Lowballed

I have had a miserable experience with Farmers Insurance after being rear-ended by their insured almost a year ago, where I suffered a neck injury. They have delayed and delayed and delayed, sending form letters that they need more (unspecified) information. I never even received an offer!! Finally, I had to sue them, and what do they do? They send out interrogatories and a request for production of documents. Farmers is just about as bad as they get.

We were rear ended by one of Farmer's insured drivers. My husband ended up with over $10k in medical bills. Thankfully we were driving our big truck and he was driving a little one, so the damage to our truck was not extensive. We were lowballed by Farmer's so we hired a lawyer. They lowballed him too, so we filed a lawsuit. We were required by law to attend a "negotiation" before the trial. Farmer's still lowballed us, but the offer was a little better. We discussed it for a few days, then decided to settle and then Farmer's decided to withdraw their offer. As of now, we are going to court. It's been almost 3 years since the accident, and still Farmer's fights us. We are not asking for the moon, we just wanted to be treated fairly.

These posts all sound so much like our own. I can relate. My wife was hit in the rear by a FRAMERS insured client. It was Halloween,the middle of the day. The bozo driving the truck ran a stop sign at a significant rate of speed hit our car and proceeded to keep going through 2 more lanes to hit the front of another going the opposite way before stopping. After all his information was retrieved retrieved and reported to the offending insurance agent, he played a disappearing act for two weeks. The agent could not get a hold of him to take responsibility. Or so she said. After the disappearing act and the total lack of respect we recieved from FRAMERS, we decided to go see a lawyer.

So, a little background; My wife and I had been insured with FRAMERS for the first 16 years we were married. We insured 3 cars, a truck, a boat, two motorcycles, our house and at one time, our old house, as a rental. And, mind you, we had only 2 drivers for several of those years. Never a claim one until the very end. And after the way we were treated, I said, "ADIOS." I was parked next to a van on my left side at a strip mall and while backing out of the space I hit, TAPPED, a new Toyota backing up from the left side of the van at a 90 degree angle to me. No damage to the family truckster, a Chevy Tahoe, and literally a half inch scratch, from the witch in the little Toyota that sliiped in under teh window before I saw her. It was immediately apparent that this situation was going to turn into a shouting match so, I gave the lady my agents card and told her to work it out with him. After all the investigation was over ( a single phone call), FRAMERS said I was at fault and they were going to pay the claim. And since I was claiming no damage to my car, there would be no deductible. Small miracles.

Small miracles my a$$! When I got the next bill for my truck ( 35 year old GMC), the rate almost tripled. I was paying 160 something every six months; it went to just over 400 bucks. I called the agent and all he had to say was "WOW!" I refused to pay it and we left FRAMERS very soon afterwards.

Skip forward to today and the headache returns. FRAMERS did take the responsibility for the insured but, when it was time to get the damage appraisal...you guessed it; aftermarket parts, used parts and fix folded sheet metal over replacing it. In come the lawyers and with some good advice from my current insurance company, DO NOT let FRAMERS handle the repairs. Who knows what is ahead for the physical part, medical bills, in thsi situation. That is something for the lawyers to iron out.

p.s.
Injury lawyers, while good, do not seem to take too much interest in the car repair part of the equation. I wish FRAMERS the worst! This is the same type of underhanded sh!t that drove Americans to shun American car dealerships when the Japanese cars were spinning up.

I was hit while sitting at a red light by a Farmers Insured Grand Cherokee traveling at 75 to 90 miles per hour. The Jeep hit my Benz just in front of the windshield from above. The impact resulted in my car being turned 90 degrees and dragged 35 feet over a curb and through a telephone pole and into a $175k traffic control box. It took me nearly 3 weeks to get a response from Farmers. I asked if I could bring my daughters along with me to meet the agent. The agent explained that they would take 21 months to evaluate the medical claims and requested that I forward the medical bills on a monthly basis. I was fortunate that I knew folks at the scene and they took photos, which I showed to the agent (not pretty). The agent was very driven by policy and failed to ask my daughters what they did. One was an attorney and the other an MD with good knowledge of my medical issues.

