Complaint Review: American Family Insurance - Madison Wisconson

 OF COURSE THEY ARE NOT ON YOUR SIDE!!! They work for them. You don't need to accept any offer from the insurance company. You hire YOUR OWN ADJUSTER and they will have access to the help you need to beat them. The insurance company's purpose in life is to get by paying you as little as possible. They are many, many, many attorneys who will take on these cases on a contingent fee basis which means YOU PAY NOTHING UNLESS YOU WIN!

I am the author of the Negative Report on American Family Insurance that I wrote up just last week.  I said that I would update the report as the Claim Process on my garage roof damage continues.  Well, here it is folks.

First of all, I do not know why this company - who has 92 other negative reviews on this rip off report website - even dares to call themselves American Family Insurance.

It makes it seem that they are a cozy, All American Company, who has FAMILY in mind.  This, my friends, is very far from the real truth.

I had reported that my 3 plus car garage, suffered wind damage around April 20, 2024 all due to the high winds that were constant in the area during that time.  50 mph plus winds.  The entire back of my roof is severely damaged  by the wind.  Shingle blown off, curling, waves and other damage.  The front has some damage, and is now wavy.

The dimensions of the garage roof to the eaves is 50 feet long and 25 feet wide, with a pitch.  My husband and I are VERY CAREFUL PEOPLE..  We take care of our property.  We do not let things go until they become more damaged.  We take measures to mitigate the loss.

This is why we reported the damage to our agent immediately after we had a trustworthy roofer come to view the roof.  Just a comment about the agent.  I now feel for any agent who works for American Family Insurance.  This company has proven itself to be LOOKING FOR ANY AND ALL EXCUSES TO DENY A CLAIM AND TRY TO SAY THE DAMAGE DID NOT COME UP TO THE DEDUCTIBLE, WHICH IN MY CASE IS $ 1,000.

I called our roofing company and the owner came out on April 24, 2024 to view the roof.  He said the ROOF IN THE BACK IS SHOT AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.  HE ALSO SAID HE HAS TO TEAR OFF THE ENTIRE ROOF.  EVEN THE FRONT, BECAUSE IT IS NOW WAVY AND SHOWING SIGNS OF BUCKLING.

He wanted $ 7,500 to do the entire job, but I managed to talk him down to $ 7,200.  This is a fair amount for the size of the roof.

Instead of trying to help us, American Family Insurance - right off the bat - is scheming to deny a legitimate claim.  The chief problem here, is the Field Adjustor, they sent on May 1, 2024.

This man's name is Ross Freeman in Appleton, Wisconsin.  From the moment, he called me, he had a tone in his voice that made me feel that he would NOT be on our side.  I was right.

Then he shows up on May 1, 2024 with an "ATTITUDE".  He also looked like he was BORED.  When I spoke with him, he immediately talked over me - so as to shut me up.  He said, I AM TALKING HERE.  This remark, I thought was very rude.  I get the distinct feeling that he does not like assertive, older women.

My husband and I tried to show him the damage, and again he looked BORED.  He said, DON'T TELL ME HOW TO DO MY JOB.

He also refused to give me his business card when I asked for it.  VERY RUDE INDEED.

I had a very bad feeling and reported this to my agent.

Well, my feeling proved correct.  This person, who, in my opinion, should not be a field adjustor - sent a report to the desk adjustor saying that the roof damage is less than the $1,000 deductible.

From reading the other 92 negative reports on American Family Insurance, I see the Number 1 Complaint is that American Family Insruance - the sneaky, tight fisted company they are - mostly tries to get the damage under the deductible.  They do this to give their customers, who pay GOOD MONEY FOR PREMIUMS - THE SHAFT.  They win because they screw their customers.  Pure and Simple.

However, this lady is NOT Going Quietly into the Night.

NEWS FLASH:  In these times of inflation, there is NO WAY, that this damage can be under $1,000.  It costs that much to make a small REPAIR, LET ALONE REPLACING AN ENTIRE ROOF ON A LARGE GARAGE.

