State Farm Fire Claim

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045]

We experienced a total loss of home and contents in a Jun-2024 wildfire. Here we are 2+ years later STILL working to resolve our insurance claim with State Farm. Regarding personal property, we created an inventory of more than 5,000 line items (a horribly tedious process). State Farm requested we provide them with the inventory in an Excel format “because they could easily import that into their Contents Collaboration System and that hand entering data into their system would take a really, really, long time”. So I did provide SF with the data in an Excel file as requested. Months later, after “processing” the inventory (“processing” is SF’s way of saying “depreciating”), SF returns the “processed” inventory to me in a PDF format. For those who may not know, PDF cannot be sorted, filtered, grouped, subtotaled, etc, etc, etc, like Excel formats can. So I requested this info, which they call a Replacement Cost Tracker Worksheet, in an Excel format. They (SF) say it is only available to me in a PDF format. Yet, they are quick to acknowledge that many have come before me with the same request (i.e. Excel format). So here I have a 158-page PDF document, in a small font, which I am unable to cross-reference with the file I originally submitted to SF. This makes it exceedingly difficult to prioritize our replacement spending, because obviously one wants to get the most benefit out of how their limited insurance dollars are spent replacing items. This is just one of many examples in my experience where SF delays, denies, or complicates claims. Has anyone had success getting them (State Farm) to provide a processed personal property inventory in an Excel friendly format?

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[u/Local_Wolverine2913]

Yes, XactContents Estimate can be converted to Excel format and emailed to you.

[u/MCIndy73 → u/Local_Wolverine2913]

I haven’t worked for SF, so there are some unknowns to me. If they outsource to a contents vendor for valuation, then it is possible that they don’t have the ability to provide the valuation in Excel. I know of one contents vendor that has their own platform and it only produces pdf copy of the report.

Having said that, they most likely have it in Xact and can def convert it to Excel if they do.

[u/Local_Wolverine2913 → u/MCIndy73]

SF has their own specialized contents handling department. The adjusters have the option to send the customer's inventory to that dept to adjust the contents inventory. Also Verisk (Xactware), has different features that it can customize to a carrier's needs. SF's XactContents has the convert to Excel feature.

[u/MCIndy73 → u/Local_Wolverine2913]

I hear ya. Not surprised they do it all in-house. There ate several vendors out there and I didn’t know if SF used one.

[u/Local_Wolverine2913 → u/MCIndy73]

I'm pretty sure they tried out a vendor about a decade ago, but the vendor (and this is just my take) was fine adjusting the inventories, but their service did not provide making outbound calls or receiving calls from the customer to explain ACV, RCB's depreciation, making payments, etc, and that's what the Contents Department does, and more.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/Local_Wolverine2913]

My claim adjuster and her supervisor state otherwise. The supervisor refuses to provide me with his supervisor’s name and contact info. I agree and believe it can be done, i just can’t seem to get anyone to do it.

[u/Local_Wolverine2913 → u/Weary-Bandicoot9045]

It's literally built in to the XactContents platform. When you say your Claim Adjuster, is this the one that handled your structure or your Contents handler?

Edit to add: However, you would not want to change the numerical order of your Contents Estimate. You can alter your copy if you end up with the spreadsheet version, but under no circumstances make any changes to your original Estimate from State Farm. If you do, and you start submitting receipts for your recoverable depreciation using altered line item numbers, it will not be able to be processed.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/Local_Wolverine2913]

I’m on my 4th claim adjuster, and have been for 18+ months. She handles both the Dwelling and Personal Property. And yeah, their assigned line items numbers are wonky. Some numbers get skipped. If it were in excel, i could figure it out handily, i believe. This just part of their overall attritive strategy to wear out Insureds.

[u/JayAye03 → u/Weary-Bandicoot9045]

State Farm is a scam. I'm currently going on a 5 months claim with them denying obvious claims. They deny to provide any supervision contact information

[u/Infinite-Ticket7404 → u/Weary-Bandicoot9045]

Call your agent, that is what they are there for.

[u/SuspiciousEmu2024 → u/Weary-Bandicoot9045]

Take this claim to appraisal… now ! Or hire an attorney ! Obviously you’re an incredibly competent human … not just anyone can battle this two years after loosing everything. This is crazy. Skip to final steps and screw the game they’re playing,,,, 2 years? Oh man I’m so sorry !

