Complaint Review: State Farm Insurancefarm.com - Bloomington Illinois

My orginal post here has drawn some incredible ire and I was honestly surprised by it. I'll willingly take responsibility for it... Yes, I may have been lacking in empathy for Arthur's situation and for that, I'm prepared to eat a little crow. It's true that I was not totally up to speed on what the purpose of this particular web site was intended for. Believe me, I'm all for anyone who has a legitimate complaint about a company or person who acts unethically or illegally against any good person and I believe there are MANY situations where this is the case. To take what happened to Arthur and transpose that into what's wrong with America is a little off kilter...hence the tone of my first response. What I'd really like to do is point out a few things that bothered me and try to redirect this thread to the original problem with an emphasis on finding a little bit of middle ground. Also, I'd like to take exception to a few things said about me. Arthur was upset about State Farm refusing to reinstate his policy. He says that it had happened a few times before and they HAD reinstated him. He also admits that his original text was not exactly a rip off report but a "cold blooded insurance company report". Most businesses could be called "cold blooded" for any number of policies or guidelines that they follow. I once was late on a Montgomery Ward bill and had the card denied at an inopportune time...I thought that was cold blooded. I'm sure there's a thousand of those type things happening in the business world every day. Having worked in the insurance business for 22 years (and NOT for State Farm as some have alledged), I'm familiar with reinstatement guidleines and rules. I'm sure there are differences among companies. I've never heard of a 60 or 90 day rule in my career...within 30 days is the norm for reinstatements as Sam in Northwest Illinois had previously stated. After thirty days, the companies require a new application to start a new policy and "reinstatement" of the old contract is not an option. A new application kicks in all of the underwriting rules just as it would with a brand new applicant. In order to qualify for the preferred rates, previous insurance is a very common requirement. A lapse in coverage will generally not be eligible for preferred rates. I'm surmising that on the previous occasions when State Farm reinstated Arthur's policy, he was within this window of time. On the thirty-first day, this was not an option for the agent or the underwriters. Also, Arthur, it's probably not a good idea to post your policy number online. In this day and time, that info should not be posted for the world to see. Also, I realize that it is not your job to know all the rules and it would have been helpful if your agent mentioned the reinstatement rules to you. The other side of that could be that you didn't ask before you fell into hard times and found out the hard way... either way that it came about, sorry that happened to you. A call to their office when you realized you couldn't pay on time may have avoided the problem. Also, when policies are reinstated, there is still a lapse and you do not make up for the time that has passed. Your policy would have been reinstated WITH lapse and your premiums applied to the future...not the past...that is IF you had caught it in the 30 day window. It is very easy to be upset with insurance companies and believe me, I see it a lot. It is a complicated business, very often misunderstood and maligned (sometimes by the companies own fault and sometimes by not knowing how it works). There's lots of confusion about the government role in insurance. It's true that there are lobbyists for the insurance companies and it is true that insurance companies are heavily regulated when it comes to consumer issues...it swings both ways. Ins Co's are regulated mostly by the State in which you live moreso than the Federal government. If you feel that you have truly been treated unfairly, write to your state commissioner or "bureau" of insurance. Their purpose is to resolve consumer complaints and they have real power to correct wrongs against consumers. Yvonne states that she's had a problem with State Farm but does not elaborate on it. Instead she goes off subject to rail against Health insurance issues and America in general... Her viewpoints may have some validity in some political forums but is not related to your problem as described. Economic "woes" (thanks for the correction) abound and times are tough in some parts of the country. The terrorist attack added to these problems but from the way Yvonne attacks State Farm, Insurance companies in general, and corporations (some of which may fall into the greedy catagory) you would think that State Farm flew airplanes into the Pentagon and World Trade Center Towers as well as the field in Pennsylvania. Her comments were full of misguided vitriol which inspired me to respond along the lines of personal responsibility and self improvement (both have validity). On the other hand it is true that many folks live hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck, and were seriously set back by the tragedy of the terrorist attacks and the resulting economic downturn. Lately however, the housing market has bounced back pretty well and I'm sure your situation has improved. Inflation has a constant erosionary affect that requires everyone to make more money as our buying power is diminished. On the expense of reinstating policies issue... It DOES cost companies to reinstate policies. It may be true that after the fact, it costs no more to reinstate on the twentieth or twenty-seventh day but to reinstate a policy at all requires human intervention...That intervention does cost money...just the facts. Responsible people save money for rainy days...you may not like this point of view but it is indisputable.Of course it is not your fault if the economy takes a "nosedive" but it is your responsibility to be prepared for unexpected situations... I bet you have a generator for when you lose power...along those lines you should have three to six months of income set aside to help out when times are bad. In the construction business, this should be absolutely apparent to you. It is not attacking you to say that by your lack of preparation, you initiated this problem with your insurance. Should State Farm have stepped up and paid the premium for you? Would they stay in business very long if they did this every time the economy goes down? Would they then feel obligated to pay the premium for single parents that didn't get their child support check? The scenarios could go on forever. It is not realistic to think that they could do this and stay in business. I can't think of any other retail or wholesale business that would do this... The following accusations I believe are unwarranted and I take exception to: I am not an internet troll... I am not a sociopath... I have much empathy for the common man and consider myself among them... I do not subscribe to "blame everyone but yourself" victim syndrome... I believe that it says a lot about Arthur that he would lay a trap and cause problems with people's e-mail...pretty vindictive and inappropriate... The issue at hand is not a claims complaint (I agree that there are unfair trade practices that happen to good people) however Dave's comments are off the mark and not related to reinstatement of policies. I do believe that representing people with valid claims disputes is an honorable and unfortunately necessary profession... I will also retract what I said about going online to complain...I believe that Rip-Off report and the BBB offer a valuable service for those that are TRULY ripped off. Their service is appreciated. Any victories with Attorney's General for valid situations where a consumer has been truly mistreated should be celebrated and saluted...I also think that appropriate responses should not be filtered and that this forum could also be used to educate consumers when their complaints are off the mark, misunderstood, and philosophically or politically misguided. I will monitor rebuttals to this post but I will let this debate go on without me from this point forward. I only hope that any responses to this rebuttal be in the spirit and tone of discussing the issues at hand and not in the form of personal attack.