I want to go to court. I will provide Farmers with all my medical bills (which will exceed their coverage) in the 21st month. I will give them 2 weeks to make an offer and then file for court. My goal is to run their legal defense bills up as high as I can and show the pictures, present the invoices, present the physicians records and then quote the activites that I have had to quit based on their damage of me personally.

If the claim exceeds the limits of the defendant, usually your insureance will pick up under the unensured/underinsured amount.

My car was stolen in Dec. Found three days later and since my deductible was so high and i dont have towing i was told it would all come out of my pocket. the steering column was peeled at they say had it fixed and 4 weeks later the engine blows. Farmers is trying to blame the defect in a 2001 timing chain tensioner but i had that replaced a year ago along with the oil and filters. Then they wanted to blame my mechanic saying he did something wrong to it. Wrong the engine would have blown before that, then they told me that timing chains just go. No No and the real kicker is now they tell me that "Well sometimes the mechanic just tells you what you want to hear. Are you kidding me the engine was toast. Now I am told they will not be covering anything. In the scheme of things, why isnt the insurance company blaming the people who stole my car. Neutral Drops will ruin your transmission. They had the car for three days. I dont think they took grandma to church do you? Now i have to pay for insurance on the old car until this is settled, had to buy a diffrent car, pay insurance on this car, not to mention, the car had a lein on it so i have to keep paying that too. It has been three weeks, they kept saying they were investigating, investigating what. Oh and I only put 4860 miles a year on my car and I have had it for 7 years. Kept all the receipts for work done on the car they dont care. Single widowed mom with kids under 13. Cost me a mint oh forgot had to pay for a rental car they paid 15 I paid the rest 18 dollars a day hey last time it was only 8. I am not giving up. Judge Joe Brown may see me yet.

my claim was similar in that my mechanic said the repairs would be $300 ( I didnt have a written estimate, I didnt think I needed it), my deductible was $250. Farmers deny my claim saying wear and tear on the belt, then I told the adjuster the belt was new, less than 6 months. Then he got a piece work estimate, not from an actual repair shop, just a parts list and said the repairs would be $130. he said that is under my estimate and I would have to pay for my rental, which was over $400.

It appears they try to find every trick in the book to deny a claim and keep it closed.

Took for years but was rear ended by someone carrying Farmers took them to civil court and with the brilliant help of attorneys Henry Moore and daughter Jayme Bomben won our settlement on March $th 2011. What a trip it has been.. My back will now get fixed but the scars remain..

Please tell me where I can sign up for the class action. My car was rear ended by a Farmers' customer. They refused to accept my doctor's
diagnosis and insisted on using their doctor. Guess what was the result? Nothing wrong even though I can't sleep and have a headache. But what
I need now is to get some money to either fix my car or buy another one. They used this CCC database which showed the price of similar model in
Bakersfield was $6000. But it had 75k more miles and is 300 miles away. I spent a year reasoning with their adjuster. Can't even talk to a manager.

Thanks, Jorge

AJ:

Dead or not, you can still sue him and his estate. If he was wrong in life, he is still wrong in death.

January 12, 2007 01:26PM
I am closing on a case right now after 4 years. Was rear ended by a Farmers policy holder totaling my car (he was having a seizure; estimated speed on impact 65 mph) and I still treat occasionally for my injuries...they offered me $2,500 to start but I could only negotiate to $3,500. Can't sue the driver, he died in surgery after the accident. Good Luck to you.

Soft tissue in my back hurts all the time anywhere from 2-10 I was offered 6k what a joke Im in pain since the accident and you want to lowball me I want to make sure I can get treated in the future and get an amount that is laughable Im not looking on becoming a millionaire but I want to be compensated I have seen post and thought about telling my lawyer the amount that I want and or just suing the driver and company I now have to alter my life based on someone talking on a cell phone and not looking at the road

(1) Sue
(2) Ask for more
(3) take the check and hope for the best

Farmers Insurance is, in my opinion, an insurance company that cannot be trusted.

