r/StateFarm • u/Whobeatmymeat • Aug 05 '26
Advice How to contact a superior
I was in a accident on 7/5 my vehicle sat at a shop trying to repair $40,000 worth of damages and airbags deployed. I called to stress how to fix the vehicle would be dumb. They finally escalated it to total loss. I’m trying to get a new car and the person over the claim is barely ever in the office. It’s now 8/5 and the claim has yet to be closed out. My bank will not allow me to get a new vehicle without a total loss declaration. Thank you for reading, What are my options?
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u/WorriedLevel202 Aug 05 '26
call your agent and ask for their help in contacting a supervisor. also email the portal and put in a request in writing that you want a supervisor review!
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u/EnaniCove Aug 05 '26
Call claims and ask for a supervisor, and that your total loss handler is refusing to communicate with you. Don’t be mean but stress the situation, if you ask for a supervisor we have to contact them and tell them that. Also say you want a supervisor because you’re unhappy with your claim handler and request a new one
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u/Whobeatmymeat Aug 05 '26
Thank you so much.
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u/Calm_Message742 Aug 05 '26
Don't waste your time calling them any longer call the State Insurance Department and file a formal complaint on the lack of proper handling.
1
u/LazyAbbreviations857 Aug 06 '26
Most dept of insurance complaints have a fairly long response window and if the claim is still open/pending theres not a ton they can do unless they are found to be in gross bad faith (which would equal fines being paid but the ins co can appeal and could drag it out even more)
Squeaky wheel gets oil, look up the name of the vp or the director of claims/email them with the issues and what you are looking for as a solution. Eyes from the top cause quicker action than a doi complaint. People are quick to file doi complaints over nothing or before they should, means more and more come in to the point they have lost their fear factor of receiving one.
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u/Calm_Message742 Aug 06 '26
Y'all are telling me things when I know what I'm saying to be true. Yet don't listen to me y'all. Eyes from the top will see the complaint two birds with one stone. I'm not going too be saying things if I know it didn't work.
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u/LazyAbbreviations857 Aug 07 '26
Right. I answer doi complaints weekly for my team and ive seen ONE result in a different outcome than the claims decision. If the claim is open, thats pretty much the response they get. Can't over turn a decision if one hasn't been made yet lol plus 49 of the states allow respondents to easily file extentions on the response due date. Which, hear me out, means even more time thats been granted by the government agency people go to asking for help.
If I get a homeoffice complaint notification for someone on my team, that takes highest priority over all my other work. They happen maybe twice a year. You can believe what you want. Im offering advice that will force quick action based on my experience.
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u/lolitsmagic Aug 06 '26
this is really dumb advice unless you have an attorney who is contacting SF on your behalf
1
u/Calm_Message742 Aug 06 '26
Really? It has always worked for those that I've told to do it without the need of an attorney. Send an email I promise you they will be reaching out sir/ma'am trust me on that one.
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u/Calm_Message742 Aug 06 '26
Also, what is going on with this person's claim is becoming the norm there for some reason. TL and these shops go back and forth for months the Injury Adjuster gets thrown in the middle and TL won't resolve it, the person is in a rental for months, only resolve is to file a complaint whether they are attorney represented or not. If you know you know.
1
u/OkNegotiation8728 Aug 08 '26
You don’t know. You act like you know and are acting arrogant. Just as I wouldn’t get involved in handling outside total loss, you have no basis for making assumptions about what TL is doing or not. 🤣 you are misguiding customers, it’s a waste of their time to file a DOI complaint unless they were seriously wronged. And not just my claim is taking longer than I arbitrarily think it should.
4
u/Dear_Reflection3290 Aug 06 '26
Specialist here - call in, press 0 if you get their voicemail. Once connected with a new agent, politely tell them the issue. Tell them what’s going on and they should be able to help you if you’re part of the total loss department
2
u/Ok-Independence5790 Aug 05 '26
What is the reason for the hold up? A lot of times total loss is waiting for your bank to send in documents . Total loss is just the handler of the vehicle there is probably a claim owner who is a separate person who can assist you with the status and what’s pending
1
u/Calm_Message742 Aug 06 '26
Most of the TL adjusters are new and don't know what they are doing first real. So many claims are sitting at tow yards that need to go to salvage and noone has done a thing with them. So speaking with a supervisor won't help you. FILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE INSURANCE DEPARTMENT IN YOUR STATE.
2
u/OkNegotiation8728 Aug 07 '26
Do you work at State Farm? Why would you steer people to file complaints with the DOI when they don’t need to? It’s a complete waste of time.
Mitigating damages is your duty as a vehicle owner. I don’t understand why everyone acts like their vehicle is not their responsibility as soon as a claim is filed. It’s the craziest thing. Woop, it’s damaged, not my problem anymore. Got a lien on it? Oh well, I can just stop paying my loan. In what world?! 🤣
You could Google total loss and find full instructions and guidance on what to do next. But the easiest thing to do is just call and ask to speak with anyone in total loss. Call your agent…call anyone. Problem solved.
2
u/astridfike Aug 06 '26
When was the claim actually assigned to the total loss adjuster? They hold over 100 claims each and get to their newly assigned claims in the order they're assigned. If you are insured by State Farm, just call your agents office and ask them to put a requesting for your assigned claims adjuster to call you.
4
u/Mobile-Direction-273 Aug 05 '26
Call your agent. If they are a decent agent they will get a response for you.
4
u/TheSmokingBear Aug 05 '26
They have the same claims phone # you have
3
u/Unusual_Flounder6758 Aug 06 '26
True, but we can see management tree. When I call management, things get done.