Believe it or not, your complaints on the BB do help. State Farm actively searches the internet to see what is being said regarding the company. It uses a spider search that is very similar to google searching all websites for the name State Farm, snake farm, state farm fire etc... D is probably an internet troll working for State Farm and thought he could put in a good word for his employer. Yes, many of your complaints are valid. I work only for the policy holder and I see numerous violations of the Unfair Practices act as well as out right fraud committed by some insurance adjusters. Keep complaining. THEY are listening!!

Believe it or not, your complaints on the BB do help. State Farm actively searches the internet to see what is being said regarding the company. It uses a spider search that is very similar to google searching all websites for the name State Farm, snake farm, state farm fire etc... D is probably an internet troll working for State Farm and thought he could put in a good word for his employer. Yes, many of your complaints are valid. I work only for the policy holder and I see numerous violations of the Unfair Practices act as well as out right fraud committed by some insurance adjusters. Keep complaining. THEY are listening!!

Believe it or not, your complaints on the BB do help. State Farm actively searches the internet to see what is being said regarding the company. It uses a spider search that is very similar to google searching all websites for the name State Farm, snake farm, state farm fire etc... D is probably an internet troll working for State Farm and thought he could put in a good word for his employer. Yes, many of your complaints are valid. I work only for the policy holder and I see numerous violations of the Unfair Practices act as well as out right fraud committed by some insurance adjusters. Keep complaining. THEY are listening!!

