Are you being told you should be able to keep up, since everyone else is? Is there actually enough time in the day with reduced OT to do all the work expected? Have there been any time studies? Do we really know if it is possible? What corners are people who are appearing to be keeping up cutting? Being told not to follow procedures ( SCP) or you won’t be able to keep up along with the last six months of more file requirements as there is less support staff assistance. Where are you? Are you keeping up? Is it possible? My guess is majority of claims folks would say no, it is not possible but we are so isolated we have no time to discuss it and are afraid to speak up.
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Claims has gotten bad since team handling was implemented. I hear now nobody can keep up and honestly the whole claim experience is awful now. I left SF about a year after the team handling was implemented, Express, etc. Since leaving I filed a claim. I backed into someone’s front bumper. I was clearly at fault. The bumper had superficial scratches but no dents, etc. I paid out-of-pocket for my $1300 damages to my bumper. SF paid the other person’s damages which totally $3800. No way there was that much damage. However, SF put on a new bumper, grill, and said there was hood damage to name a few items. The pictures didn’t show all this damage which being surface damage it should have. When I called to complain about what they paid on the other person’s claim I got nowhere except told it was paid and nothing can be done to recover. Keep in mind this was my first and only claim after holding PH’s with SF for 25 years. A week later I received a letter stating damages paid out on my claim exceeded $1K so my good driver discount would be removed and it’s possible my rates will increase or cancellation. Their threshold is over $1K even though I had one claim in 25 years which totaled $3800. I am looking for a new insurance company. Also, about claim handling....I talked to three diffferent people in claims that did not even take the time to go over my coverages. I had to re-explain myself and the claim to each person every time I called, I never got a call back from Management when I requested it, and every call had a rushed undertone.
After almost five years in Claims, I wouldn't recommend SF to my worst enemy. And DEFINITELY wouldn't sign on for my own personal coverage, unless I was specifically intent on trying to get over / scam the dense, production-driven lot they have currently behind the wheel in Express and Complex.
One thing I can say I've learned in my time with SF is how to get over on a claim. There are so many ways and it's almost embarrassing how easy it is. Hundreds and thousands of dollars with little to no pushback. And all because everyone's focus is on NUMBERS, PRODUCTION, and PERFORMANCE instead of quality and doing things with even a speck of efficiency or common sense.
It is interesting reading some of the stories of how our claims department handles things.
I was involved in an accident many years ago now. It was probably 15+ years now. I was a teenager and I rear ended someone. It was very minor. The young woman I hit even wanted to just go about her night and not bother with a police report. I had always been taught that anything like that should have a police report, so I insisted. The police report indicated the total damage was probably < $500 with minor scratches to her rear bumper with the damage to my vehicle consisting of a cracked plastic grill.
Several years later I ended up getting a notice that my rate was increased due to an accident surcharge being added. When I inquired about it, they informed me that there was a claim paid out and that it was WELL OVER the surcharge threshold. no joke it was like 8000. It was literally the first I had ever heard about it. Nobody from State Farm had ever contacted me to get a statement. They simply took the claimant statement along with a copy of the police report indicating I was at fault. Apparently they didn't have concerns that the officer approximated the damage to be less than $500 and that 2+ years had passed. They had paid out several thousand in collision and covered medical payments of around $5k. I was blown away that nobody at State Farm questioned that or even contacted me.
Ironically I had insisted on the police report in an attempt to protect myself from something like that happening. The reality is that had I allowed the lady to go on with her night she'd not have had my info or any proof that I was at fault and it would never have been paid.
We lost 900k auto policies last year, which translates to less claims, which means less staff needed.
We have an SCP that we are told is the Bible and has all claim answers. We no longer own property but lease, providing many options. Do we need 3 hubs? Can we shrink in a hub with less people. HR outsourced, ad services needed? consolidate existing current demand pools that are similar?. What type of automation has been effective and reducing needs of a claim people.
Food for thought
In Newark, OH a Maintenance TM is now a Claims TM. Well......That. Explains. A lot.
I'm pulling all my policies from The Farm for similar reasons. I've only ever made one claim and it was handled fine, but I no longer trust the company to do the right thing. I can get cheaper insurance elsewhere with better peace of mind.
