Farm Insurance: advice & recommendations (LONG!)

[pintopiaffe]

It has been TWO MONTHS since I have had water. TWO FREAKING MONTHS.

To say I am at the end of my rope is an understatement.

I went with Agri-Risk after being dropped from Concord Insc when they found out I had horses. I was not trying to defraud Concord, I honestly didn't know the horses were an issue.

Having been dropped, it was difficult to find new insurance. And it also seems that a mobile home on a pad (vs foundation) without any additions, is a problem with a farm. At the time, Agri-Risk was about the only one who would/could take me.

I'm paying just around $1k a year, and I've been without water for TWO MONTHS. :mad: All the insulation as well as the piping under the house has to be done, or else I'd have just done it and submitted bills. I just don't have that up front money this year--estimates are 'several' thousand. Family illness ate up my savings and my 'easily sold' big ticket items (saddles, etc.) last year. Just getting a nice little pad going again when I had to put a tranny in the truck just three weeks after having to do the tran$fer case. You get the idea. :cry:

So, two questions, really.

First: How/whom do I complain (to) about the lack of communication and lack of action on the current claim? They LOST the first claim, and instead of calling to tell me I'd given them some extra digits (therefore 'incorrect') account number, they just dropped the initial claim. Voicemails have gone unanswered. I got exactly ONE letter from them, saying an adjuster would be in contact with me. Said adjuster had *already* called, (about a week before letter arrived) and with less than 24hrs notice, showed up while I was not home. Never saw under the house (um, DUH, where the damage is) nor the inside stuff (pipes under sink mainly).

I finally emailed the agent who set me up with the policy. She emailed back and said that the check was going to be cut the next day or day after. That was 10 days ago. :uhoh: Nothing since. I asked her whom I should be contacting and didn't get an answer (I'm guessing since she looked into it and the check was going to be 'in the mail.) I've just finished emailing her again, a rather pathetic one this time, asking AGAIN whom I need to contact. I'll set the damn alarm to get up to call someone. But do I go straight to a supervisor at this point or what? Actual policy is through another company, American Bankers. Agri-Risk is the 'agent' I guess.

Second: Recommendations for OTHER COMPANIES? I'm in Maine. Mobile home on gravel pad. Farm. Horses. Would love some umbrella mortality. Not particularly interested in major med/surgical as I don't have facilities available. I don't need lesson or show or custody/control. Just a small, private breeding farm. The 100% volunteer work I do is covered under the non-profit where I get the students from, liability is all I need there. (that's been through a lawyer and is good.) I don't even sell adult horses, so don't have people trying them on my property. I do have dogs. It really doesn't seem it should be all that hard to find another company since I've had inscurance now for two years. I understand the being 'dropped' part was part of the issue... After two years, is it still?

Thoughts? Advice? Recommendations?

[seabreeze]

As for recommendations, what about the Farm Bureau in your state? I have all my insurance through Virginia Farm Bureau, and they are wonderful.

Good luck and best wishes. I feel for you.

[Hilary]

We use Farm Bureau (in NH) because they do farms.

We have been happy with them - have not needed a claim ourselves knock wood, but when one of our goats was hit by a car they were really good about dealing with the angry driver - goat died, truck had minor damage.

[DiablosHalo]

Not sure if Farm Family is Nationwide or just in this area. Think the site is www.farmfamily.com or something similar.

I have 5 policies which include the farm, allll the outbuildings, alll the equipment, tack, contents of buildings/house, vehicles, CC&C of horses, and individual coverage of each horse. They cover everything and anything and are QUICK with claims.

About the current problem- call the ...(what are they called???)...oh .. I think it's the Insurance Commissioner in your state. If you can't find the info- call the Attorney General's office and ask them for it. The IC can give advice and act on your behalf/call the insurance co to set fire under their butt, etc.

Good luck!

[CallMeGrace]

It's the Insurance Ombudsman:
http://www.maine.gov/pfr/insurance/complaint.htm

I wish you luck.

[JSwan]

Go with Farm Bureau.

I was robbed a few months ago and had a check 3 days after the crime was committed.

[dressagetraks]

I have a mobile home with extension on a pad and also horses. I went through Farm Bureau, about $700 a year for insurance and liability on horses, with the liability policy following them off the property.

In 2002, I had a bad storm rip off half the roof (the extension). Left the other half. Niagara Falls inside that half of the house last night. I wound up with new roof, insulation, ceiling, lights, walls, carpet, and floor. Basically a new extension. They stripped it down to joists and rafters. Also I claimed for some of the contents (mattress was ruined, etc.) The damage happened on Saturday. Farm Bureau was here on Monday, took one picture of the roof rolled up like a giant's sleeping bag, and said, "Send us the bills." It then took me THREE WEEKS to get somebody out to do an estimate, but when I finally had two estimates, I sent those to Farm Bureau. They called to say they had received them, were cutting a check, and I got a check for the full cost of the lower estimate (plus my own personal informal "mattress will cost me about $$$" estimate) the next day, minus my $500 deductible. All delays were related to the companies giving estimates and then the one actually starting fixing it, which took a while, too. No delays at any point with Farm Bureau.