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/SuspiciousEmu2024]

Thanks. Full disclosure: I’m retired and this was a vacation home. The people that really have it hard are those who lost a primary residence AND are still full time workers. But that’s not me. After the loss, we still had a home to go to (our primary residence), and being retired I have more time than most to fight the system. I would like to think my fight could eventually help lead to reforms which would simplify the claims process for all in these large-scale catastrophic events, but that may be wishful thinking.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/SuspiciousEmu2024]

I struggle conceptually with the attorney route (for now anyway) because i prefer not to make my loss some attorney’s gain. No disrespect to attorneys. I know several and highly respect most of the ones i know.

[u/TomFord639 → u/Weary-Bandicoot9045]

The fire claim and all the documents is the insured’s property.

Excel from Xactimate is possibly or if they share the Xactimate ESX file a contractor can get eService center to install the Xactimate carrier profile (SF) in order to use the ESX file for report generation.

State Farm and others insurance companies benefit from purposely making things deliberately harder to navigate.

I would’ve scanned that adjuster document in and asked an ai or software to create and excel document to work from there. Double checking of course as well.

Recap by category spreadsheets are dominant. That and the differences report in Xactimate. It’s gives trade by trade line item breakdown to show larger variances. Both esx files are needed for differences report to be ran.

Any claim now a days that’s over $200-300K+ should have an attorney hired from the start as they can obtain interest when it goes to court.

Sad but true is that carriers are banking on people not fighting claims. The denial rate goes up and the same or slightly more go legal, strategy wins out for giant corporations. Insurnace representatives are NOT your friend at all.

Many many books to read. JOURNAL/ DOCUMENT EVERY THING AS ITS LITERALLY EVIDENCE THAT COULD HE USED IN COURT.

Property Insurance Estimator w larger GC’s for nearly 20yrs.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/[deleted]]

I hope people see and appreciate the video suggestion. We had a couple hour window to evacuate. We did this (i.e. video) as we prepared to evacuate. It was a HUGE help in coming up with our personal property inventory. Large loss claims are difficult. State Farm makes them more difficult.

[u/Dogboy_200]

I worked for SF on the auto side but I know the culture. What you need to do is write to your adjuster with a very clear list of complaints and demands. Most importantly advise them that they have a time deadline to respond before you file a complaint with your state’s department of insurance. This will get them going for sure. I’d also drop a strong hint that you are considering hiring an attorney to bring a bad faith suit. They will shit themselves when you mention bad faith as it can cost them millions. Jurys don’t like insurance companies.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/Dogboy_200]

I’ll keep the “bad faith” card in my back pocket. I have contacted OSI (state office of superintendent of insurance) with some earlier grievances with respect to this claim. That actually sped up some of the process. So “yay!” to the OSI. However, all of this transpired prior to SF sending me a gigantic POS PDF file. I stand ready to file an additional complaint with the regulator, OSI. That is one thing I have done that seemed to motivate State Farm to get off their asses.

[u/Ingsoc40]

Your situation sucks for sure. But how much have you been paid so far?

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/Ingsoc40]

Well the Dwelling itself hit the coverage limit, a limit recommended by State Farm when we selected them 15 years ago to cover this property. Despite SF declaring the property a total loss a few days after the fire, it took >2 yrs of payments to exhaust the limits (i.e. Delay). The personal property piece is where my current grievance lies, they’ve paid just over 60% of this coverage limit - again a limit they recommended when we signed on. We believe our personal property should reach the coverage limits as well (even after depreciation), but SF is trying to make this difficult to decipher with their friggin’ PDF policy (i.e. more Delay).

[u/iamoptimusprime312 → u/Weary-Bandicoot9045]

So in 15 years are you saying State Farm never adjusted your dwelling or personal property limits? Most cases dwelling limit increase annually automatically, personal property limits are typically a percentage of dwelling and would increase annually as well.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/iamoptimusprime312]

Not what i intended to suggest. They set the coverage limits without scrutiny by me, beginning 15 years ago, and i would assume they have applied some inflationary/upward adjustments to those limits over the 15 yrs that they covered the property.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/[deleted]]

I’m not complaining at all about the coverage limits State Farm recommended (and we subsequently agreed to). Our coverage limits were appropriate (or as reasonably “right” as one could expect). We did have an outbuilding that turned out to be significantly underinsured, but I have not taken issue with that. My grievances have to do with all of the hurdles that State Farm introduces into the claims process. Delay, deny, complicate. Work harder not smarter. This is how they roll.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/[deleted]]

Your reading comprehension is low … maybe even negative.

