Like a Nosy Neighbor, State Farm is There...
Written: Apr 16 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Financially sound, full-service insurer--offering life, property, casualty insurance
Cons: Their screening process is rigid, unrealistic, and unfair.
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| frazzledspice's Full Review: State Farm Group - Auto |
Last week I wrote about AAA Auto Insurance's attempts to put us in a high-risk category because my husband took a half-dose mild glycogenic pill for type II diabetes.
This week I'm writing about my son's first attempt, at the age of 20, to get his own car insurance, and State Farm's efforts to put him in a high-risk pool, despite his perfect driving record.
I don't like to do "complaint" reviews. But when I put these two reviews together, along with the experiences that others have had, I begin to wonder how anyone can meet the insurance industry's "good driver" standards after being filtered through the various screening devices they use.
Here's my son's experience:
So What If You're a Good Driver? Your Roommate Isn't.
My oldest son moved into a three-bedroom home-share when we moved to South Dakota in 1996. "Don't worry, I'll finish school," he told us. (He's just gone back...)
We did worry. We felt as if we had flung him out of the nest prematurely. We could understand why he didn't want to move to South Dakota, but didn't feel he was ready to be completely independent.
We felt much better when we met his roommates. We especially liked Kerry*. She was 27, hardworking and responsible. She had a weekly cleaning schedule and a weekly chore chart. We knew she'd be like a surrogate Mom to him.
He moved his stuff. We took our name off his car title. He got his own car insurance with State Farm, a company that had been highly recommended by his friends, and which offered him the lowest rates.
Everything went well for a few weeks, and then, suddenly, he got a call from State Farm.
"State Farm automatically screens your address to see what other licensed drivers live in your home. They checked your address and discovered that one of your roommates had a DWI seven years ago. That roommate could drive your car. For that reason, we have to put you into a high-risk pool."
My son came to me. "Kerry had a DWI seven years ago. She spent six months in jail. When she was released, she started going to AA meetings. I know her really well. She never drinks."
State Farm told us that our son's rates would be reduced again if he could get his roommate to sign a waiver stating she would never drive his car.
She Refused
Kerry was very upset. "I made a terrible mistake seven years ago. But I paid for it. I've turned my life completely around. I've put it behind me. How can his insurance company violate my privacy like this? Will my record haunt me for the rest of my life?"
To Kerry, it was a matter of principle. She was straight. She was clean. She was obstinate and stubborn.
"It's just a piece of paper," we begged her. "Your not signing this piece of paper will cost him $100 extra a month."
"Let him get insurance where I just got insurance," she said. "After all this time, I was finally able to get an insurance policy for only $600 a year. If they'll take me without putting me into a risk pool, they'll take him."
He was a little bit nervous about trying to change insurance, and giving the reason why, but $100 a month is a powerful motivator. He went to Kerry's insurance company, and got a different policy.
He wasn't put into a risk pool, although State Farm had told him that every agency in the state of Missouri ould put him through exactly the same screening process, and draw exactly the same conclusions.
What Do I Think of All This?
I'm very glad that my younger son, who is listed on our car insurance policy, uses our home address. He has had seven roommates in the past three years, sometimes sharing townhouses with three other people. I have no idea whether these seven people's driving records were accident-free and ticket-free.
Young adults who share apartments and homes as platonic friends, finishing school and getting a head start in life, almost never use one another's cars.
They usually don't even use one another's food...they each do their own grocery shopping and cooking. They each have shelves in the refrigerator.
Their relationships, while friendly, are usually based on economics and convenience. They usually lead fairly separate, very busy lives.
State Farm's efforts to put young drivers in high-risk categories based on their roommates' driving records is, I feel, extremely unfair.
If you take a typical group of four young adults, chances are that one of them has had an accident or two, or several tickets. That's why insurance is so high for that age group. But should the good drivers they live with be penalized as well?
This matter could have been better handled by inserting a clause specifying that only the driver and his immediate family would be covered under the insurance policy.
Or by allowing the policyholder to sign a notarized statement specifying that the car would not be driven by his roommates.
Insurance companies can make lots of money with very little risk by putting good drivers into high-risk pools, using the slimmest of pretexts.
But not from my family! We vote with our feet, and we bring our business elsewhere.
*"Kerry" is a pseudonym
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