[spurgirl]

Ditto Farm Bureau/Farm Family. We have coverage on the farm, house, equipment, family vehicles. Only two claims in 20 years-My unoccupied Jeep hit in parking lot by drunk driver, and then 16 YO daughter several years later had an accident. Super quick response in both cases, recommend them highly. Decent rates, too. I probably won't say that in 2 years when son is 16, though!!:eek:

[Cielo Azure]

My caveat: over the years of having a farm and a husband who travels alot on busines and living on the edge sometimes, I have learned to repair almost anything. But if I can do it, so can you.

If you put in a claim and collect on it, it will llikely stop you from being able to get insurance in the future on that piece of property. The climate for insurance is very different than it once was. A claim can be a death knell to finding insurance in some markets. Once you collect, it is likely that insurance company will be the one you have. Expect your rates to go up significantly also. Do your homework about putting in a claim. It is a very scary thing to do, with downstream consequences that could affect your ability to get insurance and the prices you pay for that insurance for a decade.

I would only do a claim if it were a HUGE issue, like fire.

Hosestly, putting in plumbing and insulation...it isn't that hard with PVC piping. I would probably do the repairs myself (and yes, you can probably get away with repairs). It is a nasty, dirty job but it is doable. You might consider (with the employment being what it is) going to Craig's list also. Find someone who knows plumbing/general construction to work with you. They teach, you do the dirty work. Get creative with this. I know, you SHOULD get someone with a plumbers/contractors license (I hear all the general contractors and plumbers sputtering now) but we are talking about a F**ked up mobile home, with cheap plumbing. Honestly, it is hard to make it worse as long as you make sure there are no leaks afterward. GEEZ. YOU HAVE NO WATER! I have been there, it sucks.

A certified plumber will want to rip it all out and start over. Me? I would repair. Do the short term stuff to get some basic water to the house, and then if you need the plumber still, arrange for it and do the insurance thing (which as I wrote, I would avoid but that it me).

I have learned to do plumbing over the years. Do it yourself books help. But basically as long as you repair what is broken the same way it was (connectors really help with this), you can do it. Take photos before you start. Label parts as you remove them, if it is truly complex. A mobile home will likely be simple (one level, under the house -tight to get under but doable). Hint: get the best plastic plumbing (the rating on the side of the pipe) and buy the best glues. If it didn't freeze up into the drywall plumbing, it shouldn't be that bad. But even doing small drywall repairs isn't that bad. Yes, you will get frustrated and it will be hard but it will save you money and stop the need to put in a claim (as I said, the consequences of a claim can be enormous in this market).

Also, get many many plumbers to come give estimates. You will find some want to start over and some will be willing to repair and work with your money situation. Even if you then choose to do it yourself, they will have taught you what you need to do. Also, by getting many people in to give estimates, you get a feeling for the good, bad and crooked.

[equusvilla]

We live in a barn/house structure and had some trouble finding insurance at first. Now - we go through our Farmers insurance guy though. The price we pay is very reasonable and all claims (most recently from Hurricane Ike) have been handled very quickly!

[pintopiaffe]

Ceilo, that's actually why I waited 10 days to file a claim. I wanted to do it myself, or as much as possible. I just can't. Various reasons, but the most major is (embarassingly) a claustrophobia issue. If I get more than my torso under there, I panic. I tried. :( I will fix the shingles lost myself, the inside plumbing myself... I just can't do the insulation and piping underneath. :(

The thing is, this was a region-wide storm/disaster... I had to file a claim my very first year here which was the Ice Storm of '98. Lost the furnace, every electrical appliance in the house that had been plugged in (surges & reverse ground when things started goign 'boom' in the night) and every inch of fencing on the property. Adjuster came, sat at the kitchen table, even put some stuff on the list I hadn't thought of (like the food in the fridge/freezer that was lost) and I had a check 3 days later. My rates never went up.

Part of why I felt like I *could* do a claim for this (despite BADLY not wanting to) is it was again a region-wide storm. I didn't get hit as hard as many, but I'm by far not the only claim.

Farm Bureau wouldn't take me back 2 years ago, but I don't remember why. I will have to look into them again. I truly hope this doesn't make things worse. :no: I debated very, very long and hard (the first 10 days without water or HEAT) before putting in a claim.

[Cielo Azure]

Ceilo, that's actually why I waited 10 days to file a claim. I wanted to do it myself, or as much as possible. I just can't. Various reasons, but the most major is (embarassingly) a claustrophobia issue. If I get more than my torso under there, I panic. I tried. :( I will fix the shingles lost myself, the inside plumbing myself... I just can't do the insulation and piping underneath. :(

The thing is, this was a region-wide storm/disaster... I had to file a claim my very first year here which was the Ice Storm of '98. Lost the furnace, every electrical appliance in the house that had been plugged in (surges & reverse ground when things started goign 'boom' in the night) and every inch of fencing on the property. Adjuster came, sat at the kitchen table, even put some stuff on the list I hadn't thought of (like the food in the fridge/freezer that was lost) and I had a check 3 days later. My rates never went up.

