I came home last night and I had a message from State Farm
about my accident. The Pizza Hut delivery guy that creamed the back of my MINI has
State Farm insurance. The lady that left the message said State Farm had determined
in their investigation that their insured was at fault. Well, duh. The guy
slammed in to the back of me while I was stopped at a four-way stop and told
the Milton police officer and me “I had a wrong address for a delivery and I
was running late so I was trying to make up the time.”
So I call State Farm back to start the process. I was told I
could take my car to a State Farm approved shop and everything would be handled.
The estimate, the work, and the payment would all be taken care of and I wouldn’t
have to do anything other than drop my car off and hand over the keys. I asked
the guy to look up Zintars to see if they are approved and Zintars is not.
I refuse to take my
MINI anywhere else other than Zintars. He is out of the way for me to get to
and it’s hard for me to make it there during the week which means dropping off
and picking up on a weekend. However, it’s worth the minor hassle. Zintar does
an outstanding job, does it in the time frame he says he will and does it right
the first time. My MINI isn't going anywhere else.
The State Farm guy tells me I can take my MINI anywhere I
want, but since Zintars isn’t on the approved list I have to get an estimate up
front and I understand that and the reasons why. State Farm doesn’t want to be
ripped off in some car owner body shop inflated estimate conspiracy. They are
protecting their investors, their insured, and their bottom line. I get that I truly
do and I don’t blame them at all and if I had State Farm insurance, which I can’t
ever imagine having because I think as a company they suck, I would want them
to keep cost down and not be in situations where as a company they get ripped
off.
He also tells me there aren’t any drive-in estimate centers near me.
Really? In an area the size of metropolitan Atlanta there aren’t any drive-in
centers? State Farm has a huge business and IT presence in the Atlanta area and must have many
insured people among the 5.5 MILLION people that live in metro Atlanta, the
ninth most populated area in the US. That’s really hard for me to accept.
Then I understand. I’m being punished by State Farm. Since I
chose to take my beloved Lula to a body shop of my choice, which is allowed by
State of Georgia law, a body shop not on the approved list I have to wait 3-5
business days for a State Farm estimator to call and schedule a time to inspect
my car. My guess is there aren’t any drive-in service centers anywhere. It’s a
piece of bait thrown to the victim so State Farm can push the body shops on the
approved list.
Then I find out not only do I have to wait 3-5 business days
just to receive a call to schedule the appointment and once the estimate is
done the estimator sends the report along with pictures to a State Farm office
for approval and that takes another 24-48 hours; or in other words another two
days. Then when the estimate is approved it takes another two days to get me
the check.
So I’m looking at a minimum of five to nine days to have some
resolution on my damaged Lula BEFORE I take the MINI to the body shop and that
doesn’t include the time between the call to schedule the appointment and when
the person actually shows up to look at my car. Yep, State Farm is punishing me
because I have the audacity to exercise my right to take the MINI to the body
shop I choose.
Also, I told the guy I spoke to last night I wanted to drive
my alternate vehicle and have State Farm pay me instead of driving a rental, also a state right. I
was told that has to go to another group within State Farm that handles that sort
of thing, which is another delay and another form of punishment. To hear from
that group takes; you guessed it, 24-48 hours. Another two days and more punishment.
Now the total number of days has jumped to 7-11 business
days; so two weeks on a calendar. And that’s just to deal with State Farm and
just because I was unfortunate enough to be in the way of the State Farm\Pizza Hut driver
that was “in a hurry” and the stop sign. Two weeks before I can attempt to have
my car repaired. It’s despicable that I have to wait that amount of time for a
minor accident.
What would have happened had I been injured? Would I be lying
on a gurney in the dark, cold hall of some hospital, moaning and waiting on a
response from State Farm? Waiting 3-5 business days for some scheduler to call
just to make an appointment to take pictures of me to send to the home office to wait
another 1-2 days to get approval for medical procedures?
I’m not big on law suits; people that sue for anything and
everything, because they spilled hot coffee in their lap or sue because the
neighbors fart a lot. But, I’m beginning to see the reasoning behind some of
the reasons to sue. It’s going to take entirely too long for my MINI to be
repaired and it’s going to take a lot of MY time and quite a few phone calls
and on the horizon I can see a battle brewing with State Farm and just because I happened to be
in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was on my way to meet my wife for our
weekly dinner-out date before I went to work on a scheduled after-hours call
and when I was hit from behind and already two business days into the process
it’s a hassle. It makes me wonder why I shouldn’t receive some sort of compensation
for my time and troubles. It also reinforces the notion I already had that
State Farm sucks. Maybe State Farm and Pizza Hut can split the bill.
