long run, does it?
I’ve had State Farm for nearly 30 years. I’ve NEVER had not one single complaint on the way they handle my claims. My agent goes above and beyond.
READ YOUR POLICY and TALK TO YOUR AGENT——ASK QUESTIONS—-DON’T BE CHEAP, especially if there’s an ocean out your front door!!
That’s just FOOLish (stupid, crazy, etc…)

I have been reading the endless list of comments for and against State Farm and it is a huge cause for concern for the intelligence level we have in these UNITED STATES.
First of all, I was a claim rep, fire reinspector and now an agent for State Farm. At no time was I ever advised to treat the customer fraudulently and or deny a claim that should be covered. I was in Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Hugo, Texas hail storms, Oakland Fires, and back up of sewer and drain storms. I have been all over the United States handling claims for State Farm. I was told to go out and take care of the policyholder.
If there was a question on coverage it was handled with the most compassion for the client. It was never covered up or shreded etc. The contract stands on its own. I learned in taking care of our policyholder that we are the best in the industry hands down.
The question I have for the two sisters, is why a year later and how did you get your hands on all the 1000′s of documents. You didn’t handle that many claims in Katrina, so where did they come from. In the 20/20 piece we have two disgruntled clients linked to the two sisters. Maybe the sisters didn’t handle the claim well. There are so many areas in the piece that don’t fit like, the engineer stating, ” a combination of wind.” Which combo was it? Wind and wind or wind and tornado or wind and fish, What 20/20 left out was “a combination of wind and storm surge.”
Also remember the surge comes before the storm.

This is to Liz, who said that SF paid the Flood policy without even coming out to see the house. Are you aware that the Flood Policy is issued by our government, and not by the insurance companies? They just have the insurance companies write the policies up…but the money that is paid out for FLOOD does not come fron ANY isurance company. That is why you were paid so quickly. We were also paid very quickly for our flood policies in Mississippi….it is just the WIND policies that we are having trouble having the insurance companies pay. They have not even been paying us even after it is proven to be wind. No matter what the insurance company loyalist keep insisting….SF is not paying the wind claims for houses that have been totally destroyed by wind. THAT is where the problem lies. I truly wish everyone would stop saying that we want to be paid for water damage…that is NOT the issue. Good luck to you and your family.

It is nice to hear from fellow independent adjusters out there who point out that we are told to pay all that we can pay and look for every bit of coverage available.
In an iffy situation we are instructed to give the homeowner the benefit of the doubt, we are told that if we must err, better to err on the side of the homeowner.
Yes claims can take some time to settle, but the companies I have worked with have always stressed the importance of good customer service, compassion, and expediency in the settling of claims. Oh and one more thot for you “insurance-haters” out there – THE BIGGER AN ESTIMATE WE CAN WRITE FOR A HOMEOWNER THE MORE MONEY WE MAKE. Adjusters want to pay claims and we will make supported arguments to do it justly … however we will not commit fraud for anyone, homeowners or insurance companies.
If the allegations these women make are true – it’s a shame, but probably isolated.
JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T GET WHAT YOU WANT DOESN’T MEAN THERE IS FRAUD.

Bloomington, Illinois, August 25, 2006 – State Farm
State Farm® is outraged by a misleading story aired on this evening’s ABC 20/20 program and by depictions made by two external independent claims adjusters, Cori Rigsby Moran and Kerri Rigsby. The story mischaracterizes State Farm’s claims handling process in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The ABC report alleged that engineering reports were altered to deny claims. “How the program characterized State Farm’s claims handling is grossly unfair,” said Susan Q. Hood, claims vice president, State Farm Insurance.
“The fact is that we sought engineering reports in about 1100 cases, less than two percent, of the more than 84,700 property claims that we handled in the state of Mississippi. We issued payments on more than 60 percent of those claims in which engineers were involved. And in the claims where engineers were involved, we paid far more on homeowner claims than we did on National Flood Insurance Program claims. To be precise, we paid more than $26.5 million in homeowner claims and only $3 million in National Flood Insurance Program claims.”
“This evening’s report inaccurately portrays State Farm’s claims handling policies and our commitment to our policyholders,” said Hood. “Our claims associates are committed to operating at the highest level of business and ethical standards. State Farm is committed to paying what we owe, promptly, courteously, and efficiently.”
In Mississippi, where the ABC story focused, State Farm paid out more than $1.1 billion in auto, homeowners, and commercial claims. It also paid out more than $790 million in national flood insurance claims for the federal government.
Less than two weeks ago, a federal court ruled that almost all of the damage caused to a coastal home in Pascagoula, Miss., was due to flood not wind. The vast majority of the claims in dispute are also situated along the coast.
In the segment, ABC’s Brian Ross shared documents (from among documents shared with Ross by Rigsby and Moran) with attorney Wayne Drinkwater, who represents State Farm in Mississippi, saying the documents demonstrated that there were conflicting engineering reports and that State Farm denied claims. One claim shown to Mr. Drinkwater belongs to a Biloxi, Miss., policyholder who, despite ABC’s and the two external independent claims adjusters’ assertions, did receive payment and has declared that he is satisfied with his payment and the way his claims were handled by State Farm.
The two women also alleged that State Farm had shredded documents. Like all other large companies and government entities, State Farm has a records management program, which among other things protects the privacy of its customers and appropriately maintains records for regulatory and tax purposes.
State Farm has tried to meet with the two women adjusters who appeared in the ABC 20/20 segment to discuss their concerns. They have refused to do so, despite repeated requests. They are represented by attorney Richard Scruggs.
State Farm handled more than 295,000 property claims and paid (not including payments made under the National Flood Insurance Program) more than $3.1 billion as a result of Katrina. Thousands of State Farm agents and employees from around the country and Canada joined the thousands of agents and employees who already live in the gulf to respond to these storms. “We dedicated these kinds of resources to handle and pay claims, not deny them.” said State Farm vice president Mike Fernandez.
State Farm has been working for months with, and providing documents to, the Mississippi Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s office and continues to cooperate with Mississippi and federal officials as they investigate these and other allegations.
“What’s so often ignored is that we have thousands of dedicated people, some of whom suffered their own losses at the hand of Hurricane Katrina, who have worked extremely hard in a professional and ethical way to resolve each claim consistently and in accordance with our policies and our commitment to our policyholders,” said Hood.

