The condominium where I live had a fire. The next day, I called the adjustor and explained that I had a residual smell of smoke and some lightly soiled carpet but I was not certain if there was any "real damage". He advised me that because he was in the building for other clients, he would come up and examine my unit; which he did that same day.
After two days with the windows open, the smoke smell disappeared and I used a bottle of carpet cleaner I already had to eliminate the carpet soiling. I then called the adjustor and told him there was no damage so he informed me he would close the claim.
Six months later I decided to shop around for a better price on my homeowner's policy and I went to Allstate for a quote. They informed me that because I had a claim on the CLUE report they would not even consider giving me a quote for three years - even though they could see that amount paid was $0. I later learned that the CLUE report was an industry standard that 90% of all insurance companies supply their claims history to. Anyone applying for homeowners or auto insurance would have their history checked before a new policy was written.
I asked State Farm remove the entry from the CLUE report because from my perspective, there was no claim because there was no damage. They refused saying that because the adjustor was in my home it constituted an official claim.
At no time did the State farm insurance adjustor ever inform me that his presence in my home would constitute filing an "official" insurance claim. If he had informed me of that fact, I would have waited a few days to see if there was any permanent smoke damage before asking him to visit.
State Farm's refusal to remove what I consider to be an error from my CLUE report is essentially forcing me to remain a State Farm customer for the next 2-3 years. Why is this any different than an error on my credit report, which any reputable company would fix without question?
Bottom line - NEVER call your insurance agent with a claim unless you are certain that you have significant damage that will exceed your deductible - and if you have a claim, don't expect to be able to easily get insurance with a new carrier for up to 5 years.
Peter
Chicago, Illinois
0 comments