State Farm review: Auto accident - claims adjuster malfeasance in settlement process

Thank you in advance for your review of the following detailed and accurate description about my complaint against State Farm.

Ever since I was struck from behind in stopped traffic by a State Farm driver in a dreadful accident on July 13, 2023, my claimant interactions involving the callous State Farm claims representative "T.R."have been fraught with her deceit, dishonesty, and discourtesy.  As a result, my $20,080 claim is still unresolved - even after timely submitting over 100 pages of medical documentation that has been ignored.  I request that this claim be rationally, professionally, and courteously processed in an equitable manner by State Farm towards resolution - since State Farm's most recent offer barely equates to 12% of my requested amount.

Right from the outset, my claim (#40-53K7-57F) was mishandled by an evasive, uncommunicative, and disorganized claims adjustor. For starters, State Farm was reluctant to accept this claim due to a "coverage issue." With leverage exerted by my own insurance company, only then did they comply and begin the claim process.

The initial intake session in late July was poorly and deceptively conducted by T.R.  She stumbled through the questionnaire and then underhandedly sought to conclude the interview without even asking about my injuries.  When I asked about why I was not being permitted to describe  these distressing details, she then begrudgingly agreed to include such questions. Very frustrated at the time, I then proceeded to reveal my lower neck, shoulders, upper back, and lower back injuries from a double jolt - all of which triggered anxiety and stress that I am still grappling with to this day.

Over the next several weeks into late August, I diligently sought from several medical providers: evaluations, x-rays, services, and treatments - while heeding referral recommendations. This concentrated period of medical attention disrupted my life as my distress became more intolerable. Through early October,  I maintained a detailed log of my pain, soreness, stiffness, and discomfort.  As updates, I regularly sent T.R. emails - none of which were responded to.  Astonishingly, her only communication to me was the premature sending of a Release form to me in August - while I was still in the midst of my recovery.

In early October, I renewed my communications with her in a polite and friendly manner.  Yet, simple questions about the settlement process were either purposely dodged or answered incompletely by her (e.g., what types of documents to send, use of the portal for uploading).  In sum, she is very short-tempered and callously spurts "pat" responses that do nothing to resolve questions. In any case, I sent my initially prepared documentation (36-page batch) October 8th to supplement my Settlement Request letter, and requested a reply.

In my conversations with her co-workers and a supervisor about her dismal performance and this poorly worked claim, they conceded notable errors by T.R.  Her manager, in turn, shared my constructive feedback with her - yet, no improvements were evident nor was another agent assigned to this claim, as I requested.

Upon her review of my submission, T.R. promised on October 13 to send me a Diminution of Value claim form as well as a Medical Record Authorization Release form  to ease my providing of additional records. During a call that day, she avoided my simple questions throughout our discussion - causing greater frustration for me. From my standpoint, I came to understand that she was not overly familiar with the records sent, and that she did not care about a fair and honest outcome.

She then ignored emails sent into the following week (October 16 & 17) that sought answers on several simple questions. Even a voice mail alerting her to my concerns went unanswered.  Needless to say,  her promises were not kept as these were never sent to me, nor was a deadline (spoken or otherwise) established for me to provide records. Her unprofessionalism provoked even more anguish for me.

Still, I continued to take the high road. With little information provided to me about what was missing, I then quickly requested starting on October 16 such records from medical offices. I then sent her a second batch of medical records via email (30 additional pages) on October 18, and stated that I would need a few more days to provide substantive records from my chiropractor.  No objections were raised by her, and no deadlines cited.

Much to my surprise, on October 20 she hastily informs me that a "Settlement Offer" letter is being generated with an "Agreement and Release" form for signing.  I was astonished that this underhanded action was taken without my being able to provide significant records from my chiropractor.   This conspicuously low-ball offer ($4800 = $1800 + $3000) was accompanied by these two forms which were not in synch with each other - another example of her careless and mistake-prone ways.  She adamantly stated that this payout was strictly based on the degree of car damage. I  questioned her about this calculation and the use of such faulty logic. In response, she short-sightedly defered to the mechanical results of software that solely uses car damage as input. All other factors are irrelevant, apparently.

On October 24, I sent an email  letter objecting to the undervalued offering that fell far short of my original request.  I also sent another batch of medical records (41 pages) that I had just obtained from my chiropractor for her consideration, as I promised. These detailed records reveal my varied injuries and how these were treated over time. To date, I have provided over 100 pages of medical documentation.

Soon after sending these materials via email, I noticed yet another "Release" form sent to me surreptitiously - without any cover letter nor phone call from her to inform me of its sending.  This October 24 dated form, different in format, cited an even lower $2500 settlement.  There was no indication, in writing,  that this rushed "Release"  was a replacement for the "Agreement and Release."

After unsuccessfully trying to reach T.R. by phone on October 25, I spoke with an experienced claims co-worker (Salena) regarding these two forms. She explained that the "Release & Authorization" settlement offer was actually $3678 ($1800 and $2178) and not $4800 - nearly a 25% difference that was never explained by T.R.   Her co-worker also stated that this second form appears to have been sent in error, and questioned its rationale and fairness.  

On October 26, I then had to then send an email to T.R. seeking an explanation about this pair of forms. During the call she then bluntly stated that this "Release" replaces the "Release & Authorization" form, and adamantly stated this is the final offer. In short, she reneged on a bonafide Settlement Offer without giving any reason.