Their insured hit my vehicle and was at fault. My vehicle was totaled and that claim was settled within one month. By the way, they settle fast on the vehicle so they don't have to pay too much for the rental car you get. Oh, any insurance you get on the rental car is not paid by them.

NOW, to the pain and suffering. Claims agent came to the house and said that after medical bills paid there would also be pain and suffering payment. He was so nice (I thought).

Don't hold your breath folks on pain and suffering payments,they will low ball it and tell you all kinds of stories. If you are lucky like I was and your medical condition is not bad you can accept Farmers pain and suffering low ball payment. I thank God every day that my accident was not bad and that I found help to relieve my pain other than medicine and physical therapy.

Don't fax to Farmers, it goes into a black hole. Personally deliver every document.

If you see any delays in the settlement of your claim do not hesitate to report your situation to your state Insurance Commission.

It took 13 months to make final settlement. I would hate to think of what I would have to go through if my medical conditions were more extensive.

As a business Farmers is one of worst. It uses slimy tactics that allow them to funnel money to the executives pocket AND sponsor all those sporting events. Where else would they get the money?

Wow there are a lot of bad drivers insured by Farmers! The one that demolished my property was taking Rx sedative hypnotics and he drove while unconscious. As expected the insurance adjuster gave me the industry standard mind game where his entire processing was centered on diminishing the value of my vehicle and belongings that were destroyed by their driver.

I won't go into details because my claim is still in process but I am preparing the simple display sign and Farmers logo that will be painted on the back of my un-repaired vehicle. It is completely drivable and will be a rollling testament that states: "Repairs by Farmers Insurance Company". Their marketing and public relations department will receive a high resolition copy of my simple, targeted and highly exposed negative advertising for their consideration.

Without going into details of my accident, I have had to open a complaint with the Dept. of Ins. of CA, who thus re-opened the investigation when one of their employees closed the complaint, stating that it was simply a dispute over the settlement amount. NOT SO! Under the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act, if you get hit by a driver, their insurance OWES you a fair settlement. If they do not give you one, look up this act and see if the practices fall under the terms of it. My first adjuster lied through his teeth! He tried to screw me out of lost wages, tried to "estimate" medical bills before they were all received. When I complained to his supervisor via their crummy website, he claimed I was not allowed to talk to his supervisor. Quite in fact, through my complaint with the Dept. of Insurance and their subsequent reinvestigation, I have now been put through 3 different claims adjusters and 2 different claims supervisors at their god-awful company. Their offer has nearly doubled from the first offer, but it is only half of what I was asking for. I talked with an attorney who won a suit at the same court house I will have to be using when I drag the guy who hit me into court over this. Just know that one of your biggest complaints made to the Dept. of Insurance should include that Farmers forces consumers (whether it's their own insured or the 3rd party filing against their own insured) to have to file suits to get fair settlements that should have been offered by their company to begin with. They are thus wasting courts' and tax payers' monies for settlements that they should be making outright. They are also forcing you - the consumer - to have to reach into your own pocket to hire an attorney - even if it's for a small claims court amount - in order to be able to know your rights and keep from getting screwed by their lying adjusters. Just remember that you have time on your side and you should most certainly file complaints with your state's Department of Insurance, because they are the ones who REGULATE businesses like Farmers. The more people complain to the Dept. of Insurance, the better. Because even though the Dept. of Insurance cannot settle your claim, the more complaints they have filed in their office against Farmers, the more investigations of their practices are performed. They will then take an aggregate amount and review it all several times a year to find out WHY Farmers can't seem to give anyone a fair settlement. And if they receive enough complaints, they will fine them, take away their license to operate as an insurance group, or both! So my biggest suggestion to you all is to go online or pick up the phone, call your state's Department of Insurance, and complain until someone listens. And if the person who is assigned to your complaint tries to pass it off as nothing more than a dispute over the settlement amount, call back the Department and complain to that person's supervisor that you weren't listened to and that you have proof that Farmers isn't following the fair claims settlement practices. This is more than just the amount you're not getting. This is the way you're being treated and handled as a person. This is the way you are spoken to or lied to by Farmers. This is a complaint about them lying about receiving your demand and your documentation. This is a complaint about them making their own friggin' contact info available to you. Christ, how hard did I have to complain just to get a supervisor to RETURN MY PHONE CALL. These idiots don't see you as a person. And that's why you must complain to the Department of Insurance, because they aren't practising fair settlement with you.