As a 20 plus year Independent Insurance Agent, I am very disapointed in State Farm. Situations like this give all Insurance companies, and agents a bad name.
Where were the State Farm agents who sold this coverage to their clients? They should have been fighting for their clients! However, they are employees of State Farm. They represent State FArm, and not their clients.
Insurance is a promise! A promise to be their when the customer need us most! Un “Like a good neighbor” they were not there!
I pray for all of the victims of both Katrina, and State FArm.

State Farm is a horrible organization that will screw you without thinking twice.
Their adjuster get bonuses for committing fraud and their managers lie and bend people over everyday.

When I was a child in the 1940′s, all my relatives swore never to use State Farm as they were shysters and would not pay. If they did pay, then the policy would be canceled. Cui bono?

PLEASE REMEMBER – Your average home insurance is only for FIRE and WIND. Not flood. Insurance is a gambling game…they have a group of people pay into a pool and calculate the odds of how many people’s houses are going to catch on fire. Then they pay the people’s who do catch on fire. It’s statistics and probability. The less variables, the less of a gamble, so they sell Fire and Flood and Earthquake insurance separately.
That’s why flood and earthquake insurance are so expensive…the only people who are going to buy flood insurance are people who live in an area where they’re likely to be flooded, likewise with earthquakes. It ups the odds, statistically, making it more likely it’ll happen and more likely there will be major widespread damage. Most companies don’t even risk it! There’s only ONE company that offers earthquake insurance in CA (and it’s hella expensive) and the only flood insurance you can get is through the Federal government, and the MAX you can get is for $250K (and most people can’t afford that much).
Now, if they are being dishonest about whether the damage was wind or not, AND it’s covered, then that’s different. THAT’S wrong. But they aren’t obligated to pay for flood damage. And good luck in trying to sort out which damage is from what…Katrina was a MESS.

Why do people carry insurance? If you are wealthy enough to purchase a home/car without financing…then don’t carry prop/casualty insurance if the majority of people here think that insurance is a rip-off, a scam, etc. If you are borrowing money for a home, then you don’t own the home. Therefore, the mortgage company can tell you that you need insurance if you want to borrow THEIR money. Insurance policies are built on contracts. READ your contracts!

People, you’re condeming State Farm without proof! If State Farm is supposedly screwing its policyholders, how come other independent adjusters haven’t come forward? Or for that matter, State Farm’s own claim reps? Are they scared of losing their job? I doubt it, but what do I know? I only beleive in the truth based on facts.

I know now everyone will be checking their insurance policies to make sure they are covered for floods.
I do believe insurance policies should cover my home if its destroyed by anything, be it act of nature or accidents.
Come on these folks need help. Even if they do not have flood insurance the insurance companies make so much $$$ they can be the “good neighbor” and lend a helping hand to rebuild.

This sounds like State Farm as usual! This company needs to stand up and do something for once. For years they have been turning against their customers, not covering water, wind and fire damage. They will find any way to keep from helping their customers. In East Texas you can drive by burned houses that have not been rebuilt for years and there in the front yard is the sign of truth “State Farm DID NOT PAY”. It is going to take an out cry from the public and a loss of customers for them to change their evil, corporate, money grubbing, heartless ways, or at least a real big hit to their check book for them to change. This is supposed to be America that we live in, a place for opportunity, freedom and where people care about their country and people. It seems that corporate America does not have the values in which this country was built upon.

I feel very badly for all those affected by the hurricanes. From experience in the field I can honestly say that I have seen more paid out to give the benefit of the doubt in cases such as this were coverage is not black and white. FLOOD is not covered under homeowners policy and if there is no sign of wind or a COVERED loss then there is nothing that can be done. If payments are made to those who didn’t pay for flood insurance then how wrong is that to all those people who did spend the extra for Flood coverage? Losing customers does not make insurance companies rich – being fair according to policy conditions is the best way to keep most customers happy. Of course the ones who dont have true coverage will not be happy. Happy customers help companies stay afloat so it is in a companies best interest to be fair. I also know these two sisters. 20/20 I encourage you to tell all sides of a story. Ask both Moran and Rigsby how many days did they spend out shopping, talking in the office about their new clothes, shoes and so forth -doing personal things on company time making a huge daily rate while hurricane ravished people were out there suffering…

I see there are people here who are missing the piont. They are not saying that the policy was denied for flood damage. They are saying that state farm is having the investitgation info changed to reflect damage was cause by flooding not by high wind so as to not to have to pay for the policy.

