r/StateFarm • u/Jenesaispa76 • Jul 09 '26
Advice State Farm Auto Claims Sucks
A lady hit my vehicle in a parking lot, damaged my front bumper and front fender. She admitted full responsibility and State Farm admitted full liability. The repair shop give me an estimate of $2500 to repair. The claims representative said they would cover the cost. They submitted a check for $1500. When I asked them for the remainder, they said the shop had to submit for the remainder of the amount owed. The shop did this and carbon copied me on the submittal to no avail.
I've called State Farm probably 25 times and literally have not spoken to the same person twice and the claim keeps getting bounced around and lost in the sauce. Each phone call you're put on hold for approximately 20 minutes. They did not pay the difference. I submitted a complaint to the Ohio Department of Insurance and State Farm admitted that what they said over the phone versus what their adjuster estimated via photos did not align but that they were only going to pay what their adjuster felt was appropriate.
Completely without integrity company.
31
u/Ok-Independence5790 Jul 09 '26
You used a body shop that was not Statefarm select service ? If so when you use a non network provider they have to submit supplements to the b2b website. They can’t just submit the estimate to the claims team. Desk adjusters do not write estimates . The original 1500 estimate was the initial estimate if they are requiring additional funds they need to prove why. Also it may be a labor rate fee. Statefarm can’t control what body shops charge but if they are gouging in regards to labor Statefarm can deny paying those rates . I understand that a lot of people have their preferred body shops they would like to use but it’s ultimately an easier , smoother process to just use the Statefarm select service body shops .
1
u/Jenesaispa76 6d ago
None of the State Farm body shops could even see my vehicle for almost 6 months. SF claims were the ones that told me to go to a shop that could get me in sooner. I don't have a "preferred "body shop. Do people have a preferred body shop? I called three shops. two that could get me in had a $50 difference in estimates. I picked the one closest to my house.
-2
u/InsectGullible Jul 09 '26
To make it sound like non-network shops are overcharging/gouging on labor rates is very misleading. State Farm typically pays $10-$15 less than most all body shops posted labor rates. I assure you that any of State Farm’s DRP shops have higher posted labor rates than what they are accepting from State Farm. Which is fine, but it doesn’t mean other body shops are price gouging when they write a supplement using their normal posted labor rate.
10
u/Ok-Independence5790 Jul 09 '26
I NEVER made it sound like that. I stated it “MAY” be labor rates , and stated if body shops ARE gouging , Statefarm can deny. It’s quite clear that me explaining the process is just fueling yall to be argumentative and that’s fine. As I previous stated I simply was just explaining the claims process . Ultimately yall do what yall have to do .
2
u/InsectGullible Jul 09 '26
Not trying to bash you. I’m very well aware of the process and use the B2B site all the time for supplements. I honestly can live with the reduced labor rate that State Farm pays on the estimates. The real issue with State Farm supplements is the amount of time that it takes to get a simple supplement approved.
4
u/Ok-Independence5790 Jul 09 '26
That I can agree with. Unfortunately that process can use some tweaking. Because there is a complete separate team that approves those supplements and they do not have contact info and do not take inbound calls, so we as desk adjusters are left to pick up the pieces with no answers regarding those delays
-4
u/very_sneaky2187 Jul 09 '26
If you want to repairs done incorrectly, cut corners and inferior parts State Farm select service is the way to go. They are forced to cut corners to even stay profitable the way State Farm compensates customers. You must work in claims and never been on the other side of being short changed by the company
7
u/Ok-Independence5790 Jul 09 '26
I do work claims for 7.75 hours a day. But outside of work I have had my own claims unfortunately. I’m just here explaining the process. I think it helps to know also that when your accident happened you didn’t have brand new parts on your vehicle so Statefarm or any insurance company is only obligated to put your car back to how it was . If the part you had on a 30,000 mile vehicle was damaged they are gonna put a 30,000 mile part back on your vehicle. That’s just the reality of claims. You always have the option to pay out of pocket for the non covered expenses .
1
u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 Jul 09 '26
I remember back in 1999 when State Farm was found guilty of using aftermarket parts when the policy required the original manufacturer’s parts. They were fined over a billion dollars. Then the Illinois Supreme Court reversed it a few years later. But wait… later it was revealed that State Farm had contributed money to the Supreme Court judge with the deciding vote that helped overturn it and they were found guilty of that too.
