I can't tell you how enjoyable it is cancelling coverage with them. My mother died back in January, and I inherited 2 homes. She had been with FB forever, as she also had car insurance with them. She was unfortunately killed in a car accident (no one else involved). It took them over 3 weeks to get us a check for the wreck, and I had to call the appraiser over 3 times to tell him where her totaled car was (not something that is pleasant to deal with or discuss multiple times with someone you should only have to tell once). In comparison, when my car was totaled back in 2000, it took state farm 4 days to get me a check.

The check for the car was fair, and that was used to settle out the lien on the car and other debts.

Then, out of pure laziness, FB did not want to rewrite the homeowners policy as a rental policy because the estate was not closed (they knew it would be closed in 3-4 months, and didnt want to rewrite the policy from the 'estate of' to 'beneficiary'). That didnt fly well with me. We needed the rental policy for liability reasons as we were renting out both homes.

My brother, who was supposed to be provided full coverage for his fully paid off brand new FJ Cruiser and motorcycle, found out last week that they only had him for liability only for the past 8 months. He was irrate over that, as I would have been too. There is a much bigger back story than I am telling here, but he went through a lot of work to 'get full coverage' only to find out he didnt have it this past month.

And the final straw... For those who have no experience with Farm Bureau, they require you to join this stupid ass membership to get their rates, which are beat routinely by all the other insurance companies out there. Except they dont draft the club membership out of your payment. I see it as a way of hiding a cost of the insurance (it is $30 a year). Since they dont draft it, and I rarely open the Farm Bureau letters because everything drafts, they sent a nasty gram that since I didnt pay the fee, they were dropping the insurance. of course, I didnt know about the stupid fee. No one from the agents office bothered to call me. They continued to draft me normally.

So, not that State Farm is a dream company, but my agents know my voice when I call, and have gone to bat for me. I switched everything over to State Farm.

11/20/2009 11:21:06 AM

That sucks.

That's why I consider myself pretty lucky to have USAA because I don't think I'll ever end up experiencing bullshit like this.

11/20/2009 11:35:22 AM

sorry about your moms

11/20/2009 1:36:25 PM

i was thinking of switching from farm bureau. when you call to cancel, do they cancel it the same day and provide a prorated refund for coverage you've already paid for?

11/20/2009 2:02:32 PM

I've had FB insurance on my house and cars for years and never had anything but great coverage. My agent is top notch, though. We also have our car loan through them as well.


Nationwide, on the other hand, can eat a pile of dicks.

11/20/2009 2:09:07 PM

We've had FB for years too... Rental/home owner's/car/etc. Our agent calls me every time any little thing happens or changes. Great service for us so far.

11/20/2009 2:13:47 PM

To answer the above question, they will prorate the home. I have no clue on the auto.

Out of principle, I hate the membership dues. If you are required to join their stupid club, then just include that in the initial quote for coverage. Dont seperate it out. And dont bill people for it seperately.

I am not even going into all the other details, like the fact I had to send some of the same court documents to them multiple times proving that I was the administrator of the estate, and our COUSIN is one of the agents at this farm bureau. It really was shameless...

My agent with SF would literally bend over backwards for me. And when I cancelled with FB, not even a thank you for the business...

11/20/2009 2:30:47 PM

Ryan, sorry to hear about all the trouble you're having. I know it's a pain.

Quote :

"Nationwide, on the other hand, can eat a pile of dicks. "

Agreed...Specifically the Frank Ascott agency (local). I kind of expected the corporate monkeys to suck, but that's where a good local agent who can go to bat for you can be very valuable. Unfortunately, I found Frank Ascott's people to be worthless when I had a problem with corporate.

11/20/2009 2:38:12 PM

USAA for the win. Best thing about growing up in a military family. Every insurance company should strive to be like USAA.

11/20/2009 3:17:39 PM

CarZin, sorry to hear about your mother and the trouble you've had with your claim. I used to be an agent with FB. Explaining that membership fee to customers was definitely of the most annoying things about my job. They will actually let your membership go up to 1yr past due before they delete your comp and collision. While I have a few good reasons for leaving them, I will say that overall they are one of the best direct writing companies out there as far as claims/price/service. State Farm is up there too, so definitely not a bad move there if it makes you feel better. I am an independent agent now, if you or anyone else want me to shop your home/auto policies, just pm me and I'll try to get you some quotes with my carriers.

11/21/2009 1:25:43 AM

Holy shit Matt only had liability on the FJ all this time? As much as he's been on the road from NYC and Raleigh?!? WOW. I love Farm Bureau (my agent lives two houses down from me and always treats me great) but that SUCKS.

11/21/2009 8:17:19 AM

they are a nonprofit-the dues have something to do with making you a part of a coop. the insurance side has sucked for years, it is a money making thing for them to pay for all the farm lobbyist folks they hire. I have had similar experiences. i dont like them but they are about the only ones that will write a farm liability policy these days.

11/21/2009 2:13:13 PM

I have had them for renters ins and car ins for years. Family has had them for years. They are still ~100 per year cheaper for me, with my driving history, than the other local office/agent places I have talked to. They also had my old car's loan taken care of and a check in my hand for my cut in less than 4 business days, including time to apprise the car, on my last wreck. It took longer for honda to admit they had received the check that got courier delivered to them than for my to get the check sent. The other trick is, USE the membership, not just the insurance, and it pays for itself quick if you use/abuse your membership benefits and discounts

11/21/2009 5:39:49 PM

When my friend ran into me in front of Ruckus he had Geico and I have to say that claim service was AWESOME. I went up to the Haddock collision center in Cary (don't even think I had to make an appointment), the guy looked all over my car and cut me a check, I did not even have to wait for the mail.

When I had State Farm the service was OK. I had to do a claim with State Farm and had to meet some guy at this ghetto looking shop in Durham. He looked the car over and then I had to wait on the check to get mailed. It kind of pissed me off that there was no where closer for walk in service.

I have had Farm Bureau since prep-e worked there. I have not had to do any claims. I will say for my purposes FB was WAY cheaper than State Farm.

11/22/2009 11:39:27 AM

my family has had farm bureau for years. we've always been happy with them.

11/22/2009 11:59:06 AM

my parents have always had them and convinced me to use them. Overpriced shit service is all I ever got from them. I switched to state farm and bundled up all of our cars and our home for a really good price, and the agents actually try to help you out to get what you need.

I was so fucking pissed about the membership dues when I found out about them. It's a hidden cost that only goes to pay for lobbyists and politicians, and they may not be people I want in office.

11/22/2009 1:27:49 PM