ABC’S 20/20 Mischaracterizes State Farm’s Claims-Handling Process
BLOOMINGTON, Ill., Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ — State Farm® is outraged by a misleading story aired on Friday evening’s ABC 20/20 program and by depictions made by two external independent claims adjusters, Cori Rigsby Moran and Kerri Rigsby. The story mischaracterizes State Farm’s claims handling process in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The ABC report alleged that engineering reports were altered to deny claims. “How the program characterized State Farm’s claims handling is grossly unfair,” said Susan Q. Hood, claims vice president, State Farm Insurance.
“The fact is that we sought engineering reports in about 1100 cases, less than two percent, of the more than 84,700 property claims that we handled in the state of Mississippi. We issued payments on more than 60 percent of those claims in which engineers were involved. And in the claims where engineers were involved, we paid far more on homeowner claims than we did on National Flood Insurance Program claims. To be precise, we paid more than $26.5 million in homeowner claims and only $3 million in National Flood Insurance Program claims.”
“This evening’s report inaccurately portrays State Farm’s claims handling policies and our commitment to our policyholders,” said Hood. “Our claims associates are committed to operating at the highest level of business and ethical standards. State Farm is committed to paying what we owe, promptly, courteously, and efficiently.”
In Mississippi, where the ABC story focused, State Farm paid out more than $1.1 billion in auto, homeowners, and commercial claims. It also paid out more than $790 million in national flood insurance claims for the federal government.
Less than two weeks ago, a federal court ruled that almost all of the damage caused to a coastal home in Pascagoula, Miss., was due to flood not wind. The vast majority of the claims in dispute are also situated along the coast.
In the segment, ABC’s Brian Ross shared documents (from among documents shared with Ross by Rigsby and Moran) with attorney Wayne Drinkwater, who represents State Farm in Mississippi, saying the documents demonstrated that there were conflicting engineering reports and that State Farm denied claims. One claim shown to Mr. Drinkwater belongs to a Biloxi, Miss., policyholder who, despite ABC’s and the two external independent claims adjusters’ assertions, did receive payment and has declared that he is satisfied with his payment and the way his claims were handled by State Farm.
The two women also alleged that State Farm had shredded documents. Like all other large companies and government entities, State Farm has a records management program, which among other things protects the privacy of its customers and appropriately maintains records for regulatory and tax purposes.
State Farm has tried to meet with the two women adjusters who appeared in the ABC 20/20 segment to discuss their concerns. They have refused to do so, despite repeated requests. They are represented by attorney Richard Scruggs.
State Farm handled more than 295,000 property claims and paid (not including payments made under the National Flood Insurance Program) more than $3.1 billion as a result of Katrina. Thousands of State Farm agents and employees from around the country and Canada joined the thousands of agents and employees who already live in the gulf to respond to these storms. “We dedicated these kinds of resources to handle and pay claims, not deny them.” said State Farm vice president Mike Fernandez.
State Farm has been working for months with, and providing documents to, the Mississippi Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s office and continues to cooperate with Mississippi and federal officials as they investigate these and other allegations.
“What’s so often ignored is that we have thousands of dedicated people, some of whom suffered their own losses at the hand of Hurricane Katrina, who have worked extremely hard in a professional and ethical way to resolve each claim consistently and in accordance with our policies and our commitment to our policyholders,” said Hood.
State Farm is a mutual insurance company, not a publicly-traded company. It has been the largest insurer of cars in the U.S. since 1943 and the largest insurer of homes since 1964. It also offers a number of other financial services.

If you believe these two women don’t have ulterior motives, look at who represents them and who they now work for. TV, book deal, what’s on the horizon?
Twenty foot storm surge, live on the water, on the Gulf, or Lake Pontchartrain, none or little flood insurance, now they’re screaming because they claim wind did the damage. What a surprise! At least the judge in the first case was smart enough to read the policy. Every policy in America EXCLUDES flood damage…period. Why do you think NFIP was created in 1968? When will americans wake up and stop subsidizing the rich that live on America’s coastline?
Footnote: (Ironic) ABC aired a report by JOHN STOCCELL a while back in his “Give me a Break” segment. He stated how everyone in America is paying for those people rich enough to have homes on coastlines, because taxpayers end up footing the bill for all of these flood policies. He made this very point. He even had his own house rebuilt after storm surge…twice!
I hope the women who now work for the attorney Scruggs received a long term contract, and a big book deal. They are no longer employable by any company. They need to recognize the difference between a whistleblower, and an opportunist. I wonder how long it will be before they create dirt on Scruggs to profit off of? Mr. Scruggs: If you go to bed with a prostitute…in the morning, don’t complain that you woke up next to a whore.

I wish people would stop expecting a hand out when things happen. Know what you are buying, when you buy insurance. Homeowners insurance has never coverd flood damage. Insurance is avalable, if you chooses to gamble and not get the proper insurance then you should keep quiet and deal with it. Not go crying to the government. It is not the governments job to manage insurance. Take some respnsability.

I also am an independent adjuster as well as a resident of Biloxi, MS. After reading all these posts, people are forgetting… The sisters are referring to MISSISSIPPI claims, where not even the engineers are really sure what damaged what, wind vs flood… and unfortunately for the many people who aren’t getting coverage because of flood… these people don’t live in a flood zone. They were actually advised by their agents not to get flood policies. I really don’t know whats happening and who to believe, but this is situation is very possible. Unfortunately, fraud happens both ways. I have encountered many claims where there is no apparent damage that is storm related, but that coverage was extended. On the other hand, insurance companies are suppose to FIND coverage for the insured and not DENY coverage. If State Farm is found guilty they deserve what is coming to them… just keep in mind, policy holders know how to lie too!!

How can we critize the residents of New Orleans for not returning and rebuilding, when the insurance companies don’t pay them the value of their lost homes. How can they rebuild if they don’t have the money to rebuild? The insurance companies should take the heat for not rebuilding the area.

I processed claims for Citizens Insurance for Katrina victims and they were no better. It was a nightmare so emotional I had to quite the job. All insurance companies should be evaluated for fraud in New Orleans. Why should the people come back? They have found a new life that is better than the slums of New Orleans.

Like another poster, I worked for SF during Katrina, Rita and Wilma. As long I worked down there, in many areas, I never once saw anything that looked suspicious. If anything we were thanked for our help. Funny how there were different service centers all over the Gulf Coast but these two sisters are the only two people that witnessed the corruption. Why are two independents the only ones who all of the sudden know this?
Many of us leave our homes and families for months out of the year to provide service to our policy holders and will continue to do so as this years hurricane season is upon us.

