state farm insurance.. has anyone ever filed a claim?

[theskyisthelimit99]

Just curious on the ~$30 / year state farm insurance.. if anyone has ever filed a claim and how painful the process was or what was asked..

I have the policy on mine.. hoping to never need it but wondering if it really works?

Thanks in advance

 

[Dronix]

This is a summary of how my friend's recent "Personal Articles Floater" claim with State Farm went in Pennsylvania - many Agents won't write a "PAF" unless they have other lines of insurance for you. A few weeks ago my friend purchased a Mavic at Costco. He crashed the Mavic and decided to take it to a local Hobby Shop so they could repair it (he didn't listen to me telling him to send it Thunderdrones for repair). The Hobby Shop stated that they he needed a new Ribbon, but that they wouldn't be able to guarantee the work. In short, the Hobby Shop couldn't fix the Mavic and my friend was then told a new Gimbal cost $400 plus labor (on top of the $200 he owed them for the Ribbon and that install labor). My friend had the drone insured with State Farm, but was willing to pay for a $200 repair bill instead of filing an insurance claim. But, when the repair costs crept up to $600 my friend decided to call the claim into State Farm. A claim was called into State Farm on 7/7/17 at approximately 10:30 in the morning. An Adjuster got assigned to the claim and the Adjuster reached out to my friend at about 4:00. The Adjuster asked basic questions and then stated that she would be mailing my friend a check for $949 (the "Stated Amount" of insurance on the "Personal Articles Floater"). That's it.

My friend's claim was handled incorrectly - they should have demanded my friend's damaged Mavic so they could it to recoup costs. My friend got lucky in that now he has 2 drones! If you report a claim to your Mavic you can expect to have a check mailed out to you for the "Stated Amount" within 2 business days, but my guess is that you won't have such a kind Adjuster and you'll also be required to mail State Farm your damaged drone.

 

[theskyisthelimit99]

This is a summary of how my friend's recent "Personal Articles Floater" claim with State Farm went in Pennsylvania - many Agents won't write a "PAF" unless they have other lines of insurance for you. A few weeks ago my friend purchased a Mavic at Costco. He crashed the Mavic and decided to take it to a local Hobby Shop so they could repair it (he didn't listen to me telling him to send it Thunderdrones for repair). The Hobby Shop stated that they he needed a new Ribbon, but that they wouldn't be able to guarantee the work. In short, the Hobby Shop couldn't fix the Mavic and my friend was then told a new Gimbal cost $400 plus labor (on top of the $200 he owed them for the Ribbon and that install labor). My friend had the drone insured with State Farm, but was willing to pay for a $200 repair bill instead of filing an insurance claim. But, when the repair costs crept up to $600 my friend decided to call the claim into State Farm. A claim was called into State Farm on 7/7/17 at approximately 10:30 in the morning. An Adjuster got assigned to the claim and the Adjuster reached out to my friend at about 4:00. The Adjuster asked basic questions and then stated that she would be mailing my friend a check for $949 (the "Stated Amount" of insurance on the "Personal Articles Floater"). That's it.

My friend's claim was handled incorrectly - they should have demanded my friend's damaged Mavic so they could it to recoup costs. My friend got lucky in that now he has 2 drones! If you report a claim to your Mavic you can expect to have a check mailed out to you for the "Stated Amount" within 2 business days, but my guess is that you won't have such a kind Adjuster and you'll also be required to mail State Farm your damaged drone.

Very nice to hear.. i also live in PA so that should be close to what i'd expect.

Big question is, if you lose it.. flies away, crashes in middle of woods and cant locate it.. i wonder if this is as easily recouped via state farm. From the sounds of it, should be.

 

[namja]

My friend's claim was handled incorrectly - they should have demanded my friend's damaged Mavic so they could it to recoup costs. My friend got lucky in that now he has 2 drones! If you report a claim to your Mavic you can expect to have a check mailed out to you for the "Stated Amount" within 2 business days, but my guess is that you won't have such a kind Adjuster and you'll also be required to mail State Farm your damaged drone.

It seems like it was handled incorrectly. As you stated, they should take the drone. Just like car insurance, when you total the car, the insurance company takes the title of the car.

Also, and this is for future reference, the amount you get reimbursed is often the stated amount but not always. When you obtain PAP coverage, you have to show evidence that the stated value is the actual value of the item being insured. Usually a sales receipt is used, but for jewelry and other similar items, they would also want an appraisal as the valuation can get tricky. Even though there is an agreed upon stated value, the PAP coverage is still a replacement coverage. The reason your friend got the stated value so quickly is because he purchased the Mavic recently (usually purchases within 1 year of the claim is considered recent). So they don't have to do research to determine the current replacement value of the drone. If the claim was 5 years after purchase, then they will most likely do some research. Keep in mind that the replacement value does not mean replacing the Mavic Pro with the same Mavic Pro model. That's gonna be nearly impossible in 5 years as DJI won't be making this same model in 5 years. By then, maybe it will be Mavic Pro 4 or Mavic Pro 5. Then they will go by the price of the Mavic Pro 5 plus the sales tax, and give you that as the reimbursement, but not to exceed the stated amount in the policy. The point of insurance is to make you WHOLE, so you always get the sales tax added to the value of the loss. Same with when you total your car.

I've processed dozens of claims in my brief 2.75 year stint as an insurance agent. Part of that was actually with State Farm.