I cant tell for sure, but if your the claimiant, the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act does not pertain to you. You have to be a 1st party on this for this to count.

On Friday July 4th 2014 , a driver insured by
Farmers Insurance ran a stop sign and
T Boned me. .

The driver was cited for the traffic infraction .

Farmers paid for my car to be repaired and a rental vehicle .

Now I have had to have two surgeries , three
MRI 's and physical therapy .

Farmers is fighting me to keep me in
arbitration so they won't have to pay for
my pain and suffering .

They don't even want to pay the full amount of the doctor's bills.
This also includes Nevada Medicaid .

Farmers Insurance is even too low for the ghetto .

All of us should file a class action law suit against
Farmers Insurance ,

Dennis Mitchell Fishbein

Farmer's, and ALL insurance companies will deny, delay and hope you die, or you give up and go away. They will change agents, or reps 5 times, and when they CALL you to ask how you are NEVER SAY " I am fine" or " doing OK.".( which we are trained in polite society to do) because they KEEP track of your comments, and when you try to claim injury ( valid) they will say.."But you told us you were OK every time!"

TRAIN yourself to say "I wish I never got hit", or the accident ruined my life" or " I pray daily my pain will go away"… you MUST do this because the deck is stacked against you. PAUSE before you answer, every time!

I was hit in a head on collision by ANOTHER Farmers insured, with the LOWEST level coverage his state allowed. I was permanently injured..for life, and now require a cane , sometimes a walker, and my life totally changed..but MY own insurance..FARMERS fought me for 3 years refusing to settle my damages. the other Farmers did settle right away..and the little funds went to paying my living expenses, even while I was sucking down my savings to survive with no ability to work.

You pay for years and years to protect your ability to work, and an under/uninsured driver can ruin your life.
Make sure you Have UNDER/UNisnsured coverage. I did. Any good agent will make sure you do, especially in CA where so many illegals drive.

AND do pay for a HIGH medical..most people have only $5K on themselves..as soon as you go over that YOU pay until it is settled. ( An ER and ambulance ride will be $10K immediately) If the other guy is not insured you pay all the costs.

I had $50K in medical coverage, and farmers HATED it….they claimed I should be working, they claimed my cancer status( totally Unrelated to the accident and I was cured) was the reason I was not working…they caused me unbelievable grief. Unless you lose and eye or leg they consider you just fine.

Oh and when you DO settle..and say it is $100K coverage if you are lucky, and you had $40K in medical bills ( that you were INSURED FOR) they TAKE the $40K OUT of YOUR settlement. YOU PAY…not them!! this was the most shocking to me..you think this is why you had the damn coverage for decades! but no.

So if you have far less in damage coverage you end up paying all your own medical, and get nothing for pain and suffering or long term injury.

In today's world you MUST protect yourself with good medical and comprehensive damage coverage..it is worth giving up weekly dinner out, or other small luxuries to budget for this protection.

Underinsured cost is $12. for 3-6 mo, and maybe $32 for biannual comprehensive?

and they will fight you and try to offer only a SMALL amount of your $100K coverage you paid for, claiming you dont need it. so PROTECT YOURSELF against your own insurance!

Last fall I was in a car accident with a Farmers Insurance driver. She was elderly, she sped up and blew through a stop sign and essentially t-boned me. She was solely responsible for the accident -- and the police took her car at the scene. Incidentally she had struck another car 8 blocks before, the police had written up a report--- and let her go!

My car was totaled -- no problem with recovery on that.