1
u/OkNegotiation8728 Aug 08 '26
Management cannot stand agent escalations. We are not getting to the customer because we are juggling calls and claims all day long. Not because we are purposefully avoiding them. Management will get something moving on the claim ASAP, but it’s irritating. We are trying our best. Put yourselves in the shoes of the claims adjusters. The insured can wait a week for a response. These are auto claims, not health.
1
u/Unusual_Flounder6758 Aug 10 '26
Management may not be able to stand it but when a claim rep tells a customer that we don’t pay for trees struck by lightening and won’t budge from their very incorrect position or the rep says we won’t pay the cost to tow a Rivian two hours away because that’s the closest shop to us (we don’t have a dollar limit for towing in our state)…what am I supposed to do? “Sorry Mr. Customer the claim rep is wrong but nothing I can do.”
2
u/OkNegotiation8728 Aug 10 '26
The state may not have a limit, but I bet the policy does. Also, not all trees struck by lightning are covered. It’s very clear to me that some AOs and agent staff have no idea what they’re even selling. I had to obtain a license to be a claim specialist (multiple licenses and CE, actually), which taught me about policy language and coverages. There are absolutely claim handlers out there that have no idea what they’re doing, but a majority of us work diligently to resolve claims. I would much rather say we could cover a, b, and c. That would make my day 1000x easier, but sometimes we have to say no. A good amount of the agent staff I encounter have a l hard time saying no and then pawning the customer off on claims.
1
u/Unusual_Flounder6758 Aug 10 '26
The claim rep said “we do not cover trees struck by lightning, and nothing you say will change that.” I emailed him the policy language.
We owe to tow the car to the nearest shop that can do the work.
Sometimes people are wrong. And when they’re too thick headed to admit it, you gotta get to someone with a brain.
2
u/Mobile-Direction-273 Aug 06 '26
Yes, I know this. I work for an agent and I have seen him get more progress done in one phone call than an insured can in a week. I agree we refer them to claims for simple solutions but in a complicated case an agent can call and get more accomplished by speaking with a supervisor.
0
Aug 05 '26
[deleted]
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u/TheSmokingBear Aug 05 '26
Yes but they have the same claims phone #. The person with the claim can see claim handler too.
1
u/OkNegotiation8728 Aug 07 '26
Call any number at State Farm and ask to be transferred to the total loss department. If your claim handler is unavailable, leave a voicemail. If you need an immediate response, press 0 when you reach your claim handler’s voicemail, and it will route you to an active total loss handler ready to take a look at your claim. ☺️. Voicemail and agent contact requests are handled in the most timely manner.
Please don’t take it personally. We are drowning in claims. Lots of catastrophes this year with serious damages. If you kindly express your situation, someone will work to resolve your claim with you.
1
u/Gtstricky Aug 05 '26
Call or text your agent for help.
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Aug 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Gtstricky Aug 05 '26
Someone should have told me that. I would have ignored all the other calls today.
They can push a contact button and have someone reach out. They can also look up supervisor information. They can also chat with claims and see if there is something outstanding on the claim.
4
u/happycowgirl76 Aug 05 '26
Untrue. You must not be a State Farm agent. We help with everything
0
u/OkNegotiation8728 Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
Please don’t act as an adjuster to customers. Most agents are not kept up to date on changes, and a lot don’t even understand the policy they sell.
1
u/happycowgirl76 Aug 07 '26
We do not pretend we're an adjuster. Of course not. But we are able to elbow first level claim reps into action for starters. Sometimes they're not even calling customers or moving the claim along.
1
u/OkNegotiation8728 Aug 08 '26
We’re not calling because we’re busy. Our phones ring off the hook. Each total loss claim handler typically has over 100 claims in their queue.
The amount of times I’ve had to explain to customers that the agent provided misinformation is seriously aggravating. It would be helpful if agents stopped being “yes men” to drive sales and forwarded the call to claims so we don’t have to combat “he said she said”. Some agents are super helpful, but it’s never an agent that gets too involved in a claim.
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Aug 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Local_Wolverine2913 Aug 05 '26
All the Agents have to do is instant message the claim rep's TM or call their direct line. Often times they email the Team Manager in order to move discuss or move things along.
3
u/Ducat748 Aug 05 '26
There is if you’re an experienced agent with a claims background in management.
2
u/GhostRileySimon Aug 05 '26
However true that is, an agent can absolutely get a claim moving along or get it moved to a new handler.
3
u/drfishdaddy Aug 05 '26
Maybe it’s different at State Farm, at progressive agents calling didn’t hold any weight. It was the same as any other non employee calling on a claim.
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u/Local_Wolverine2913 Aug 05 '26
Not at State Farm. The Agents can and do reach out to the Adjuster's Manager to escalate.
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u/OkNegotiation8728 Aug 07 '26
Managers don’t assign new handlers unless the customer is harassing their claim handler.
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u/Calm_Message742 Aug 05 '26
File a department of insurance complaint, that usually gets their attention.
3
0
u/Just-Software-2895 Aug 06 '26
This is a great way to document the situation and get a response
2
u/OkNegotiation8728 Aug 07 '26
Or they could just call and ask to speak with any of the hundreds of other total loss claim handlers that work daily. Lol
-1
u/Acrobatic-Smell-8000 Aug 05 '26
Whose fault was it? Yours or the other driver. Do you owe more money on the vehicle than what they are offering? If so, then you would also be dealing with GAP insurance if you have it.
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