My guess is that Mr. Ross Freeman of Appleton, Wisconsin gets BROWNIE POINTS for each and every claim he denies that results in the customer getting NOTHING.

I had called my agent and insisted upon getting another field adjustor.  The agent came today and took pictures of the roof and now is working with a Supervisor named Allison.  May 9, 2024.

Many people out there know just how bad insurance companies have become.  It USED to be that one got fair service from these companies.  There is truth in these BIG CORPORATE GIANT INSURERS LIKE AMERICAN FAMILY.  They live and breathe for PROFIT AND TAKE NO LOSSES, BY RAISING EVERYONES PREMIUM FOR CLAIMS THEY DO ACTUALLY PAY OUT.  

My agent tells, me, that beginning September, 2024, American Family Insurance will no longer offer the $1,000 deductible for wind damage.  Those Greedy Little Pigs are going to Raise the Deductible for Wind Damage to $ 2,500.

Of course, we will no longer use them after our term is up, with oddly enought in September, 2024.

Now, we have to wait to see if we:

A.) Get a new field adjustor

B.) Our agent can somehow resolve this problem to our favor.

This Cheap Corporate Giant, should at least pay for 1/2 of the roof.

Oh, I forgot to tell you this.  I tried calling an insurance broker to see what insurance is available to us.  The lady I spoke to said to me:

NOW THAT YOU HAVE FILED A CLAIM FOR THE ROOF, NO OTHER INSURANCE COMPANY WILL ACCEPT YOU UNTIL YOU (MEANING US) REPLACES THE ROOF.

TALK ABOUT PUNISHMENT TIME!

In closing and until I update this report further, I have only this to say:

We all work hard, pay our premiums on time, and then get the Shaft from American Family, and probably other big insurance companies out there.

I bet these adjustors have a CODE BOOK WHICH SAYS, AT FIRST, DENY THE CLAIM, AND MAYBE THE CUSTOMER WILL GO AWAY.

Now, if my agent cannot resolve this, I want American Family Insurance to KNOW THIS:

1. ) I will file a complaint with the State of Wisconsin Insurance Commission. ( Not sure if that will do any good because most State Insurance Commissions are IN BED, with the Insurance Industy.)

2.) Take them to Small Claims Court to try to get the full $ 7,200.

I appreciate the Consumer Comments from Flint and Irv - and just might get a lawyer if all else fails.

Signed,

Greatly Wronged By American Family and their Field Adjustor.

By the way, if this same person is coming to your home to do review on your damaged home or car, I would ask for SOMEONE ELSE.

First, it's very easy to look up wind data using any number of websites.  You didn't say where you are specifically, but looking at a couple of N Wisconsin cities, I do not see any winds that would damage a roof (> 50 mph) in April 2024.  So the insurance company may very well be right.  Winds that damage roofs occur maybe once every 10-20 years, so it's not exactly surprising that you didn't have any in 8 months.  Do you really think an insurance company is going to pay for a new roof every year?

Second, 50 mph winds should not damage a roof that's in good condition.  Modern roofing materials are rated for 110 mph wind speeds.  Wind might blow off shingles that have already become loose, but that's a wear and tear / installation issue.  If you just have a few missing shingles, that's not really the kind of damage that would warrant replacement of the whole roof.  You also did not say how old the roof was.  If the roof is 30 years old, it's at the end of its life and the damage isn't really due to wind, but rather due to old age.

Third, false wind damage is one of the most common insurance scams there is.  Insurance companies are aware of it and are clamping down.  So you will have to really make your case if you want to get anything.  You would need to show that a) the roof was in good condition and properly installed prior to the wind event; b) that there was a sufficient severity wind event (50 mph+); c) that the roof is damaged beyond repair; and d) that the damage was caused by wind, rather than installation defects or wear and tear. I don't think a statement by a contractor would cut it, you would need a bit more than that.  Contractors obviously have a financial interest in replacing your roof.

You could probably file something in small claims court, the limit in Wisconsin is $10k.

There are many lawyers who battle insurance companies all the time on a contingent fee basis. Do this and do it NOW!