Here’s the problem: we always hear about the 1% of claims that someone isn’t happy about. The truth from what I have read is that State Farm paid on over 600,000 claims after Katrina, and 99% of them settled with their customers happy as can be. In about 1,000 (of the 600,000) claims independent engineering firms were hired to determine if it was wind or water that caused the damage. Of those 1,000 over 600 they ended up paying. These unfounded allegations, until they are proven or tossed out of court, do a great disservice to the employees, agents and honest claims reps who have given up their time away from their families to ensure that Katrina victims have had housing, food, and all the things that ARE promised in the policy language. Why does the media never do a story on the 99%? Because it’s not juicy enough to lead a 20/20 story. The shame here is on the media who are not waiting for the evidence to come in before crucifying a company that leads the country in claims satisfaction. If State Farm really wanted to screw their policyholders, they would do what all the other companies do & pull out of the gulf/coastal states. Read up on this yourself and do your homework before you pass judgment. If something dishonest was done, punishment should (and will) follow. For every 1 story like this, there are 1000 untold stories of State Farm paying for things that weren’t even requested for them to look at, and families whose lives would never be the same if it weren’t for insurance.

My parents have State Farm. I use SafeCo Insurance and have been pretty happy with them. I am definately canceling my parents insurance policy with State Farm!!!

There is another issue in insurance adjusting that does get much attention and that is overpayment of claims. I am NOT talking about flood claims, contents claims or even claims with huge damages. I am also interested in how adjusters handled over-the-phone settlements.I am a private citizen and am not currently employed by any insurance company or any goverment agency. The information will help me for a report I am working on. I will not reveal your identity in any way.
Thanks,
Tony

To Tom Grob – when water comes up from the ground, and leaves water marks on the walls, it’s flood. Plain and simple.

Give me a break! Do all these people really think that a corporation with a history like State Farm would, or even could,
do such a thing. These companies are under such heavy scrutiny from all fronts (Business, Political, Personal & the Media) 24/7. I have worked as a clains adjuster for the last 20yrs for all prominant insurance companies & on catastrophe duty for 15 of those years. This is clearly an effort by these 2 women to cause problems for State Farm for a personal grudge thay have against this company. State Farm. or any other company for that matter, would never chance doing anything like what was stated; they could not afford the consequences. It would be too easy to determine this. Any top professional engineering company, which by the way are the only ones State Farm utilizes, would NEVER do such a thing. If they were asked to do so, they would report it right away as they have the same legal liability themselves. I am aware of several companies, NOT State Farm, that will do their best to deny a claim right away & make the policyholder fight for it. In all my dealings with State Farm, I have always found them to be the most fair & honest company to work for, by far. I urge anyone who questions this to actually ask a policyholder how their loss was handled that isn’t trying to gain something they are not entitled to! Most forget the underlying basis for insurance & think it is a “savings” plan…it is not! The premise of insurance is “to gather the monies of the many to pay for the losses of the few”. Customer satisfaction ratings for State Farm ,especially on catastrophe claims, have always been consistently the top of ALL companies. Ask ANY contractor that has worked with them as well. It is sad & shocking to see all these so called “testimonils” from individuals that either believe they are entitled to more that they truly are entitled to or else are of such limited intelligence to actually belive this.

The key word in this whole argument is ALLEGED. These 2 young ladies obviously have something to gain from this, and until the evidence is presented and accepted by a judge and charges filed, it is just another story to me. One thought keeps bothering me though: Why would a company that just paid out FIVE BILLION dollars in storm damage be worried about a few more claims to the point that they would falsify documents, forge names, and attempt to defraud less than 1% of their affected policyholders to save one million dollars? Why not deny claims and commit fraud on a more widespread level and REALLY save money? Wake up, folks – it’s fiction….coming soon to a theater near you.

Who are the bigger scum? New Orleans ‘residents’ or insurance companies? Ask the people of Houston, Atlanta, Baton Rouge and elsewhere dealing with murders and other violent crime spikes. They cannot wait til they open the dump that is NO back to their ‘people’.

There seem to be fraud at every level with this Katrina issue. No one seem to care about the low income population before or after disaster strikes and I am not talking the ordinary everyday people but the big mammoth organizations that do have the financial and/or resources to contribute to the least of these in our society worldwide. My heart goes out to the victims, survivors and families that were affected by the Katrina situation.

“ORGANIZED CORPORATE CRIME” these are not bleeding heart liberals as suggested that are making these claims over Katrina insurance fraud. People from all walks of life are involved. This story needs to stay on the front burner until people are made whole from these injustices.

leah is very fortunate…I also lost my home and belongings to Katrina in Waveland,Ms. We were paid by the NFIP promptly but are still waiting to be paid by our insurer for wind damage that we sustained from 140mph winds for six hours prior to the eye, and subsequent tornadic activity also in that time period. Flood insurance alone is not enough to cover the loss as represented by your numbers show.

I don’t know why everyone is complaining about State Farm because State Farm isn’t the only insurance company that doesn’t cover flood insurance. When you buy a home flood insurance is NEVER covered. That is extra insurance people needs to purchase. It’s stupid for people in the hurricane areas not to have flood insurance. Everyone that has commen sense should know that flood insurance is not covered. It’s to much of a risk. People always have to purchase that if they want to be covered. Now people are mad at State Farm because they won’t pay out on a claim that’s not covered in a policy. Come on guys get real. It’s like living in an earthquake zone and not having earthquake insurance. Yes, I feel bad for people that’s been affected by hurricanes, but now they are out for the government and they just want a hand out. It’s not the gov’t fault people don’t carry flood insurance. It’s cases like this that causes everyones insurance to rise. Why should everyone else pay for somebodies stupid mistake?? Get the right insurance coverage you need for your area, don’t expect the gov’t to be there all the time…..

I just watched the touchy feely State Farm commercial about how they were there to help all the Katrina victims …lol. A paper shredding truck …that is funny. As usual, the insurance companies, (not just State Farm, they are just the one that caught this time) are revealed for what they are: a company out to maximize profits, why do people believe the BS about them actually caring or doing what is morally right ? They are looking out for their bottom line nothing else.

