State Farm Internet Outrage Over the Weekend

[brentlacy]

Saw some noise in various gun groups over the weekend about a gun manufacturer in MN being denied coverage by State Farm Insurance. Was anyone ever able to confirm or see an official statement from SF? I don't mind letting them know with my wallet, but want to make sure it is a real (albeit dumb) decision on their part to act that way...

 

[Joniki]

I saw this and I thought the letter was bogus.

 

[Spear Dane]

Progressive insures my car but refused to write my home. Farmers gave me a great rate on my house and wanted $300 more a year for my car. Am I supposed to get all butthurt? Insurance is a funny racket and companies have their own niches they fill.

 

[churchmouse]

Progressive insures my car but refused to write my home. Farmers gave me a great rate on my house and wanted $300 more a year for my car. Am I supposed to get all butthurt? Insurance is a funny racket and companies have their own niches they fill.

I have an agent that I grew up with. He has all of my policy's. Cars are here. Houses are there. Life policy's are over there.
This month he is moving my vehicles. Shop it every time the policy is up for renewal.

 

[Osprey]

I now go through an agent and she's been great. I've changed insurances every year since insurances always jack up my prices and I haven't made any claims. I've been lucky but I get stuck for all the increases to cover those who were/are affected by
whatever misfortune nature or non-deity befalls them. The bottom line is insurance companies will always make money.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

This was much ado about nothing. It is my understanding that State Farm doesn't insure manufacturers with a high risk potential, be it bubble gum machines or guns. Seems like the policy in question was sold in error by an agent that was less than knowledgeable and it was canceled once it was straightened out. I think this is being discussed in another thread here, but I'm only on my first cup of coffee so I'm too lazy to go look for it.

 

[brentlacy]

Thanks for the insight. My first thought was something fishy, or somebody messed up, as I never saw a statement from SF. It's the kind of thing that you wouldn't do quietly I would think. If you are going to virtue signal like this, you would be out there with a big press release and all the word vomit....

 

[croy]

Not surprising. As someone said insurance companies have niches. For example. My renters insurance through state farm was $100, car insurance was about the same everywhere else but renters was $30 everywhere else.

 

[halfmileharry]

I've been dealing with State Farm for decades.
They're better than they used to be. Many OLD people use State Farm for their vehicles.
I had homeowners for a while with them. They wouldn't write my guns or jewelry. Ok I dealt with that.
My boat got stripped down over 4th of July weekend while we were gone. They wouldn't pay for it. I was done at that point. NO MORE State Farm for me or mine.
My EX had SF when we got married. She was paying outrageous rates with a good driving record. We went to Farmers for her and cut her rate by over 40% and increased the coverage and reduced the deductible.

 

[Libertarian01]

I used to work in my fathers insurance office. I specialized in the life insurance and annuities, along with health and disability.

Originally my father sold for Farmers Insurance Group. He LOVED the company! They treated him great. The only problem was that they were a "captive" company, meaning that if you sold for them you represented ONLY them! For a good long time he had a very cool district manager who understood small business. He didn't mind if my father sold for some other companies on the side as long as he always gave Farmers the first bite at the business, which he did.

New district manager, less flexibility. Less cooperation. My father said goodbye to Farmers and went independent.

State Farm, Farmers, and others are all captive companies. This means your agent represents them and only them for all preferred business. Preferred is a "normal" person, that is someone without two (2) OWI's, seven (7) speeding tickets, etc. The captive companies never minded if represented high risk companies as they didn't want or care about that business.

An independent agent is very different. He can represent two (2) or thirty (30) preferred companies along with a host of risk or niche companies. The independent agent can shop around for you in shop and compare rates with a host of preferred companies. A captive State Farm agent cannot do that. The State Farm agent is stuck looking only at State Farm for your needs. (Caveat: they may have changed their rules, at which point I am wrong about this.)

One of the problems with any company is exposure to risk. As a customer I am with Pekin Insurance company on most of my stuff. They are a great little company only active in about 20 states. State Farm on the other hand is active in all 50 states as I recall. Pekin is only on the coast in Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama. So when a massive hurricane hits and there is a billion dollars or more in loss, who is going to feel the biggest hit? State Farm will, and in a year or two their rates will go up more, on average. Sure, there is reinsurance, but they will suffer much more than Pekin will. Pekin isn't the only company like this, I just pick on them because I know them. The greater the exposure the more volatile the rate fluctuations will be.