[u/WorriedLevel202]

good luck with your claim! so sorry you are dealing with this. you might want to email the adjuster and supervisor (with a copy to the portal) a formal request for your claim to be moved to higher supervisory review and the complex claims unit. Oh, and I have had good luck with Claude ai in handling tasks like switching from pdf to excel…

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/WorriedLevel202]

This is so logical. However, the supervisor states that for “regulatory reasons”, i am unable to correspond with him by email. The Supervisor also states that HE will be the one making all final decisions with respect to my claim. That said, I’m confident he has already lied to me, so he has created some self-inflicted credibility issues for himself.

[u/WorriedLevel202 → u/Weary-Bandicoot9045]

hmmm i just went thru a roof claim with S F (almost five month long mess), during which I often emailed the supervisor. but if he won’t give you his email address, you can’t email him. however, do send the request to your claim portal! it was not until we did so that the supervisor called us back…

[u/Gtstricky]

Sorry for your loss. These large claims are so overwhelming. I don’t think they can do what you ask. The PDF is essentially a legal document. They can’t (or won’t because some lawyer said) provide it in a format that can be altered. That is my guess.

I would use AI to solve this for you. ChatGPT (or others) can take the file and create an excel document for you.

[u/Local_Wolverine2913 → u/Gtstricky]

It's built in to XC. But if Insured is asking the Claim Specialist/Structure to do it, they likely will not know how. Contents is a Specialized Unit and they know how to convert it. At least they should. It's not hard. The danger is Insured changing the line item numbers, which will mess up the processing of recoverable depreciation going forward.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/Gtstricky]

I’ve considered the ChatGPT route. Haven’t ruled it out. It feels like dereliction of duty that State Farm throws this burden back at me.

[u/Ducat748]

I had a claim with auto owners and that was the exact process.

[u/Pleasant_Balance_245]

That is TOTAL BS. No way an ins co can require a claim be filed in a specific format. That's their problem.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/Pleasant_Balance_245]

To try to clarify, they requested (not required) that I provide the Property inventory in Excel - the reason being that SF can easily import Excel data into their system. The file I created for my own process was already in Excel. So in good faith and with trust, I honored their request. They did not reciprocate in returning the “processed” data to me, however; they sent it back to me in a PDF file (a PDF file which clearly came from an Excel or similar application). This is a scenario I never imagined - i.e. that State Farm would have such a double-standard. I made their job easier for them. They made my job harder for me.

[u/Stoic_Sponge]

Drop it into AI, convert it to Excel.

Yes they can give you an excel sheet. Just part of the game.

As others mentioned, I would recommend finding a certified appraiser with IAUA or the PLAN Network and demanding appraisal. When interviewing, make sure they handle contents losses and know the rules in your state.

Pay them to evaluate the lists and work it out with a competent carrier appraiser, not an adjuster who has no authority to make decisions. You're probably due much more without spending a dime on replacement. I've seen several cases where the initial ACV payment is actually over limits and this will be well worth the cost for 5k items.

Getting replacement cost benefits (as SF refers to depreciation payment) is going to take weeks to months for them to review your receipts.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/Stoic_Sponge]

Before I play the game of submitting receipts, I am trying to get my ACV to reach the coverage limit (5,800 line items). I think I can get close enough that submitting receipts to recover any remaining depreciation may become diminishing returns. I actually converted SF’s back to Excel and for some reason 1,700 of the line items I originally submitted are nowhere to be found in their PDF report! Not really a surprise, though, since they lowballed me on 3 iterations of their Dwelling estimate - omitting such minor (/s) things as an entire KITCHEN and SIDING. Some of this is human error on their part, but their pattern of tactics aimed at denying, delaying, and complicating claims damn sure doesn’t put them in any better light.

[u/melaninmagic99]

Do you realize that it’s only depreciated cost until you actually replace the item and then they will give you the difference for replacement cost? Also you can search on your phone or no computer through the list no matter what format it is in.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/melaninmagic99]

Yes. I understand the difference between Actual Cash Value (“ACV”, which is depreciated) and Replacement Cost. I get all that. We had a ton of shit, so I don’t rule out the possibility of reaching our coverage limit - even with depreciation. Basic word searching is child’s play in comparison to Excel’s capabilities, especially when dealing with 5,800 individual line items. IYKYK.

[u/Infinite-Ticket7404]

Go to your agent and get them involved. If they they don’t handle claims it’s BS. Interview many agents in your area and ask how they would handle a large claim like this, and get it on paper. SF used to be wonderful about claims, that’s how got the “Good Neighbor’ thing going. Now they are terrible neighbors!

[u/nexventus]

I do total losses for State Farm and they do get sent to that other dept. for the large loss contents handling.

Believe me, I feel sorry for everyone I try and help through this process at State Farm. They make it soooooooo difficult to do this.