I had an auto claim. Accident was my fault and my vehicle had the most damage. We both went to preferred shops. The other parties estimate was twice as much as mine. SF paid both our estimates without question. I contacted them about his damages because after review I found the paid for unrelated and prior damage. When I questions the CR I actually got push back even after I told her I am a CR for a competitor. She admitted the estimate and photos were never reviewed. She indicated since it was a preferred shop the man went to they know the expectations so SF doesn’t question anything. They just pay it. I was hot to say the least. I pointed out errors on his estimate that did not correlate with the photos and asked her to explain for which she had no explanation. I resorted to asking for a supervisor to which I was told none was available. She took a message and said someone would call me back. Well, a senior CR called but did not call me. She called my husband!!!! The very next day we pulled all of our policies from State Farm. All 8 after 22 years with the company and this being our first claim!!!!! If I wanted that kind of service and lack of doing the job right I can pay less and go elsewhere. That’s not what I wanted though. Huge fail SF!!!!!!
I have had the chance to talk to defense attorneys in several market areas and they are appalled by how the injury claims are being handled. They shared stories of how much we have paid on claims which were not thoroughly investigated; statutes have been missed; responsive pleadings not filed in a timely manner due to lack of file ownership etc etc etc...
They lamented on how SF lost the advantage of jurisdictional familiarity by centralizing injury claims. Remember the slogan, "we live where you live?" Agency yes, BI/Casualty claim handlers no.
I have interviewed hail storm chasers who have "supplement writers" that call the Fire in-office claims and say we were off 2-3 squares and need 50 LF more gutters and instead of trying to reconcile the difference, the in-office claim rep goes ahead and pays it because the push for production. It's an easy extra $300 -$500 per claim they can get.
I see mistakes all the time. I’m talking thousands of dollars paid out and never recovered, we just keep pushing out the calendar so we can get that discretionary task.
Policy holders and claimants wish things were simpler and consistent. They want an individual claim handler, not a team. Spoke with a shop last week and they told me that SF makes so many mistakes ever since they went to a team environment. He spends more time with us on the phone than he ever did before.
And don’t get me started on the lack of confidence I have with the TMs.l and SM’s..... I hope Karma comes around to some of them. Plus this T2 crap....god forbid my kid gets sick and I have to leave early.
Corners are being cut to keep up. I know for a fact estimates aren’t getting fully or carefully reviewed. They just get paid. Calls aren’t always being made but it’s documented they are. Letters are being relied on. A thorough investigation isn’t getting done because there is a rush to get off the phone and onto the next claim. We seriously lack quality so relish in the fact that if YOU are not keeping up YOU are providing quality. That’s what PH’s want. Management fails to recognize it. Besides pricing the lack of quality has cost us PH’s.
You are hosed
Can someone elobrate what is happening?? Some of us have not gotten the memo.
Cherry picking is a problem across all of claims. File ownership is the best way to eleviate that. Management wants to continue the pursuit of quantity over quality.
Everyone occasionally cherry picks in express to keep up on high/super high CR tasks. We have voiced concerns about the 7 in an hour being unrealistic but of course they have been ignored. Sure they don't want people to do it but it is happening. Most other things I can hit the goal they want with little issue.
We get behind often because they primarily schedule people for phones and then limit the overtime. We have voiced this concern as well but it was ignored. It would seem to be basic common sense that our task queues will not go down if we are not scheduled to work tasks and we are offered little overtime but common sense is in short supply among TPTB
Intentionally set up for failure.....,, excuse to rid of you after a few years
And please understand it’s not mid management thinking this is the way. Things get sloppy, extra contractual, class actions will bubble up.
Corporate dictating - management has no power or voice
Total Loss has been on mandatory OT forever
Bodily Injury will never dig out
What I'm about to tell you isn't related to State Farm specifically, but I think it applies.
My mother is retired now, but for years she worked for a company where she was pressured by management to work faster because her peers were moving more paperwork than she was. She was written up for it more than once.
After she retired, her former boss confided in her that she'd had to hire THREE people to do the work that she was doing, and it had become clear to her that the reason her peers had been working faster is because they'd been sloppy. But did any of that help my mother while she was actually working there? No. Doing a good job just made her a target.
My advice is to give the managers what they want. If they want fast, give them fast. Cut whatever corners you can. Eventually they might realize that they can't have both faster and better (you guys remember State Farm's faster-better-cheaper nonsense?). Or maybe they won't. But if the emphasis is on speed, I'd give them speed at the expense of everything else.
They might come back and dock you for being sloppy, or they might not even notice. Either way it's worth trying. Or, you could quit and go find a job you can actually feel good about.
Sounds like it’s the Green Mile for you, Holmes.
Dead man walkin.
Prayers.