While I was a competitor at the time I always heard that State Farm was a good company - for their clients. If they were your company I heard good things. If you got hit by a State Farm client, well... they weren't so easy to work with. Maybe that has changed, I don't know.

Normally the benefit of being with a captive company is that they are large, diversified, and have worked to see that their agents can fulfill ALL of your insurance needs. The disadvantage to this is that they're not specialized. They don't focus, as a company, on a single core interest. Sure, their departments do, but they must fit into the company hierarchy. This puts them at a slight disadvantage when comparing subtle nuances in specific fields. Say, guns for instance, or E&O coverage.

In the end a good insurance agent is one you feel comfortable with, one you can trust and is honest with you. In this day of online everything they are going to be a dying breed.

Regards,

Doug

 

[Trigger Time]

State farm will insure guns.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I've been dealing with State Farm for decades.
They're better than they used to be. Many OLD people use State Farm for their vehicles.
I had homeowners for a while with them. They wouldn't write my guns or jewelry. Ok I dealt with that.
My boat got stripped down over 4th of July weekend while we were gone. They wouldn't pay for it. I was done at that point. NO MORE State Farm for me or mine.
My EX had SF when we got married. She was paying outrageous rates with a good driving record. We went to Farmers for her and cut her rate by over 40% and increased the coverage and reduced the deductible.

Hey now! I resemble that! I've had State Farm since I got my license at 16. Have our boat, trailers, vehicles, cars, home and my guns all insured with them. Guns are in a separate "Personal Property" policy since homeowners only goes up to about $3K or 5K IIRC. I probably should shop around, but I have no complaints with SF for now.

 

[actaeon277]

I've been dealing with State Farm for decades.
They're better than they used to be. Many OLD people use State Farm for their vehicles.
I had homeowners for a while with them. They wouldn't write my guns or jewelry. Ok I dealt with that.
My boat got stripped down over 4th of July weekend while we were gone. They wouldn't pay for it. I was done at that point. NO MORE State Farm for me or mine.
My EX had SF when we got married. She was paying outrageous rates with a good driving record. We went to Farmers for her and cut her rate by over 40% and increased the coverage and reduced the deductible.

I use State Farm for auto. Because I've NEVER had a problem with them. I call them up. They give me options of places to go. I drop vehicle off. I pick vehicle up. NEVER had to fight them to pay.

As for guns, I have an add on specifically for my guns. And, I was asked specifically if I wanted to add on for jewelry, and a few other things. So I'm not sure why you had problems.

 

[actaeon277]

I see I should have finished reading.

What the others have said, TT and DoggyDaddy. The basic policy has a limit on how much they pay for guns and jewelry, and I think I remember electronics.
But, you can add on to the policy. And now that I think about it, I need to check what my limits are, and then look at what I got, and make sure I didn't exceed it.. again.


Also, no matter who your company is, you might want to have pictures and basic descriptions of what you have, and store them off site. Bank box or friend. Just in case.

 

[Libertarian01]

I see I should have finished reading.

What the others have said, TT and DoggyDaddy. The basic policy has a limit on how much they pay for guns and jewelry, and I think I remember electronics.
But, you can add on to the policy. And now that I think about it, I need to check what my limits are, and then look at what I got, and make sure I didn't exceed it.. again.


Also, no matter who your company is, you might want to have pictures and basic descriptions of what you have, and store them off site. Bank box or friend. Just in case.

This is correct. All preferred companies would offer a rider for additional coverage, but it must be asked for and paid for.

There were three (3) things robbers would go for: jewelry, firearms, and, uh I forget - art maybe. Anyway, companies would limit the base coverage on these things because they were easy to just carry away. A $2,000 TV can't exactly be transported easily, but a $10,000 ring? In the pocket and gone.

It is normally $X additional premium per year for $Y (usually $100 or $1,000) in additional coverage.

