What is Your Best Claim Experience?

[Josh]

About five years ago I was in a car accident. Nothing major, but a truck was pulling out of an intersection and t-boned the side of my car. It's a Passat and it managed to hit both side car doors so it was a pretty good sized claim, but no one got hurt. About four or five months after getting it out of the shop I realized when it was warm out, the passenger door wouldn't open. I got my car back in November. I called up the shop that did the work and they said they didn't think it was related, even though it was the door that had been hit. As time goes on I reach out to State Farm again and they took a look at it but didn't want to commit to it one way or the other until it was inspected. If it was torn apart and not related to the claim I'd have been on the hook for $100, so I didn't feel like risking it and just waited to deal with it.

Well, as the years go by I get the car inspected and they finally fail it for the door not opening so I take it to a body shop and get an estimate for $500. They showed me the part that was damaged and it was a part inside the door that seemed obviously damaged from the impact of a vehicle, not normal wear and tear. I put a deposit on the part and waited to hear back from the shop. During that time I called up State Farm because even though it was an old claim, I figured the worst thing they could do is deny it. Well, as you might have guessed, and to my shock, they paid out on a five year old claim! I hear a lot of people talk about how they think insurance companies make excuses for why they shouldn't pay out on claims, but I think State Farm went well above and beyond on this one.

What's your best claim experience?

 

[INSUREGEEK]

As a body shop manager I can say that SF gets a lot of things right. They are by far the easiest of the big National carriers to deal with. I can actually get lot done with Progressive too, but that's because the adjuster assigned to us is worth his weight in gold!!

A lot of smaller regional carriers are even better. I am in OH. I love working with Cincinnati Insurance on claims. I've seen them go $3000 past where they should have totalled a 10 year old car for a claimant family that was in dire straights. Any other carrier would have cut a check and left them to figure it out. Even State Farm.

 

[Newby]

I had a school bus drive into the back of my office building last year. The driver was insured with Auto Owners which I had never heard of. Scared me a little.

They were great. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. Except maybe if they would have drove the bus into the front of my building which is due for a remodel.