I am so thrilled that the media is starting to bring State farm down, State farm does suck and they do refuse to pay. I know personally several times i had problems with state farm for failure to assist.

I have to say to all of you people who believe for one minute that State Farm was not founded on the moral principals of doing what is right and to this day still does everything it can to do right by our insureds!!! I am personally insulted by the accusations!!! I have been insured with this company all my life and have worked for them for the last two years in underwriting and agency. I can personally tell you our companies values and beliefs. I guarenetee you it is hard to find a large corporation where the employees not only preach but practice the beliefs of the company, from our CEO down. If you are going to work for this company you not ony must believe but practice the beliefs to ALWAYS do the right thing for our policyholders.
During this event we all did everything we could to help our insureds. I worked 7-7 7 days a week to be there for each and every policyholder I spoke with. Putting off my own life and family, I was there I lisened, I cried, I lost sleep over the tramatic events they lived through and my management supported me 100%. The benifit of the doubt was always given to our insureds and everyday we strive to be more than fair to help each and every policyholder. Read the policy when you purchase insurance and understand what it is that you are buying…ignorance is never a deffense. FLOOD is NOT covered by ANY homeowners policy regardless of if you reside in New Orleans or Arizona, it just isnt. Dont expect the insurance company to absorb a loss you never paid for in the first place.

I have just a few comments:
1. PLEASE FOLKS…STOP SAYING THAT WE SHOULD HAVE HAD FLOOD INSURANCE…that is NOT the issue here. MOST of us DID have flood insurance. WE ARE CONCERNED WITH OUR HOMEOWNERS POLICIES THAT CLEARLY SAY WE SHOULD BE PAID FOR WIND DAMAGE!!!!!!!! Why do so many of you keep missing this point???? WE WANT TO BE PAID FOR WIND DAMAGE AND ARE NOT BEING PAID !!!!! WE HAVE PROOF OF WIND. WE HAVE BEEN DENIED WITHOUT SF EVEN SENDING AN ENGINEER…THEY HAVE DENIED THE BIG CLAIMS WITHOUT EVIDENCE!!!! This is what our gripe is about!! We are not talking about getting money for the water or flooding….stop saying that we are wanting to be paid for what we do not have coverage for…and stop telling us that we should have read our policies…WE DID! That is why we KNOW we should be paid for wind damage when we have been hit by tornadoes and 145 mph winds long before the water slowly got there (we have photos and eyewitnesses!)
2. Those of you who say that the people who lost their lives and homes, jobs and families because they lived in New Orleans or other places that are below sea level, or in places that flooded…deserve what they got…SHAME ON YOU! What a horrible heart you must have. Not having compassion for your fellow man, no matter what the situation…is a sure sign of a person who does not have the love of God in his heart…and I feel so sorry for you. You must be a miserable human being…and a poor example of one.
3. Insurance companies have the job of taking premiums from all of us, no matter where we live…near water, near volcanos, in tornado alleys..it doesn’t matter. Then, they invest and grow that money in order to pay for our claims…that is their job…to make enough money to cover disasters and losses of their clients. Obviously, SF is a master at making our premium money grow. They determine how much we pay, depending on the risks associated with our policies. That is their job…if they screw up, that is their fault…and why they have re-insurance companies to back them up. We all have to share in the cost of each others policy costs…every time someone’s house burns down, everytime there is a wild fire, everytime there is an earthquake, every time there is a tornado or …yes, folks…even a hurricane with high winds and water. But, SF does not need to increase our costs…they still made money..even with the storm…and they should pay their legitimate claims…like wind damage.
4. Yes, SF may have paid out 98% of the claims…or whatever they say they paid. BUT>>>they have NOT paid the LARGE legitimate WIND CLAIMS. WHY do so many of you think it is ok for SF, NOT to pay the remaining 2% ????? One of those claims is our HOME…we had wind coverage…and SF needs to pay for the wind damage. We have proof of changed reports…there are actually a lot more of those out there than most of you realize…SF will be brought to justice…and I for one, will be glad to see it happen so that the hundreds of wind claims that have been fraudently denied will finally be paid….and we can finally get our lives back.

I am personally in a lawsuit against State Farm for an Auto Accident. This was the clearest case of fault their could have been, I was rear ended, by a Van load of teenagers (not 1 of them over 17, no adults) while I was at a complete stop waiting for traffic so I could make a left turn. They hit me at full speed 50-60mph shooting me across oncoming traffic, and totaled my car, when they had 2000+ feet of distance to notice me stopped before they hit (there was also room to pass on the right). They have not paid for anything, gave me an insulting offer, half of bluebook on my very prized sports car. There were witnessses, and police reports filed. They have not paid 1 cent of my medical bills, only paid for 18 days of a car rental (after having it only 36 days and refused to pay any more because I would not accept their low-ball offer), and I still have not recieved any compensation for lost property, even though I would have settled for half of the policy limits. That was 2 years ago….None of this is new, the insurance industry has been corrupt for decades. They will low-ball your claim, they will stall, they will falsify and skew data to their favor internally or with outside contractors (IME for medical, bogus valuation firms for property) Your state’s Insurance comissioner has no real power, nor do they actually track or follow up on claim complaints with any real results. The fedral government refuses to regulate them, in fact recent acts in congress have allowed insurance companies to go into investment banking, which allows them to further remove and obscure their finances, from view (Did we get to vote on that, NO!, your insurance industry funded politicians did that). Most mutual companies are private and are not subject to the kind of accountability and finacial records that a publicly traded company is. Thus their claims of being broke, etc. can appear to be true because paying out on policies puts them in ‘debt’ with their own bank. You can bet they will be crying for a bailout from Katrina, so that they don’t have to even pay their own money on valid claims, it will be taxpayers money! Payroll is often accounted in the ‘losses’ bucket just like claims, I doubt even the IRS knows how much the senior execs get paid. I discovered a financial report from state farm a while back and if I read it correctly (I am not an accoutant), but in 2004 nation-wide, they collected almost 43 Billion in auto insurance premiums, but only paid 280 Million in claims, with that kind of difference, why do rates go up instead of down?
All Insurance should be completely fedrally regulated, with standards enforced for all risk assessments, premium rates and formulas, based on statistical and actual historical claims data, having all insurance providers required to file detailed accounting of everything. Insurance by definition should be non-profit, every bit of premium not used for overhead should be in the bucket for policy claims not diverted to investment banking or pocketed by senior execs or ‘private shareholders’. This is doubly true with Insurance that is required by government regulation, how can the gov. require us to carry certain insurance, but refuse to regulate hardly any aspect of the industry!