So say you have $10,000 in firearms and your policy has a base limit of $2,000. You would pay an extra $15 (guessing here) per $1,000 in coverage. Value of firearms $10k - base $2k = $8k needed. $15 x 8 = $120 / year additional for coverage.

Note that most all of these itemized items of any kind must be accompanied by a valuation in writing normally. An appraisal, a bill of sale, etc. What it is going for on Gunbroker now probably won't cut it as we don't know the value of your item at the time it was stolen. So a new appraisal every several years would be prudent for coverage.

Note that this extra coverage is only needed against theft. These are the high target items of thieves. Loss by fire or tornado was fully covered if I recall correctly. You should read your policy to determine your needs.

Regards,

Doug

 

[EPeter213]

If you are a veteran, or family member of a veteran, USAA is worth checking into, even if you’ve had the same policy for decades. I’ve shopped around for home and auto both, and never been able to beat their rates. Never had any issues with claims either, including hit and run, uninsured motorist, and ice and hail damage to roof.

 

[Ingomike]

More info in the links in this thread including a copy of the letter from SF, but does not seem a big deal.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...te-farm-cancels-gun-manufacturers-policy.html

M

 

[croy]

This is correct. All preferred companies would offer a rider for additional coverage, but it must be asked for and paid for.

There were three (3) things robbers would go for: jewelry, firearms, and, uh I forget - art maybe. Anyway, companies would limit the base coverage on these things because they were easy to just carry away. A $2,000 TV can't exactly be transported easily, but a $10,000 ring? In the pocket and gone.

It is normally $X additional premium per year for $Y (usually $100 or $1,000) in additional coverage.

So say you have $10,000 in firearms and your policy has a base limit of $2,000. You would pay an extra $15 (guessing here) per $1,000 in coverage. Value of firearms $10k - base $2k = $8k needed. $15 x 8 = $120 / year additional for coverage.

Note that most all of these itemized items of any kind must be accompanied by a valuation in writing normally. An appraisal, a bill of sale, etc. What it is going for on Gunbroker now probably won't cut it as we don't know the value of your item at the time it was stolen. So a new appraisal every several years would be prudent for coverage.

Note that this extra coverage is only needed against theft. These are the high target items of thieves. Loss by fire or tornado was fully covered if I recall correctly. You should read your policy to determine your needs.

Regards,

Doug

I assume they're not trying to cover guns, but liability insurance as they are a manufacturer.

 

[Libertarian01]

I assume they're not trying to cover guns, but liability insurance as they are a manufacturer.

That is correct. However, as the thread veered into another lane I hoped to provide some insight into that discussion.

It was all Spear Dane and Churchmouse's fault. They changed lanes and I followed along. I can be a good sheep.

Doug

 

[DoggyDaddy]

This is correct. All preferred companies would offer a rider for additional coverage, but it must be asked for and paid for.

There were three (3) things robbers would go for: jewelry, firearms, and, uh I forget - art maybe. Anyway, companies would limit the base coverage on these things because they were easy to just carry away. A $2,000 TV can't exactly be transported easily, but a $10,000 ring? In the pocket and gone.

It is normally $X additional premium per year for $Y (usually $100 or $1,000) in additional coverage.

So say you have $10,000 in firearms and your policy has a base limit of $2,000. You would pay an extra $15 (guessing here) per $1,000 in coverage. Value of firearms $10k - base $2k = $8k needed. $15 x 8 = $120 / year additional for coverage.

Note that most all of these itemized items of any kind must be accompanied by a valuation in writing normally. An appraisal, a bill of sale, etc. What it is going for on Gunbroker now probably won't cut it as we don't know the value of your item at the time it was stolen. So a new appraisal every several years would be prudent for coverage.

Note that this extra coverage is only needed against theft. These are the high target items of thieves. Loss by fire or tornado was fully covered if I recall correctly. You should read your policy to determine your needs.

Regards,

Doug

This is what I provide to them. They also asked for pictures. I maintain a Word document with this info, both on my laptop and in my Yahoo mailbox (I save the sent email everytime I send SF an update when I buy or sell a gun). They've never asked me for "proof" of the values - they just insure them for what I tell them they're worth (I typically add on about 10% or so for replacement value, and I have increased amounts above that if warranted by changing market price).