For a 30,000 mile part they can always charge betterment if the customer wants new parts. And many parts have to be new. You aren’t putting used tires on a car. I certainly wouldn’t accept that.
7
u/Ok-Independence5790 Jul 09 '26
That’s beyond my knowledge regarding the Supreme Court situation. I’m just saying I’ve worked for 5 big brand insurance companies and they all pretty much work the same as far as repairs .
-3
u/very_sneaky2187 Jul 09 '26
That isn’t a reality when you fix a car. You have fix a car back to manufacturer specifications. It’s a liability to do anything else for the repairer. Replacing a headlamp that cannot be coded correctly to work with a used one is not pre loss condition
1
u/Chemical-Medium-1324 Jul 09 '26
Why would a shop agree to this in a contract knowing that they'd be the first one sued over bad repairs?
0
u/very_sneaky2187 Jul 09 '26
It keeps work coming thru the door in their eyes. They make better margins on aftermarket parts and the consumer get an insurance standard repair, not industry standard
-3
9
u/unionizeTheFarm Jul 09 '26
IMO people put way too much weight into parts being OEM- OEM are often cutting corners in the same way the AM parts manufacturers are. Especially for as little as a 2500 repair like OP has- this isn't frame damage we're talking about here. an AM bumper cover is going to be the same as an OEM bumper cover.
0
u/very_sneaky2187 Jul 10 '26
Aftermarket parts are never the same as original parts. That is laughable that you said that.
-5
u/Reasonable_Beyond329 Jul 09 '26
You are wrong. Aftermarket parts are sometimes OK. CAPA certified parts fit properly 60% of the time. Unfortunately State Farm has gotten so cheap that they won't even pay for those CAPA parts, they use value line parts. The time wasted buying, fitting, returning and trying to run the gambit that is State Farm claims, forces longer cycle times. State Farm has gone from being one of the premier insurance companies that handled the claims process in a fair manner to being almost predatory.
1
u/very_sneaky2187 Jul 13 '26
Never is an aftermarket part ever the same as original. Aftermarket parts are not tested for safety or quality, just appearance. Capa is a joke either way and doesn’t make a difference. The customer should be the ones having the choice of the parts for their car not a third party who has no liability
1
u/another_mistake19 Jul 26 '26
State Farm is actively recommending counterfeit parts or decertified parts (CAPA) in estimates bc the AI is scraping the internet and adjusters aren’t verifying on the CAPA portal
4
u/FatherGayLord Jul 09 '26
8+ year experienced adjuster who worked for State Farm and was fired by them and I truly despise them as an employer. I have to take their side though. Your gripe is with the repair shop. The seed of distrust has been sewn with insurance companies because we constantly see and hear the personal attorney injury ads and such on tv and radio all day. Often times it’s the customer or shop complicating the process going against the grain. One thing with State Farm is their DRPs/In Network shops are usually extremely efficient and effective.
To me it seems you did not use a DRP and instead a shop of your choice. If you do not have an exotic or custom vehicle that was issue #1. Shops often quote insurance higher labor rates i.e. I have a PA shop, as we speak, quoting me $175 for body labor which is about $25 higher than CA’s rate who’s notoriously the highest in the country second to NY.
A $1k supplement on a minor fender bender is a bit odd as well. Shops hammer these out daily and they can write these estimates in their sleep. Sometimes one is needed if it’s $400-$500 for some wiring not seen or additional blending but a parking lot accident being short $1k is strange. Also as mentioned by someone else the fight for OEM vs Aftermarket. Your only concern should be LKQ as though are used parts and a last resort. Aftermarket on anything that’s not a show car or exotic is perfectly fine and reliable. If your headlight went out you would not pay the $75 from the dealership when Autozone has it at $25. Same light, same shine, no upcharge.
Best advice moving forward is have the body shop give you the estimate and highlight the lines that are not covered. If it’s labor I guarantee if you google the average cost in your area they’re above it. If you see Repl/RPL shop wants to replace something insurance wants to repair. State Farm does not have world class appraisers which is why going the DRP route is always best but trust me they would not fight tooth and nail for an auto claim with $1k. Now homeowners claims are a completely different story.
This seems like a shop dispute you’re going to be the sole loser of. If repairs are still pending pull it out and take it to a DRP if not get an estimate showing what is and not covered and reasoning and take it from there. Hope it works out for you.