Ok, I take it "D" is speaking for State Farm. It's amazing that they would appoint someone who can't even spell "woe" to represent them, but then I guess they have a pretty low standard there. I mean, he does speak for the company, right? He wrote a rebuttal and that is for the company to reply to the complaint. If he doesn't speak for the company and his "rebuttal" was just sociopathic rant, then it seems to me that RipOffReport needs to screen what they post to their site a bit more carefully. I put rebuttal in quotes because he didn't answer a single one of my points to any coherent degree. He couldn't, so he had to resort to attacking me personally to divert attention away from my complaint. First, let me make it clear that I do not think the world owes me a living. I did not say so, nor do I think it, so that was a direct and cold-blooded lie. But then what can one expect from someone so cowardly he won't even give his first name? He goes on to state flat out that it is my fault I am having economic troubles. I guess it is up to me when the economy takes a nose dive, when construction work is feast or famine, when the unemployment runs out, and when stocks are valued at 1000% of their true value and later come crashing down like a house of cards, putting the economy into a tail spin. And of course it was my fault 9/11 occurred as well, further damaging an already faltering economy. I guess it is the fault of we who work in construction that we are in that field. All of us should get out and do something else, and let the State Farms of this world go without their classy buildings with, presumably, marble floors and instead have to work out of a big tent out in the middle of a field somewhere. And their local agents could then work out of their cars too, by the way. State Farm's "rep" says it costs money to reinstate policies. Just a smoke screen. Does it cost any more to reinstate on the 62nd day than it does on the 59th day? I guess he didn't read the part about how they would get to renew the policy all the way back to when it was cancelled, thereby deriving two months' worth of free money from me, since I didn't have coverage at that time and they were not at risk. And if the money was such a problem, why not just charge me a late renewal fee? And talking about costing money, how much did it cost me to carry their piece of paper in my glove box for more than a decade, which never got used (except for one bumper bender years ago)? Yvonne, thank you for writing those times that you did. This world needs more like you people with empathy and a capacity for caring. When you first wrote I looked to see if there was some way to contact you directly, but this website does not have a way to privately message someone, so I will just give you my email address and you can write me privately should you be so inclined: [email protected]. I would love to get to know you. Later I can give you my real address and that way if someone sends me some hate I can report them as spam and from then on if they write to anybody with a yahoo address their emails will be put in their junk folder instead of the inbox. By the way, congratulations on your victory involving the Attorneys General. It is time for us who care to take action in this cold-blooded world. That turn the other cheek business is a teaching designed to let evil triumph at the expense of its victims. You turn the other cheek and your enemy doesn't suddenly grow a heart, he sees you as a good-for-nothing-wimp and has no conscience about trampling your face in the dirt. I remember Dr. McCoy saying in one of the old Star Trek episodes that in any contest between good and evil, evil usually wins unless good is very careful. I would say rather that evil will win unless good is more determined to have its way. I won't start the war, but when war is declared against you then you better dig you a fox hole and get out your weapons. Now D will no doubt say this is paranoia talk, but let's face it: this world is getting sicker, not better. And he is the self-proclaimed enemy of a decent and caring society --where the weak are helped along the way, not trampled into the dust on one's way to the bank. The religions of this world, I don't care which one you name, have done nothing to improve things. We say Peace on earth, good will towards men and for many it is just rhetoric. There has to be a higher power than what one can find in religion, and I believe He exists. After all, where did people like you get their capacity for heart-felt caring? Some swamp slime? A big blast of hot air exploding out there? That could explain the bad elements of this world, but not the good ones. And it is to that Ultimate Source of love that I am appealing the following: We can no longer function as a world with business as before. You cannot continue to love just the perpetrators, giving them endless chances to get a heart while the body count continues to rise and while You continue to ignore the plight of their victims. It is the victims' turn to have some of Your love for a change. The bad element just takes the new chances they receive and thumb their noses at their opportunities to change and only get more emboldened to do their same old rotten thing, because there never comes the time when they have to answer for their crimes against love and humanity. This having them come back and learn from their mistakes stuff isn't working, and it is at the expense of innocent people who have to suffer unjustly. And often even tiny children aren't spared unspeakable torment any more. As for me, the song says it all. Actually two songs do. What the world needs now is love sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of.' And I don't care what they say, I won't stay in a world without love.' Let the karma happen now, not in other lifetimes down the road. Let there be the laws of cause and effect and sowing and reaping taking place in the lives of the cold blooded and heartless now, in THIS life. And SOON!

