Bart Blessing State Farm cancelled my Home Owners insurance with Without Justification

I received a notification in April of 2018 from the State Farm office in Winter Haven, FL that they were cancelling my Home Owners Insurance and I think the reasons given are invalid and unjustified.

The reason stated in the termination letter was “failure to comply with requirements in our letter dated September 20, 2017″.

To be clear, the letter I received on September 20, 2017 from the Bart Blessing State Farm Insurance office in Ocala, FL stated “improvements” NOT requirements.

Here’s a copy of the main details of what was in the letter from the Bart Blessing State Farm Insurance office in Ocala, FL;

“We believe there are some positive measures that can be taken which could reduce the potential for future losses. Please make the following improvements:”

” To reduce the chance for water damage and improve weather resistance, repair or replace and paint all damaged, missing, loose, or rotted siding, including the stair-step crack in the exterior wall, and remove the soot from the chimney bricks.

To help reduce potential damage to the property and possible injury to people, the exterior housekeeping needs attention. Promptly remove the accumulation of personal property and miscellaneous debris from the property and maintain the yard and premises on a regular basis”.

I therefore took the letter as suggestions and I felt most of the items mentioned in the letter were unjustified, invalid and petty. There were no instructions in the letter on how to contest the claims and it did not say, failure to do these things may or will result in my insurance being canceled.

It’s important to note that the “improvements” letter was dated September, 20 2017, about 10 days AFTER Hurricane Irma which hit Ocala, FL around September 10, 2017.

There was tons of debris in front and on of my property as a result of damage caused by the hurricane which sat for weeks until FEMA and the City of Ocala came to remove it.  I therefore feel the statements about “exterior housekeeping” and “remove the accumulation debris from the property” is an outrage.

I have been a VERY responsible home and property owner;

My house was painted within the past year and is in very good condition.

In 2016, I had new roofs put on my home and garage.

In 2017 I had a new furnace & A/C installed.

In September 2017 a few days before the hurricane arrived, I spent $3,000 to have several trees cut down and trees trimmed to prevent damage to my home and property.

One of the key issues is the fact that the letter I received from Bart Blessing State Farm Insurance office in Ocala, FL said “Please make the following improvements“, with no mention of “requirements” in the letter.

I was therefore flabbergasted when in April 2018 I received a out-of-the-blue letter saying my insurance was going to be canceled because of “failure to comply with requirements in our letter dated September 20, 2017″.

I sent complaint letters about this matter to the President of State Farm. I received a response dated August 28, 2017 stating that I should take photos showing the “improvements” has been made so I could keep my insurance.

How am I supposed to take photos of  “debris” which they claimed was on my property that DOES NOT EXIST?

WHAT “DEBRIS” was Bart Blessing State Farm talking about in the first place?

What “missing, loose, or rotted siding” was being referring to, when my house is constructed out of Cinder Block and has no “rotted siding”?

I’m not a mind reader or Psychic.

Bart Blessing State Farm SHOULD have taken photos of EVERY item detailed in the “improvements” letter they sent me on September 20, 2017 and included photos of the items in their letter to SHOW and DOCUMENT what they were talking about.

I think the REAL reason those responsible wanted to cancel my insurance is because I had to submit a claim on account of damage from Hurricane Irma caused by a neighbor’s tree falling on a cabin on my property which caused State Farm to have to pay out about $11,000.

The damage was 100% the neighbor’s fault because it was their tree which fell onto my property and caused 100% of the damage.

I had to spend $4,000 out of pocket after the hurricane due to State Farm’s deductible to pay for damages cause by my neighbors Tree damage, thanks to the ridiculous “Act of God” law which allows the responsible party to evade responsibility for damages caused by their trees.

I told a representative from Bart Blessing’s office and the State Farm adjuster in September 2017 that they should sue my neighbor for “will neglect” to recoup the money they had to pay out on my claim. I even offered to appear as a witness for them.

They ignored my advice and the thanks I got was them sending me the “improvement” letter, then several months later they sent a letter saying they were cancelling my insurance.

State Farm has a ONE STAR Rating by Customers on the Better Business Bureau Web Site

There’s page after page of BAD Reviews and Complaints like the ones above on the BBB site about State Farm at https://www.bbb.org/us/il/bloomington/profile/insurance-companies/state-farm-insurance-company-0724-6000391

Notice how the above complaints states; “When I called the claim department they told me that any claim is used against you even if it’s not your fault”.

Remember How State Farm Treated Hurricane Katrina Victims?

Description from Youtube: “ABC News 20/20 investigates claims from two State Farm whistleblowers regarding a systematic approach by insurance supervisors to bury, replace and change reports to avoid paying claims held by policyholders in Mississippi”.

There are numerous articles about how State Farm tried to get out of paying Katrina Hurricane victims claims such as this one dated April 23, 2015 at http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-state-farm-mississippi-0423-biz-20150423-story.html

The article states “State Farm, to minimize its losses from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, “systemically mischaracterized” wind damage — which its policies covered — as flood damage, and in the process wrongly avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars in claims, according to a lawsuit filed by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood”.

The claim which I filed to State Farm in September 2017 due to the damage caused by my neighbor’s tree during Hurricane Irma is the FIRST TIME I HAVE EVER HAD TO FILE A CLAIM in my entire life and it was TOTALLY not my fault.

After how Bart Blessing Insurance & State Farm treatment me, I decided I didn’t ever want to have anything to do with them again. So I contacted other Insurance Providers and found BETTER insurance for MUCH LESS than I was paying them.

To get the insurance, I had to get inspections and my house passed TWO INSPECTIONS… from a private inspector AND the Insurance Company’s Inspector further proving (in my opinion) that Bart Blessing / State Farm cancelled my Home Owners Insurance Without Just Cause.

I feel sending a letter with a list of items which they claimed should to be addresses without actual photos of the items was highly unprofessional. I feel calling the list of items improvements… then cancelling my insurance several months later, citing “failure to comply with requirements” is an outrage which violated ethical standards and constitute unjustified insurance cancellation.

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