An Open Letter to the Celebrities Advertising for State Farm

I wonder if you know who you have taken money from for your funny little commercials? Do you know the way they treat their customers? Do you realize that the amount of money they paid you to appear in their commercials could solve every single one of my problems or the problems of millions of people who State Farm has screwed over?

On October 15th, 2023, I was hit by a 22-year-old driver who ran a red light. She shoved me across four lanes of traffic and into the lobby of an apartment building. The wreck was so catastrophic that I am now having to retire from my private practice as a trauma specialized clinical therapist only two years after receiving my PhD. I will spare you the details of my injuries, how I have been screwed over by the medical community, the lawyer I hired, and the state of Texas since this letter isn’t about them.

What is really interesting is that both the driver who hit me and I had State Farm. Since she walked away from the crash with a cut on her hand and a ticket for running a red light, she had the opportunity to file with them first. While she was filing, I was laying in the trauma unit of not one, but two hospitals, after I had to be transferred as a result of the brain bleed.

See, I had full coverage on my vehicle so I thought there would be no problem. Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There, right? Unfortunately, there have been nothing but problems from start to finish and they are nowhere to be found. State Farm would not return my calls or emails initially. When I finally got in touch with someone, they told me a determination couldn’t be made until the police report came in. Eventually, I had to send them the police report that I paid to get because they just couldn’t seem to get it anywhere and the girl who hit continued to deny fault (despite being caught on camera). Even after I sent it to them, it took State Farm over three weeks more to determine that I was not at fault. Things should be smooth sailing then, right?

Wrong.

On November 2nd I received a letter from State Farm through email stating that they would not pay my medical bills because they were too high. It took them another three weeks to tell me that my car was totaled, and I would receive money. From there I completed all the paperwork that they sent me. Which they lost so I had to do it again. There were two claim numbers since she filed first, after all. It must have been really confusing for them. After I received the money for my last car, I had made an appointment with a dealership to purchase a vehicle. On the day I was going to get the new car, I called an insurance broker for quotes because I do not want to remain with State Farm. The broker explained that there is a central database that insurance companies refer to when providing a quote where it reports your accident and ticket history. State Farm had reported to this database that I was at fault for the accident, effectively blacklisting me from any other car insurance company.

Fun, right?

After losing my temper with a woman at my “local agent’s office”, I eventually received a letter from them stating that I was not at fault for the accident that I can provide to other insurance companies, but I do not know if they have changed it in the system because I have since received zero contact from them. They have called me less than a handful of times in the over four months since the accident, each time when I am working (and they know it). When I call them back, sometimes within minutes, they do not answer. My husband has been calling them daily and getting the run around each time. No one will return calls or emails. My “local agent’s office” has no information for me, and they continue to give me the run around when I ask any question at all about my policy.

I still do not have my deductible ($1000) that they owe me because the accident was not my fault. I also have not received any PIP money ($2500) that was on my original policy and no explanation has been given as to why I don’t have it. I need that money because I am struggling to make ends meet now. I haven’t been offered a settlement of any kind. I have full coverage including underinsured/uninsured motorist so there is no reason they can’t cut me a check for at least that. But they won’t. I have over $140,000 worth of medical bills that are now all in collections because I don’t have that kind of money, nor do I have health insurance. That means I can’t get any of the treatment I need to survive this wreck. I am in a wheelchair. I am being forced to retire because I have memory problems which isn’t good for a therapist. I now have a new car whose payments are almost $200 more a month because, supply chains. My insurance payment with State Farm has almost doubled and whenever I try to make a payment something mysteriously goes wrong and so they constantly threaten to cut off my auto insurance. Their website is always screwed up, so I have no idea what I really owe and my “local agent” won’t return phone calls or emails either. When the woman in the office does (I have never actually spoken to the actual agent who is apparently an upstanding member of the community from what it says on his website), she says she doesn’t know. I filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance but I do live in Texas so they will most likely tell me “sorry not sorry” since Texas would prefer that I died anyway (I am a woman of voting age after all).

I grew up in poverty with extreme abuse and trauma, but I got out. I made something of myself and beat all of the odds. I did everything I was supposed to do to have the “American Dream”. I got my education (to the tune of over $300,000 in student loans I will now never be able to repay). I have dedicated my life to helping people. I rescue animals. I am a published author and have helped hundreds of people in my career. I have gifts from them in my office that say I saved their life. I do the right thing. Yet this has ended my life and my future through no fault of my own. Now, I sit in my office all day, every day. If I am not working, which I have to do in order to be able to eat, I am watching TV because that is all I have left. I have no quality of life. This is a type of vicious hell I could never have imagined. I have worked my ass off to get where I am. Now, all I can do is work so that I can afford to die.

I am only 44.

This is who you’re taking money from. The money they paid you is money they stole from me, and people like me. I hope you think about that when you cash their check. You won’t. But all I have left is hope. Which is running out.