"D" of Newsport News Virgina, it appears that you enjoy reading about the problems of other people and then feel inclined, maybe even justified in making scathing comments. I find it interesting that you found your way to this site and chose this forum to express your pompous, pseudo-intellectual/superior, remarks. The last time I checked, this website was created for consumers that feel they have been treated unfairly by companies/individuals and are looking for solutions on how to deal with their problems. It has been my experience, that people who that lack empathy for the human condition, in the end, are shown no empathy. It is also been my experience, that these same people, have many humbling experiences ahead of them. As to your comment, "The world does not owe anyone a living." As the richest country in the world, children should not be hungry, the elderly should be able to eat and have medication and our young, should not have to mortgage their futures to get a college education. The less money a person has, the harder they have to work. No, the world doesn't owe anyone a living, but the richest country should provide jobs for it's citizens, instead of allowing the jobs to be shipped overseas or to Mexico. The middle class of America, should be able to make enough money to feed their families, have a place to call their own, health care benefits and vacation from knowing, that if one unexpected event occurs, they will be on the street. That aside, as a doctor for twenty years, I know what hard work is. Watching people suffer and sometimes die of stress related illnesses, because they can't make enough money to feed their family, or have had their retirement fund wiped out by corporate greed, or they having to chose between medication or food, or suffer astronomical medical bills, is not an easy job. I am not against "Corporate America", as you charged in your rebuttal--I am against greed. Your last statement...."Or you can go online and complain--that'll help. Yes, "D", it does help. The owner of this web site and the contributors of this website, pointed me in the right direction last year, that resulted in over 30 Attorney Generals and the FTC filing lawsuits against a company that myself and others collectively complained about. Yes, "D", I would say, that complaining helps. Now, I would like to ask you a question "D": Has anyone ever shared with you the concept of Karma? Look it up.

Arthur and Yvonnes comments are typical of this "whoa is me" attitude that is common among the good people that don't want to take any responsibility for their own failings. In Arthur's case, he obviously doesn't have his own house in order if he cant make his insurance payment until after it has cancelled for 60 days... Does Arthur actually think that everything would go back to the way it was? Reinstating policies is expensive for companies. It also shows a lack of responsibility, financial and otherwise and it is an unstable situation. Instability brings claims and as a business (not a philantropic or government entitlement program) this contributes to higher rates for their customers who DO pay their premiums on time. Yvonne has issues with any large corporation. The world does not owe anyone a living. If Yvonne is unhappy with her current financial position, there are government grants to go back to school, there's the good ole tried and true "sweat of the brow" method that works great too. The cost of living is going up constantly (how much was a gallon of gas in 1984 vs today?) and you gotta keep up. The fraud and abuse in insurance is generally committed by the public on the companies. Of course over time they find ways to control costs and keep these things reasonable...just to stay in business. If you think the insurance industry holds too much power, this IS America, start with your local congressperson and create a coalition to change things... or...you could just go online and complain...that'll help...

This just in. Now the MCCA (Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association) wants to raise the insurance rate up to $127 per car. They can raise the rate how often they want, but you cannot make a claim of more than twice in nine years or they will drop you. What is wrong with this picture? We've paid so much every year to them and when its time for a legit claim or two they raise your premiums or drop you. its time to teach them a lesson.