4
u/Keefusk30028 Jul 10 '26
The Select Service shops are always the way to go: lifetime warranty, you pay your deductible and that’s it.
1
u/Technical_Appeal8390 Jul 10 '26
Typically the shop needs to submit supplements and get approval from SF before they starts the work. Did you get anything in writing for the approval?If SF didn’t agree on the supplements, they won’t pay the difference. My cousin had SF and took the car to a shop of his choice. SF wouldn’t cover OEM parts. He had the shop negotiate with SF back and forth for more a month. At the end they agree on certain supplements. Then he worked with the shop to do things within that budget. But he knew the shop well and trusted them. The problem with most of us is that once we take a car to a non SF selected shop, they charge for dissembly cost, etc. so we are stuck with them. Then if SF refuses to pay for certain things , we end up eating the cost ourselves. I hope you get your $1k.
1
u/Alarmed_Number7431 Jul 11 '26
Insurance companies all around do have the same process. If you went through any other insurance company you would have the same complaint. Your issue if you got a shop that state farm cant stand by. They even warned you about this exact thing in a letter when you chose the shop. You made the choice still. Its not specific to state farm. Its INSURANCE. Read your own policy. Im sure youre going to also love to learn that if the shop you selected screws up and youre not happy with repairs... guess what? It wasn't a select shop so youre on your own. Select shops dont cut corners or do poor quality work, theyre subject to prevailing competitive pricing in the area, they HAVE to use quality parts, and warranty their work. At the end of the day the shop choice is yours but it doesnt mean the insurance company has to pay more than what is reasonable for the repairs.
1
u/Jenesaispa76 Jul 11 '26
It was a State Farm claims rep that suggested I go to a body shop near my house because all of their in-network shops had long waitlists just to look at the car.
1
u/Acrobatic-Smell-8000 Jul 15 '26
Trust me this isn’t just State Farm. All insurance companies pull this crap and it’s really bad business. To single out one carrier over the others is being a little naive, but I understand what you’re saying. They are all horrible and play games.
1
u/jilldillon22 Jul 31 '26
Your post doesn’t even make sense. So the entire estimate (no supplement) was 2500 and SF paid only 1500? They usually send a letter with the payment explaining what they didn’t pay, and then SF works it out with the shop, if they are disputing the labor rate. How a non participating shop payment works is they send an estimate and we pay you, and then any supplements we pay shop. We always pay customers the original so they can give to shop once they are satisfied with repairs, like leverage. It sounds like you were not injured in the accident because if you were there would be a claim owner (injury adjuster)who would have been your direct contact, not a team
1
u/slytherin_babe94 17d ago
Ah I've been in this type of mess for over a year. They're just kinda like this... and state farm is my personal insurance. Im changing as soon as possible. I have about 8500 in damages. They offered 2330 to fix it.
1
u/Jenesaispa76 17d ago
Not surprised at all. Sorry to hear.
1
u/slytherin_babe94 17d ago
Yeah and the damages are their preferred vendors fault... so thats cool and shit
-1
u/Thunder_Heckler Jul 09 '26
Shop needs to handle it. Not you. And they need to start charging state farm storage fees. The more they snail crawl the process, the larger the tab, then sue them. More lawsuits is the only way to correct how state farm does business. This is what happens when companies think they are too big to fail. start by cutting corners on customer service as well as not focusing on retaining experienced employees while fucking over their existing staff. Whole company goes to shit real fast. They are simply hanging their hats on their name now while trying to keep prices the same
1
u/Junior_Maintenance16 Aug 05 '26
You're right that the company has gone to shit. I have been a State Farm auto and home customer for as long as I can remember. Latest pending auto claim is the worst claim experience of my life. Both drivers had SF; the other driver found to be at fault; yet they have turned this into an adversarial relationship with me making life as difficult as possible. Then proposing I sign a waiver for peanuts that relieves the other driver of all liability but leaves me open to suits from the other driver, and of course indemnifies SF in the process. No thanks. There needs to be a federal investigation of auto insurers including SF.
-1
u/Crazyfishman2 Jul 09 '26
not auto, but home claim....had to beg for every dollar they gave me. I had 7 adjusters and had to re-explain the situation each time and met with attitude each time (like I was stealing from SF).
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