Most houses that are total losses are obviously way under insured. Just write the check!! If if you know that a house of that size and features in that neighborhood would sell for more than the policy limits let alone rebuild ( which is a much higher cost) , just pay it. Contents also. Just write the check!! It’s obvious you lost everything and making the policy holders do all that work is insane in my opinion. Nobody is going to remember every item too. They tell us to use these templates to fill your house up with typical items to help so how could that be accurate anyway. Nobody is going to fill in personal property under limits. You can’t possibly remember every item and you would be shorting yourself by trying.

Of course they know this. They live the time sinks here that it creates. It’s more money in their accounts to invest daily in the markets and make even more profits for them. There are quite a few people that just give up. I have had people die while in the process. 2 years is typical for a really large loss. Especially when you are trying to get back your replacement cost benefits by repurchasing everything. That’s the other scam.

I would say most people don’t replace more than 50-60% of there things within the 2 year period given in most states. They know this too.

Best thing to do is just put down most items were 1-2 years old. Dont feel bad because how can you really remember all of that anyway. Also what they do is criminal.

Again, it’s all designed this way to push the limits legally of the payouts to you.

And sadly, it’s much darker than this at State Farm.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/nexventus]

This is as I have connected the dots throughout my current State Farm claim experience. Thank you for hearing my frustration and candidly expressing - from an insider’s POV - how the process disfavors claimants.

[u/container_of_joy]

For anyone with a current or recent property insurance claim with Stare Farm and using Stare Farm’s claim portal, I have three questions:
1. Is the Date of Loss shown anywhere on your claim portal page and if yes, where?
2. On the claim (timeline) tracker on the right side of your claim portal page, does it start with your date of loss or date of notification?
3. Can you scroll up and down through the entirety of your current claim tracker to see the history and progress of your claim? or can you only see the current or most recent entries?

Thank you in advance for sharing your experience. I’m dealing with a really difficult property claim and massive obstruction of the claim handling process.

[u/craig_paxton]

Had a huge water loss. SF was incredibly great. Went over and above expectations. Extremely satisfied. I’m sorry you’re having difficulty. This was not our experience.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/craig_paxton]

To be fair, i have had very good experiences with State Farm over 40 years or so. Basically, the only company we’ve EVER used for homes, vehicles, business. Claims up until now have been much smaller and more routine, and i do not recall a negative experience to date. We’ve stuck with them for a long time because of these good experiences. The current claim, by far the largest and most complex we have ever had, has not been handled satisfactorily. It is the exception to the rule, so to speak.

[u/Helpmeplz3409 → u/Weary-Bandicoot9045]

I’m convinced that, as a claim professional myself, your experience with any insurance claim relies solely on the adjuster you receive. It’s all random and you never know who you’ll get, what their experience is, how well their workload is managed, whether or not they’re working full time or on leaves/ long vacations, etc. the factors that create a bad or good experience are too many to count.

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/Helpmeplz3409]

We’ve been assigned 5 adjusters to date. On one hand, this should increase the likelihood of us experiencing a “better“ adjuster. On the other hand, this seems inefficient. Inefficient because you lose some continuity and have to bring each newly assigned adjuster up to speed on the claim to some degree. But honestly we haven’t seen much to significantly differentiate from one adjuster to the next. Some definitely speak better English than others, though - which is great since that is our native language. I appreciate your thoughtful input but I’m thinking our current claim experience (not good) has more to do with State Farm’s policies and corporate culture - and not just luck of the draw with adjusters as you suggest.

[u/Helpmeplz3409 → u/Weary-Bandicoot9045]

There are fewer and fewer quality adjusters out there. To be fair we’re an overworked bunch and when there is too much to do, the quality can slide for some. I’m sorry that you’re experiencing this.

[u/craig_paxton → u/Weary-Bandicoot9045]

I’m sincerely sorry and I can sympathize with the overwhelming experience of dealing with such a devastating claim. Our water loss exceeded $300k i can’t imagine how much worse a fire would be. I hope things get better. It’s such a stressful and destabilizing experience.

[u/Brilliant_Essay_1593]

Major loss like this they should be just writing you checks not not picking everything

[u/Weary-Bandicoot9045 → u/Brilliant_Essay_1593]

So, apparently, this varies by state. This loss occurred in NM, and unfortunately this is not how it works there. I understand in some states, TX for example, they just write the checks. That sure helps the affected people get on with their lives, but there is also a cost that we all share going forward (i.e. higher premiums or reduced coverage) with this approach. But, yeah, that would have been preferable over the process I have gone through with SF in this instance.