During the big disasters the insurance companies probably do work in mostly good faith, their is just too much bad press if they don’t. Whats worse is the shady tactics they pull the rest of the time when the whole country is not looking. When you have even 100,000 simultaneous claims, it is not cost effective to engage all of the stall tactics and try to lower the claims payout on all of them, which is what feeds the cries for federal bailouts. But the business as usual tactics with stalling, and low-balling or flat denial of individual claims does happen all the time, across the country, until they are federally regulated with required public-open accounting practices, they will continue to gouge the indiviual, and line their own pockets and those of you elected officials.

If the true extent of insurance company fraud were exposed, it would probably make the S&L and Enron scandals look like the school bully stealing your lunch money in comparison. These companies operate in the Tens of Billions every year, and answer to no one in their accounting. They include the litigation costs (the cost of fighting AGAINST your legitimate claim) as part of your policy coverage and premiums, and call it fraud protection or prevention. It adds to your premium, and they can easily show how much more it costs every year, because they resist paying out more every year, more litigations for those denied claims, litigation costs go up, and your premium goes up again. They are raising their own bar, in a conflict of interest with themselves, at the expense of the average policy holder. The best way to solve the situation is to completely remove the industry from private hands, make Insurance, ALL insurance, part of a national pool (or set of pools), where rates and risk assessments, etc. are fully disclosed and controlled federally, yet allow ‘Agents’ to remain in the private sector to support competitive, new and efficient services, so basically agents provide the interface promoting free enterprise, but federal gov controls the costs and finances of the actual underwriting.

when it rains, it pour. Looks like it’s still raining on those poor people who have entrusted thier livelihoods in the hands of state farm. Come on State Farm pay up or never lie to people pretending to be a good neighbour

CORRECTION: NFIP does not cover wind-driven rain damage, it does cover wind-driven surge waters, etc.

I am saddened by this story and suspect that the “whistle blowers” had an axe to grind for some reason or another. I have worked with/for state farm for almost 20 years and not on any occasion was I ever asked to defraud a policyholder or even a 3rd-party claimant.
As a claim representative and manager I was commended for closing claims in a timely manner and not for protracted claim handling due to short changing clients. Now, as an agent and as an advocate for my clients I have called upon my claims representatives when there was an issue as to how much was owed, or whether any amount was owed at all. I have never asked a claim representative to withhold payment or to deny a claim; and I have not witnesses their doing so when there was no justification. In fact, my clients have always been amazed at how prompt and fair State Farm was in handling their claims. And they were even more surprised when they were not “dropped” at the next renewal like some companies are known for doing.
From my first days at State Farm I was told to “…pay what we owe, not a penny more or a penny less”. My experience has been that if there was a reasonable and irresolvable question as to how much is owed the benefit of the doubt has always been given to the client.
Not everything can be insured. However, in the case of Katrina, many good people who were not properly insured knew that they had the opportunity to purchase flood coverage and for whatever reason chose to opt out. They took on the risk themselves. Where I live (California) we offer earthquake insurance to every client… only 5 to 10 percent of client chose to take out a policy. Yet it will be called fraud when we deny earthquake damage under the regular homeowner’s policy.
I had a gentleman walk into my office the day after Katrina hit; he told me his agent’s office was under water and he did not know what to do to get a claim going. He told me that he had Homeowners policies and Flood policies on several homes in New Orleans. In effect, he properly insured himself. Quickly, and to the client’s satisfaction, State farm paid on all of his claims including is two cars that were under water. Where is that story published??? No where!
I will believe the negative stories about State Farm when the media does not derive any monetary benefit form publishing sensationalized stories and when they take up their precious resources to air/print positive stories about State Farm, or any other insurance company. But I guess saying good things about big insurance companies is not good business, even when doing so would be just.

There are quite a few venemous comments on here from people making all sorts of assumptions. Some here have agendas, such has homeowners without flood coverage, plaintiff attornies, disgruntled adjusters, and the media.
There are, I’m sure, many that have valid complaints. Considering the fact that there were more adjusters deployed after Katrina, Rita and Wilma hit than at any point in insurance history, not to mention more claims, mistakes were and are still being made. New adjusters both over and underpay claims. Managers approving payments were overwhelmed to the point that it was not possible to review every claim to make payments. This means that some policyholders were overpaid and some were underpaid.
Although I no longer work for State Farm, I did for 12 years. I have also been an independent adjuster and ran an operation that processed over 170,000 claims last year. I had to deal with green adjusters, upset policyholders and everyone in between.
As you read this, think about your co-workers. You have some that pull more than their weight, some that don’t, some that scam to get out of work, and some that help everyone. That is no different than what you see in any operation. It’s the scammers and lazy people that set the stereotype for every industry. You attornies can relate. But the fact of the matter is, if any of your businesses received more than 5000 times the normal workload you would fail. Everyone would be calling you and your co-workers worthless. You’d be on the national media as an aweful company and person.
That’s the business of catastrophe operations employees for any insurance company. When we cut checks, we’re your best friend. When we tell you your contractor is unreasonable, your contractor is your best friend. When your neighbor gets overpaid or paid for something that isn’t covered by the policy, you feel entitled too.
Trust me, most of the adjusting world busts their tail to get policyholders what they need and a little more. It’s what we do. ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN aren’t experts on insurance or catastrophe operations. They serve a purpose, but rarely give you the whole story. They cannot. They are not entitled to the information on the over 95% of people that don’t have complaints. Federal, state and local law prohibits companies from giving out information.
If you were or are being treated unfairly by your insurance company, contact your state’s insurance department. If that doesn’t work, hire a public adjuster. If that doesn’t work, hire an attorney.
Whatever you do, don’t yell at or demean the people you’re trying to get to help you. Your adjuster is human and can/will possibly become defensive. I think the saying is “you catch more bees with honey, than vinegar.” Make that adjuster want to help you. From the posts I see here, some of you make it hard for people to go out of their way for you.
Try a different approach and see if it works. If not, continue acting as though you are a martyr – just don’t expect people to treat you any different.

