Last January, my husband and I separated. Almost immediately thereafter, everything in the house started to fall apart. Literally. When the carport collapsed in February, I was appalled but took it in stride. My husband said he would fix it, so I frankly didn't worry about it too much. Months went by.

I was the one who notified State Farm about the damaged carport, and frankly I was very upset after the call. I ended up talking to a very offensive man, who had the audacity to ask me if "I even knew how to use a tape measure" when he asked me for the dimensions of the carport and I wasn't certain.

Our State Farm agent called periodically to find out if the carport had been fixed, and I told her no. It is important to understand that this was not a carport that was being used; it was simply an extra carport on the side of the garage.

In April, a very strange man showed up from State Farm. He took pictures of the property, asked some very weird questions (like when was the last time my washing machine hoses had been changed), and frankly creeped my daughter out because he was around the house for a couple of weeks, just sitting in his car on the street.

Then, out of the blue, I received a notice from State Farm that they were not going to renew my insurance because of the carport collapse and the condition of the yard.

Okay, I confess. I have weeds in my flower beds. And I have two acres in a rural-type area, which results in rural-type weeds such as Scottish Thistle. Add this on to being a single mom who works full-time outside the home, and one who was not responsible for outside work during the marriage, and frankly I fell behind. Catching up on two years worth of yard work takes a while to do!

I got the carport fixed and called my agent to find out exactly what they wanted done about the yard. Her response was that the "yard needed to look perfect". Okay. Now, every friend I mentioned this to about fell off their chairs, telling me that if weeds were a reason to cancel homeowners insurance they wouldn't be insured either!

I asked my agent about this, and she got defensive. Frankly, I was a bit defensive too. My personal opinion is that State Farm did't like the fact that we had three claims during the twenty-five year period. Three. Total amount paid out by them was less than $7,000 dollars. So I think they were looking for any reason to cancel.

Well, I have been working on the yard trying to get them to the point of reinstating. And then I thought; why am I bothering? These people are rude. They are very difficult to deal with. They do not answer telephone calls in a timely manner, and many of the representatives I have spoken to have been uncooperative and unfriendly.

So why bother? I am going to find another insurance company. One that I can communicate with on an even level, and one that won't treat me as if I am incompetent because I am a female. So long, State Farm. You are too expensive and not worth the trouble to deal with.

I can't recommend this company, unless you like being belittled and treated in a demeaning and degrading manner every time you contact them.

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