Something to try

I have been battling Farmers for 8 months over a group of 150 collectibles that were damaged in a flooding incident. I posted the story then but to abbreviate the problems: The "appraiser" they assigned was promised to be accredited and qualified. He was neither, he lost his accreditation a year ago because he wouldn't do the mandated continuing education (required only every 5 years) and his areas of expertise were swords, medals, medallions and armaments, my collection was high end dolls and teddy bears! He refused to look at the items or even photos. He used eBay for his valuations - a lowbal tactic that is shunned by professional, legitimate appraisers. He made substitutions that were inferior or so different from the original as to be unrecognizable. When the insurance commissioner mandated that he at least look at 50 of the pieces, he looked at only 19. Farmers used every loophole and manipulation available to avoid paying the true value of the collection. They violated their agreement with the BBB. They forced me into their own "appraisal process" which requires both parties to hire an "unbiased and able" appraiser but they refused to use anyone other than the same unqualified person - even when advised by the insurance commissioner that they were refusing to adhere to their own policy requirements. I've been to everyone I can find with minimal help. I finally went to a consumer affairs reporter. He ran a story yesterday on 4 news broadcasts and CNN's local headlines. I already know of just 4 families in our neighborhood that will be transferring insurance of assets totaling over $5 million. Multiply that by the thousands of people who saw the broadcast that I'll never hear from and you start getting significant damage. Everyone ripped off by Farmers should do the same. Farmers new ad slogan is "we offer the most discounts without discount coverage." Everyone should complain to the FTC's "truth in advertising division." Make them prove it. If you can't get your money back, at least keep them from getting it from other people. Jeanne

This is a tough lesson for all involved, but let me outline what went wrong here:

First, as the insured who is insuring your personal belongings, it is your resonsibility to have your collections appraised and documented. It is also your resonsibility to make sure that a copy of those documents get in the hands or your agent, and that a copy is kept in a location that is removed from your home or in a fireproof location in the event that a fire or flood could destroy your documents. Then, you must verify that your policy will cover your collectibles. By default, with a collection of this magnitude, your policy will not cover it entirely. You then need to endorse your homeowners policy and buy the coverage that will ensure your collections' protection. (It is this last step that usually causes most people to do nothing about it, and then complain when they can't get their collection replaced. If you want coverage, you have to pay for it.)

Second, with the situation you faced with the appraiser, you need to speak to his supervisor and have him fired. If he is not certified, then he can not legally continue with the claim. My confusion comes in where you spoke with the state insurance commisoner, and he was allowed to stay on the file. If he was in fact not certified, then the insurance commisioner should have stepped in and demanded that he be removed from his position at least until he was fully certified again.

That said, any loss is a terrible thing, and a lecture following that loss is rarely well recieved. I would start with your agent. These situations are the very reason for having a personal agent. Your agent should have spent the time with you to make sure that everything was covered. If they did not, then the initial problem lies there. Remember for future reference that you can go over your agent's head with the claims process. If you are unsatisfiesd with the level of service, speak with the district manager, and continue up the chain until you get an answer. Also, be prepared to take resonsibility for not insuring your belongings. If you feel that your agent should have been more thorough in assessing your needs, then you may have a case to make a claim against that agents errors and omission insurance.

Hope that helps a bit, or at least clears things up.

I just found this response to the note I posted several months ago. Part of the problems is that you are missing some big chunks of the story. We had only had the collection in our possession for four days. It had previously been in an insured storage facility. We took it out and had to put it in a rented building to evaluate it for the insurance company but we were insured for offsite damages up to $25000. The question was never whether the collection was covered. The "appraiser" is independent, he has no supervisor. The IC said that the insurance companies are allowed to use anyone they want for appraisals, they don't have to be either accredited or qualified. Farmers used every underhanded and manipulative tactic at their disposal because they know they can get away with it. It has now been over a year and the IC still has the file open because when Farmers had the collection in their possession (while it still belonged to me), the broke several of the high end pieces, such as a doll that sells only from one European dealer for almost $600. Farmers is offering me $35 and they have given me no documentation as to how they established that price. It was evidently pulled out of thin air. So, how do fight that if the IC can't do anything? Jeanne

Mark Mayes is a liar. BEWARE
Mark Mayes, owner of Monte Carlo Cleaners, is a liar.
He told me repeatedly he would pay me for the clothes his location destroyed and months later has not.
DO NOT GIVE MONEY TO PEOPLE WHO DO NOT DO BUSINESS FAIRLY!!!


MONTE CARLO CLEANERS

Mark Mayes

mmayes67@cox.net

Owner

16211 N. Scottsdale Road #6B Scottsdale , AZ

PHONE# : (480) 464-7783

EMAIL : mmayes67@cox.net

CONTACT NAME: Mr. Mark Mayes, Owner

16211 N Scottsdale Rd
Scottsdale, AZ 85254

(480) 778-1862

Mesa

Mark Mayes is a liar. BEWARE
Mark Mayes, owner of Monte Carlo Cleaners, is a liar.
He told me repeatedly he would pay me for the clothes his location destroyed and months later has not.
DO NOT GIVE MONEY TO PEOPLE WHO DO NOT DO BUSINESS FAIRLY!!!

Located in Scottsdale , AZ.
He also owns one in Mesa .

16211 N. Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, AZ
480-778-1862 or 480-464-7783
mmayes67@cox.net

I agree that tactics can seem unfair. My husband was in an accident so we went through an auto accident claim with Farmers. To evaluate the value of our vehicle, which they "totaled" though the value was almost equal to the repair estimate, and we requested that they repair it---the claims agent stated to me that he intended to telephone car owners with for sale ads in the local newspaper and ask them if they'd "Take Less." From the lowest amount he received he would obtain the car's value.

Great nice post! thanks for sharing