I guess the same people, including insurance agents, adjusters, and honest employees of SF…who STILL believe that SF is incapable of purposely cheating people are like the people who still don’t believe that our astronauts actually walked on the moon. Educate yourselves! Read Anita Lee’s articles in the Sun Herald if you do not want to do the research for yourselves. It is all there…..wake up!!!! SF IS CAPABLE OF FRAUD…and they do a great job of it.
And to those thousands of dedicated and honest SF employees out there…thank you for doing the right things…we really do appreciate you. Unfortunately, you are more honest and ethical than the company you work for. When the real truth comes out and is proven, I hope that you will rise to the top of the company and do the job that your senior officials should have been doing all along…..plus, you will be making over 4 million a year for yourselves!

Apparently some of the agents who replied didn’t watch the segment. What State Farm allegedly did was to take engineering statements that pointed to damage that was covered by the policies and return them for a reevaluation until they stated the damage was water related and therefore not covered. This is rampant in the industry, and it’s not all State Farm. It is my understanding that avoiding paying claims until 3 or 4 different substantiations are presented is common practice. That means you have to appeal the claim decision and stretch the nonsense out. Small example. Had an A/C compressor banged up pretty badly by hail. Insurance adjuster came out and told me it was $50 worth of damage and all they had to do was straighten the fins. I asked for a second opinion, they sent out the HVAC company they preferred to do the work, same result, just straighten the fins. Called a local company to get a free evaluation of the damage, and they recommended and new unit. Called another company for a second independent opinion, same thing. Presented the independent findings to my insurance company, they called both HVAC places, and after a year, they agreed to replace my unit. It’s just the way they do business, and our representatives continue to require us to feed the beast by requiring insurance. It’s like throwing money in a mudhole, then when you need it, you have to wash the mud from every rock, and twig, and piece of paper to find the money you put in in the first place. I think that if you don’t have a claim in ten years, your insurance company should be required to refund 95% of your payments for those ten years. Then you start again. My money goes into a black hole and I’ll never see it again.

The funny thing is, is that some of CEO’s CFO’s and other upper management of State Farm started some companies of their own in Houston, i’m sure a lot of people have heard of one them, called ENRON!!! Yep the people that ran Enron in the ground ALSO managed big insurance companies like State Farm. I could only imagine what the FBI would find if it did some digging in that company when other people ran that company!

Here is part of a letter I just mailed to State Farm. I advise others to do the same. The bottom line is the only thing that will get their attention!
“…I would also like to state that I had been seriously considering canceling all of my insurance policies with State Farm before this incident, due in large part to your treatment of policy holders in the Gulf Coast region. I find it difficult to trust a company that would treat their customers in the manner in which the victims of hurricane Katrina have been treated by State Farm and several other insurance giants. Americans spend thousands of dollars each year in order to minimize the effects of unexpected events in our lives. I fear paying for coverage that will not be honored in the event that I need it. State Farm has more than enough money in its coffers to cover the expenses of its customers in the Gulf region. Even if the company’s actions (or lack thereof) are found to be legal, it is my opinion that State Farm has a moral obligation to stand by its customers in the wake of ANY natural disaster or other event which was completely beyond their control; shame on you for failing the very people who have lined your pockets.”

Is it true that George Bush Sr. owns Citizen’s Insuance Company? In Florida, many people can only buy Citizen’s, so that makes me wonder.

I’m really surprised so many of you believe what you read in the newspapers or hear on TV. State Farm hasn’t even been given the opportunity to explain itself.
It’s pretty simply from my perspective. Just because there is damage to your house doesn’t mean your insurance policy covers it. Homeowners not covered for floor damage had the opportunity to pay extra for this coverage. They decided not to. It was their choice.
If State Farm and other companies know are pressured to cover these losses we will all pay for it in the end through increased insurance premiums. I don’t think that is fair, do you? mnwePeopl

Many comments are very naive. ABC news is famous for one sided, sensational hatchet jobs for their own ratings. Scruggs made tens of millions on the tobacco class action case. He intends to do the same here. ABC is feeding Scrugg’s BS to America and many buy it. Shame on you. I am sure many believe ABC or any other network cares about anything but making money by playing off peoples emotions. WAKE UP!

Um, you guys are idiots. Homeowners insurance does not cover floods which it specifically states in the declarations page. For that, you would need FLOOD insurance which I am certain if you were to take the statistics of how many homeowners had flood insurance, I would bet you that all of them got paid what they deserved. Everyone is so quick to judge State Farm because its in the media (which those girls did a GREAT job in getting there 15 minutes of fame) but listen here and listen well, ALL insurance companies have their scams so guess what, no one is safe. Its the morons who just buy a policy to satisfy there mortgage loan requirements and don’t really read and understand what coverages they are getting that deserve to be shot down. Ignorance is not always bliss.