Arthur, I understand your frustration and I understand how you feel, because I also just encountered a problem with State Farm. Although I am not happy with State Farm, and I think you were treated unfairly, THERE IS A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES, than our problem with State Farm. We've created a monster when we created the Insurance Company. Just ask the medical doctors that created Bluecross/Blueshield. Once, the medical doctors told the insurance company what the patient needed. That same company now dictates to the doctors, who, what, where and when, and how much health care we all receive. I have often thought, though I know it is just a fantasy, that if everyone in the United States, stopped paying insurance for one month, these insurance companies would realize who pays their salaries and mutual fund accounts. There are people that are doing well in this economy, but it is only a certain group of people. Come on, we all know that. Most people think that they are the only ones that are experiencing the tightening of the noose around their finacial necks---but they are not alone. Millions of us are feeling it too. We all know the names of the companies that supply us with telephone, electricity, gasoline, insurance, food--- you know, things you need to survive. The prices keep going up and we keep paying them. Why? Most people think that these companies are personally picking on them or that they are having a "streak of bad luck." While many of us may be experiencing a "streak of bad luck", what the majority of us are experiencing is a "STREAK OF GREED", by these companies like State Farm. I would like to think of this as just a "streak", but I think it is much more permanent than that. You see, if these greedy companies, like State Farm, can keep all of us in a "Survivor Mode", with our heads down, with our energy directed towards just paying our bills and eating, then we will not have the energy to take a serious look at what these companies have done to us. Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, or you are one of the ones that, against all odds, were able to make it, you are just trying to survive. Most people are too embarassed to tell other people that things are getting rougher finacially, that it is hard to get ahead today. But if you are middle-class and live in a middle-class neighborhood, and you took a door-to-door survey, I think you might be surprised to find that everyone is in the same boat. So what can we do about it? I have my ideas, but just like many of you, I wait for someone else to make the first move. I wait for someone to tell me what I can do to stop these companies from taking just about all of my pay check every week. Yes, State Farm is one of these companies that take our money every week and then dump us if they think they might have to pay a claim, or cancel us if we do have an accident, or not renew us because we can't make the premium. Is it right? No, it's not right, it's not fair, but we let them treat us this way. We let them take our money but for how long? For how long, will we as American citizens, settle for crumbs off the greedy company's table. How many years will we suffer, thinking we must be doing something wrong, when we look at what is left of our pay checks after paying the electric, telephone, gasoline, insurance, food, medicine, car payment and WATER? I love this country but I am not happy with her right now. I love the people for their strength, patriotism, sense of fairness and the intestinal fortitude to take a stand when something is unjust. I think there are millions of us that are unhappy about how things are going right now. I think, no I hope, there will come a time soon, when Americans across this nation, will stand together and speak with one voice, a voice that tells these greedy companies, like State Farm, that they need to find another gig, preferably on the other end of the earth--I hear there is room in Usama Bin Ladin's fox-hole. Good Luck Arthur