Part of why I felt like I *could* do a claim for this (despite BADLY not wanting to) is it was again a region-wide storm. I didn't get hit as hard as many, but I'm by far not the only claim.


You may be right, about regional storms being treated differently. Some times you just can't do something and you have to move on!

I can't do electrical. I basically know how, I have assisted time and time again but...the fear of getting shocked or doing it wrong scares me silly (completely stupid as I know how to protect myself and I am not stupid -I have even taken classes to try to shake it). But my dad drilled into me (yes, he was an engineer, who could fix anything), to never mess with electricity from day one. Instead of teaching me to be safe, he taught me to be scared. We all have things we can't do. Fear of snakes is what keeps me jumping when I work under a house. I do it but I am jumpy!

[pintopiaffe]

I can't even believe this. I am getting a check for $67.

I am having too much of a meltdown to even go into it... adjuster said NOTHING about frozen pipes, only shingles, furnace flue cap and the pipes under the sink.

I am just pissed. Agent could only apologize, not tell me why the delay. I am now welcome to get my own estimate, and fax it to them.

ITS BEEN TWO MONTHS. I'm having a meltdown. It'll be spring I'm guessing before this is done. :mad: :dead:

[Quin]

I have also had GREAT experience with Farm Bureau claims - but getting the policy was danged hard! We had the usual mish-mash of insurances when we bought the farm, made even better by the fact that we bought the house and a small acreage through a VA mortgage, but the barn and bigger acreage with seller financing. We had the cars with one ins co - the house/mortgage with another - and added Farm Bureau for the barn itself, plus a little liability coverage. Occasionally I asked the Farm Bureau guy if we couldn't package it all up in one, and he told me it couldn't be done.

In the meantime, we did have one big loss to the barn (wind storm) and they paid up like troopers.

Finally talked to a different local Farm Bureau person, who fell all over himself to get my business. I now have every insurance need rolled into one big policy, including a house in another town I co-own with my folks, plus a nice happy umbrella over the whole thing. And this despite the fact that 2 months before we wrote the thing, we had another big storm loss to the barn. And once again, the claim service was great!

I don't know anything about Agri-Risk, but if the name of the insurance carrier is different, Agri-Risk is either a broker or a third party claims administrator for the carrier. And they will have Best Practices for claims handling and you do want to speak to a supervisor because it appears that the adjuster is not following those Best Practices, particularly because the adjuster is not returning your calls. And because the adjuster has not been able to fully inspect the damage, you will regard any check they cut as a partial payment only. You will document this in an e-mail to the adjuster, cc to your insurance agent, NOW. You will forward a copy to the adjuster's supervisor after you talk to them and get that name. If you can't find the superivsor you will be happy to talk to the Branch Manager or Claims Vice President for that regional office.


Guess what field I work in? :cool:

[Cielo Azure]

I can't even believe this. I am getting a check for $67.

I am having too much of a meltdown to even go into it... adjuster said NOTHING about frozen pipes, only shingles, furnace flue cap and the pipes under the sink.

I am just pissed. Agent could only apologize, not tell me why the delay. I am now welcome to get my own estimate, and fax it to them.

ITS BEEN TWO MONTHS. I'm having a meltdown. It'll be spring I'm guessing before this is done. :mad: :dead:

Shit...Do not cash the check, if you don't think you can fight it, then tell them you are cancelling your claim. Don't risk it going on your record for $67.

I imagine that since it is WATER damage, it is considered flood damage. Flood damage is rarely covered but phone up and get the story. Maybe they just cut the quote down...

Another tact is taking your case to your media, congressperson or senator. Sometiimes, these companies need a little light shining in on their business practises.

In the meantime, check our craigs list. YOU NEED WATER TO FLUSH AT LEAST ONE TOILET AND run your bath. Can you board a horse for barter for plumbing work? I noticed you are in Maine (COLD). Can this work be done now? If not, what can you do now to make life livable? Even an outside hydrant can be rigged to bring water to your toilet to flush and water to make coffee.

I feel your pain, honestly. Our last house was two hundreds year old and poor folk built it. No heat, no water when we moved in and a leaky roof. It was awful. We once were totally broke and rented a room at a local hotel to take a SHOWER in the middle of winter!!!! It sucked.

No bath or shower is the worst. I can pee outside but dammed if I will put a hose over my head to wash my hair in the middle of winter (being crude here, but I think you know what I am writing of)...

Keep warm and think creative! Keep us posted.

[AppJumpr08]

I'm not a fan of Farm/Family. Pretty sure MaryInArea1 has a story about them that will curl your toes.

I'm SO sorry about your troubles! that really stinks. I hope you can get ahold of who you need to at the insurance company soon!!!

[pintopiaffe]

well, I might be getting to the bottom of it. Adjuster (who showed up w/ less than 24hrs notice when I was not home) *claims* he knew nothing about the pipes under the house. :mad: Thing is, I spoke to him on a recorded line. I could dig that up if I had to.

He will be back Friday, meanwhile I'm getting my own estimate Friday afternoon as well. I'm beyond pissed. So far beyond it...