State Farm is crooked. I had personally experience working with them as a paralegal, and I can tell you first hand they’re not in the business to protect the insured, but to get out of paying. They were so rotten in their tactics that we had a nickname for them, “snake farm.” Ever since my experience with them and witnessing them ruin countless lives, I’ve never used them as a insurance company. I am so sorry for those that did.

Jim,
Most quotes add 10% for overhead and another 10% for profit. That’s probably why he said you could only get 80%. You are not a business so you have no overhead. Also, insurance is designed to put you back like you were before the damage occurred, not make you profit You are not entitled to the 20% profit and overhead.

I’m live in Texas. I received a letter from State Farm Ins. wanting me to sign a letter of exclusion. Quoting the letter; ” Due to increased hurricane risk presented by properties located on the Texas coast, it has become necessary for State Farm … to reduce its wind exposure in that area… “Excluding wind coverage has been a difficult but necessary decision made even more difficult by the fact that we must ask you to agree to exclude windstorm and hail coverage from your State Farm … policy. If you do, then State Farm can continue you Homeowners policy, subject to this exclusion of coverage.”
I have been give 60 days to sign and return this letter. If I do not sign, quoting the letter, “your policy will be processed for nonrenewal and your policy coverage will not continue beyond your policy expiration date.” They want to help me obtanin a separate policy for windstorm coverage from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. Can someone tell me if this is legal? How can we as homeowners be blamed for a act of God? We pay, pay, pay on time every month just to get canceled. There has to be another answer. Looking for answers quickly.

It is amazing to me how everyone jumps on the bandwagon to crucify State Farm based on what the media publishes. In the aftermath of Hurricane Kartina, the MS Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation on whether there was fraud in the adjustment of claims by State Farm and whether engineering reports were altered so claims could be denied. The MS Attorney General’s office convened a grand jury BUT GUESS WHAT……no indictments were returned against State Farm. If there was such damning evidence against State Farm as portrayed by the media, then it should have been easy to obtain grand jury indictments. After the firestorm, does the media report that the MS Attorney General’s office failed to get indictments against State Farm? No!
Also, has anyone thought to question the character of the two alleged “Whistleblowers,” Cori Rigsby Moran and Kerri Rigsby? If their true character was known I seriously doubt people would have jumped on the bandwagon so easily. Has anyone stopped to consider the financial motive of these two? They stand to make a lot of money out of this. Don’t be so gullible.
Everyone wants to bitch about insurance companies but what would you do if there was no insurance? People, read your policy. Insurance does not pay for everything!

Who is the attorney handling the class action? I would like to know who to call. I believe that State Farm never put my claims in either.

I spent almost 37years as a State Farm agent and did not always agree with all the things they did, but I personally know of many claims that were fraudulent on the part of the customer, but they were paid in full. Many were re-opened as much as 5 or 10 years later when something showed up that could be tied to a hurricane. Certainly some mistakes were made, but State Farm deserves the position they hold in the insurance industry, #1 for years.

To the Dupe about Bush.
“Local [New Orleans] officials often resisted proposals to protect their communities from storms because they did not want to pay their share of federal projects.”
There WAS money given to fix the new Orleans by installing gates, but some activists complained and said it would hurt some animal/wetlands.
Look it up.
One cause of the delays was a lawsuit filed by the group Save Our Wetlands, with support from fishermen and local officials, to block construction of two floodgates at the eastern end of Lake Pontchartrain. The suit argued that the gates would block tidal flows and damage the ecosystem. In 1977, a judge ordered the Corps to redo its cursory environmental analysis. The agency eventually abandoned the gates, deciding to build taller levees instead.
The tree huggers never got blamed for all the deaths and destruction.
They have no clue about cost benefit analysis.
They certainly don’t live a lifestyle with less impact on the environment..they just cause increased costs because they are bored and need a “cause”.
There are wetlands…and millions have been spent along the Mississippi..repairing leveees, etc…but as you create levees, there is no silt for the Delta. BOTTOM LINE..WE NEED TO NOT SPEND ON NEW ORLEANS. IT IS NOT SUSTAINABLE.
Some say higher levees would not have helped…good money after bad. FORGET NEW ORLEANS.
THAT IS MY VOTE. DARN SILLY WASTE OF MY TAX MONEY.
Responding to:
To the dupe defending Bush, saying that he wasn’t responsible for the hurricane:
Bush wasn’t responsible for causing the hurricane, but he’s certainly responsible for the damage it caused, and here’s why– They’d known for quite awhile that those levees couldn’t take a big hurricane, but the funds that were to be spent making bigger levees were re-directed—can you guess WHERE those levee funds were re-directed? That’s right: IRAQ. That’s a cold hard fact. Look it up.

Well, I don’t know about Katrina, but we have
a homeowners insurance through State Farm
and in 2006, our water heater blew-up in the
middle of the night. It was a disaster, our
den got flooded, we lost the carpeting, molding
and what’s more, not only did State Farm
immediately Pay for everything directly to
the carpet, molding and painting companies we
didn’t have to pay a nickle out of our pocket,
except for our deductable, which we would have
gotten back also, if I had saved the old water
heater. The only thing they didn’t pay for, which
was not their resposibility…turns out we had an
asbestos floor beneath our carpet, and we
obviously had to have that removed.
I can honestly say though not only for our
home, State Farm has also been there for
our car. We wouldn’t insure with anyone
else.
G
California

think about this…state farm has 40 million + policies,if each person payed just $100 a month and we all know it is a lot more,they rake in 4 billion a month…i gurantee they don’t pay out even 10% of that a month
what kind of rip off jerk offs are all these companies?

Limbo yea, i scantiness set down i be pleased this still didnt gai be obliged i adapt to the occasio regulate, may i repost this Narrow: Whistleblowers Saw Greatness Landed estate Cheated Katrina Victims – ABC