Arthur, I understand your frustration and I understand how you feel, because I also just encountered a problem with State Farm. Although I am not happy with State Farm, and I think you were treated unfairly, THERE IS A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES, than our problem with State Farm. We've created a monster when we created the Insurance Company. Just ask the medical doctors that created Bluecross/Blueshield. Once, the medical doctors told the insurance company what the patient needed. That same company now dictates to the doctors, who, what, where and when, and how much health care we all receive. I have often thought, though I know it is just a fantasy, that if everyone in the United States, stopped paying insurance for one month, these insurance companies would realize who pays their salaries and mutual fund accounts. There are people that are doing well in this economy, but it is only a certain group of people. Come on, we all know that. Most people think that they are the only ones that are experiencing the tightening of the noose around their finacial necks---but they are not alone. Millions of us are feeling it too. We all know the names of the companies that supply us with telephone, electricity, gasoline, insurance, food--- you know, things you need to survive. The prices keep going up and we keep paying them. Why? Most people think that these companies are personally picking on them or that they are having a "streak of bad luck." While many of us may be experiencing a "streak of bad luck", what the majority of us are experiencing is a "STREAK OF GREED", by these companies like State Farm. I would like to think of this as just a "streak", but I think it is much more permanent than that. You see, if these greedy companies, like State Farm, can keep all of us in a "Survivor Mode", with our heads down, with our energy directed towards just paying our bills and eating, then we will not have the energy to take a serious look at what these companies have done to us. Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, or you are one of the ones that, against all odds, were able to make it, you are just trying to survive. Most people are too embarassed to tell other people that things are getting rougher finacially, that it is hard to get ahead today. But if you are middle-class and live in a middle-class neighborhood, and you took a door-to-door survey, I think you might be surprised to find that everyone is in the same boat. So what can we do about it? I have my ideas, but just like many of you, I wait for someone else to make the first move. I wait for someone to tell me what I can do to stop these companies from taking just about all of my pay check every week. Yes, State Farm is one of these companies that take our money every week and then dump us if they think they might have to pay a claim, or cancel us if we do have an accident, or not renew us because we can't make the premium. Is it right? No, it's not right, it's not fair, but we let them treat us this way. We let them take our money but for how long? For how long, will we as American citizens, settle for crumbs off the greedy company's table. How many years will we suffer, thinking we must be doing something wrong, when we look at what is left of our pay checks after paying the electric, telephone, gasoline, insurance, food, medicine, car payment and WATER? I love this country but I am not happy with her right now. I love the people for their strength, patriotism, sense of fairness and the intestinal fortitude to take a stand when something is unjust. I think there are millions of us that are unhappy about how things are going right now. I think, no I hope, there will come a time soon, when Americans across this nation, will stand together and speak with one voice, a voice that tells these greedy companies, like State Farm, that they need to find another gig, preferably on the other end of the earth--I hear there is room in Usama Bin Ladin's fox-hole. Good Luck Arthur

Arthur, I understand your frustration and I understand how you feel, because I also just encountered a problem with State Farm. Although I am not happy with State Farm, and I think you were treated unfairly, THERE IS A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES, than our problem with State Farm. We've created a monster when we created the Insurance Company. Just ask the medical doctors that created Bluecross/Blueshield. Once, the medical doctors told the insurance company what the patient needed. That same company now dictates to the doctors, who, what, where and when, and how much health care we all receive. I have often thought, though I know it is just a fantasy, that if everyone in the United States, stopped paying insurance for one month, these insurance companies would realize who pays their salaries and mutual fund accounts. There are people that are doing well in this economy, but it is only a certain group of people. Come on, we all know that. Most people think that they are the only ones that are experiencing the tightening of the noose around their finacial necks---but they are not alone. Millions of us are feeling it too. We all know the names of the companies that supply us with telephone, electricity, gasoline, insurance, food--- you know, things you need to survive. The prices keep going up and we keep paying them. Why? Most people think that these companies are personally picking on them or that they are having a "streak of bad luck." While many of us may be experiencing a "streak of bad luck", what the majority of us are experiencing is a "STREAK OF GREED", by these companies like State Farm. I would like to think of this as just a "streak", but I think it is much more permanent than that. You see, if these greedy companies, like State Farm, can keep all of us in a "Survivor Mode", with our heads down, with our energy directed towards just paying our bills and eating, then we will not have the energy to take a serious look at what these companies have done to us. Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, or you are one of the ones that, against all odds, were able to make it, you are just trying to survive. Most people are too embarassed to tell other people that things are getting rougher finacially, that it is hard to get ahead today. But if you are middle-class and live in a middle-class neighborhood, and you took a door-to-door survey, I think you might be surprised to find that everyone is in the same boat. So what can we do about it? I have my ideas, but just like many of you, I wait for someone else to make the first move. I wait for someone to tell me what I can do to stop these companies from taking just about all of my pay check every week. Yes, State Farm is one of these companies that take our money every week and then dump us if they think they might have to pay a claim, or cancel us if we do have an accident, or not renew us because we can't make the premium. Is it right? No, it's not right, it's not fair, but we let them treat us this way. We let them take our money but for how long? For how long, will we as American citizens, settle for crumbs off the greedy company's table. How many years will we suffer, thinking we must be doing something wrong, when we look at what is left of our pay checks after paying the electric, telephone, gasoline, insurance, food, medicine, car payment and WATER? I love this country but I am not happy with her right now. I love the people for their strength, patriotism, sense of fairness and the intestinal fortitude to take a stand when something is unjust. I think there are millions of us that are unhappy about how things are going right now. I think, no I hope, there will come a time soon, when Americans across this nation, will stand together and speak with one voice, a voice that tells these greedy companies, like State Farm, that they need to find another gig, preferably on the other end of the earth--I hear there is room in Usama Bin Ladin's fox-hole. Good Luck Arthur