My rotator cuff was torn in the accident and required surgery. The total medical bills including surgery and physical therapy were $19,000. I gained complete mobility in my shoulder and only have pain now-- which is fine, I am 68. I work only part-time so I did not claim any lost wages, I just went to work on pain meds with my arm in a sling.

All the bills were submitted to Farmer's Claim Bureau here in Indianapolis, Indiana. When the claims adjuster contacted me she explained that Farmers does not treat my medical bill as a "real" bill if insurance covers it. Instead, they deducted $15,000 from my medicals -- which were actually $4,000 --- because my insurance company had contracted with my health care provider for set amounts. (Medicare) The result was that they used the $4,000 number as medical damages instead of the $19,000. The first settlement offer was for $7,500 WITH additional funds subordinated to my supplemental carrier -- even tho they had made no demand. So in other words, the at fault driver, and her insurance company Farmers -- ultimately paid LESS than I did !

Call it "bad faith", call it negligence, call it unlawful, call it unconscionable...call it what you like but Farmers Insurance does the best it can to devalue the injury and the injured party. I questioned the "fairness", even the "logic" of their approach and was told "that is how they do it". When I suggested to the Farmers claims adjuster that my own insurance company and other adjusters I knew personally had said that was not a "common" method of calculation, she insisted that "she had been doing this for 20 years and that is the way it had always been done". I made repeated requests to speak to her supervisor or "someone further up the food chain", and those requests were ignored.

In the grand scheme of life the bill was not huge in the first place and is certainly too small to make hiring an attorney cost effective. But what sticks with me now is the overall attitude of Farmers Insurance that they are doing you a favor to settle for as much as they did -- in spite of the fact their client was 100% at fault

So i feel as though we were not "lowballed by farmers ..."at first" .... But now..... I can make it a certainty. My girlfriend and I were rear ended by another vehicle that was insured by farmers .... A 22 year old girl.

We came to a stop light and while at the complete stop we hear and see nothing as all of a sudden just like a flash of light hits with lighting .... I am waking up in the front seat and so is my girlfriend dazed .... We find out later that this hound girl SLAMMED into the back of us going about 43mph with no signs of attempted braking AT ALL... So you can imagine how our neck felt. As we were at a complete freaking stop. We were ok enough to get out and she claims she was not on her phone however we do not buy it. Months after my girlfriend has severe pain in her neck and the MRI SHOWS 2 SLIPPED DISKS IN HER NECK VERTEBREA. THEY SAID IF WE WOULD HAVE BEEN HIT JUST A LITLE HARDER. AND THEY BECAME SEVERED... SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN HANDICAP FOR LIFE. WW THANK GOD EVERYDAY THIS DIDNT HAPPEN HOWEVER WE HAD TO GO THRU WITH MAJOR SURGERY.... AFTER FIXING HER MEDICAL BILLS PILING UP TO ABOUT 47000$ AND THATS AFTER INSURACE COVERED HALF... IT WAS TOTAL COAT OF 87000$ SURGERY . SO NOW FARMERS DIDNT WANT TO HELP US AFTER THE SMALL 200$ THERAPY BEFORE SURGERY THRY GAVE US SO WE GOT A GOOOOD LAWYER AND CURRENTLY FIGHTING FOR HER PAIN AND SUFFERING. ONCE IT WENT "SOFT TISSUE" THEY WABTED NOTHING TO DO WITH US...

AFTER MONTHS OF THE LAWYER AT WORK THEY FINALLY OFFERES US SOME BULLSHIT AMOUNT OF 60,000$ WITH THE MEDICS BILL NEARING50K STILL NEEDING TO BE PAID AND OTHER BILLS TOTALING ANOTHER17K.... WE WOULD BE LEFT WITH NOTHING. WE ARE GOING TO COURT... GOT NOTHING LESS THAN AT LEAST 120,000K WE HAVE BEEN THRU HE'LL these last2year's... Struggling to pay bills with her not working
... We need this solo very badly .wish us luck THANK you!