Arthur, I understand your frustration and I understand how you feel, because I also just encountered a problem with State Farm. Although I am not happy with State Farm, and I think you were treated unfairly, THERE IS A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES, than our problem with State Farm. We've created a monster when we created the Insurance Company. Just ask the medical doctors that created Bluecross/Blueshield. Once, the medical doctors told the insurance company what the patient needed. That same company now dictates to the doctors, who, what, where and when, and how much health care we all receive. I have often thought, though I know it is just a fantasy, that if everyone in the United States, stopped paying insurance for one month, these insurance companies would realize who pays their salaries and mutual fund accounts. There are people that are doing well in this economy, but it is only a certain group of people. Come on, we all know that. Most people think that they are the only ones that are experiencing the tightening of the noose around their finacial necks---but they are not alone. Millions of us are feeling it too. We all know the names of the companies that supply us with telephone, electricity, gasoline, insurance, food--- you know, things you need to survive. The prices keep going up and we keep paying them. Why? Most people think that these companies are personally picking on them or that they are having a "streak of bad luck." While many of us may be experiencing a "streak of bad luck", what the majority of us are experiencing is a "STREAK OF GREED", by these companies like State Farm. I would like to think of this as just a "streak", but I think it is much more permanent than that. You see, if these greedy companies, like State Farm, can keep all of us in a "Survivor Mode", with our heads down, with our energy directed towards just paying our bills and eating, then we will not have the energy to take a serious look at what these companies have done to us. Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, or you are one of the ones that, against all odds, were able to make it, you are just trying to survive. Most people are too embarassed to tell other people that things are getting rougher finacially, that it is hard to get ahead today. But if you are middle-class and live in a middle-class neighborhood, and you took a door-to-door survey, I think you might be surprised to find that everyone is in the same boat. So what can we do about it? I have my ideas, but just like many of you, I wait for someone else to make the first move. I wait for someone to tell me what I can do to stop these companies from taking just about all of my pay check every week. Yes, State Farm is one of these companies that take our money every week and then dump us if they think they might have to pay a claim, or cancel us if we do have an accident, or not renew us because we can't make the premium. Is it right? No, it's not right, it's not fair, but we let them treat us this way. We let them take our money but for how long? For how long, will we as American citizens, settle for crumbs off the greedy company's table. How many years will we suffer, thinking we must be doing something wrong, when we look at what is left of our pay checks after paying the electric, telephone, gasoline, insurance, food, medicine, car payment and WATER? I love this country but I am not happy with her right now. I love the people for their strength, patriotism, sense of fairness and the intestinal fortitude to take a stand when something is unjust. I think there are millions of us that are unhappy about how things are going right now. I think, no I hope, there will come a time soon, when Americans across this nation, will stand together and speak with one voice, a voice that tells these greedy companies, like State Farm, that they need to find another gig, preferably on the other end of the earth--I hear there is room in Usama Bin Ladin's fox-hole. Good Luck Arthur

I have worked in the insurance industry for a long time. I just want to say that you would be lucky if State Farm would write your insurance again at all because they normally will not insure ANYONE who has been driving without insurance for more than 30 days. In fact, most standard insurance companies would either deny you coverage or rate you higher in those circumstance. It's unfortunate but true!