|EÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍËÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ» |Eº ^0First Things First|E º ^1 Diskovery |E º ^0First Things First|E º |EÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÊÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÊÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ ^Cby ^CJay Wilbur It's been an interesting month around the hallowed halls of Casa Softy. It would seem my "call 'em as I see 'em" style of writing has ruffled a few feathers--for which I am sorry. My column in Issue 57 disturbed a reader who is a State Farm insurance agent. That Diskovery column detailed the trials and tribulations of Jay Wilbur, average American consumer, as he attempted to insure his computer equipment. What follows is the correspondence from and to one of State Farm's more knowledgeable agents. |5ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ Mr. Jay Wilbur Big Blue Disk P.O. Box 30008 Shreveport, LA 71130-0008 Dear Mr. Wilbur, I was rather taken aback yesterday when I booted up my recent copy of Big Blue Disk. The first article "Diskovery" really kicked State Farm Insurance Company in the seat of the pants. I have been an agent for State Farm for 39 1/2 years and feel that the article is not true in the manner in which you portrayed. First of all, your homeowner policy whether it be a tenant policy, a condominium owner policy, or a bona fide homeowner policy automatically provides $5,000 of computer coverage. That amount can be increased to a maximum of $10,000 for an additional premium. Depending on the deductible that you carry on the base policy, the rate ranges from $15 to $19 a year. Your article says, "State Farm nor any other insurance company that she knew of would touch me. Why? Because I had the unmitigated audacity to bring work home from the office and do it on my PERSONAL computer..." What a bunch of male bovine droppings that is. The endorsement in our manual reads in part, "...this coverage applies to equipment primarily used on premises regardless of whether it is used in a business..." You will note that it doesn't matter a tinker's damn if you use it for personal or for business purposes. In some instances (and yours happens to be one) where the amount of computer value is greater than that available under the homeowner policy, [there's hope]. No sweat, we just move over to our commercial lines division and under the "Inland Marine" offering, the coverage will be provided. We have a goodly number of similar situations, and I write a "Media/Equipment Floater" policy. The rate is $10 per thousand with a yearly minimum of $50. The mandatory deductible is $50, but by going to a higher deductible an applicable discount would apply. So you see, Mr. Wilbur, your article has done an injustice to State Farm, and I believe that you should correct that in your next offering. Sincerely, Les Schwartz, Agent |5ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ 06-21-91 State Farm Insurance Les Schwartz, Agent Minnetonka, MN Dear Les, Wow! It's easy to understand why you were seeing red when you read my column. And I'm sorry that my DISKOVERY column about computer insurance was a shock to you. However, my words did accurately detail my adventures as a consumer into the land of computer insurance. Everything you read is what happened to me as I tried to get my computers insured. If you think you were taken aback when you read the article, you should have seen me talking to my agent without success! In all cases my agent continued to tell me that I could not be written a policy because my computers were not 100% for personal use. I can assure you that I didn't take any literary license in writing this column. After your letter, I feel certain your manual clearly states the opposite of what my agent told me. But, as you can probably tell, my agent didn't read it. You mention that you could have taken my computer insurance problem to your commercial lines division. My agent also mentioned this and made several calls to them and back to me to get more information. And yet, I was told on more than one occasion that my equipment could not be insured. I am pleased to know that State Farm has agents like you. Too bad you weren't here when I needed you. I have no doubt that if you had been my agent I would not have had any problems. I certainly hope that my former agent represents the minority of State Farm agents. Unfortunately, I had to seek assistance elsewhere. Your letter and this reply will be printed in the next Diskovery. For the record, I would like to apologize to all the competent State Farm agents who would have had my policy ready in moments. I understand your distress at my column, but while it probably seemed unfair to you, hey, it's what happened to me. However, I do apologize for giving some readers a misconception about State Farm by lumping in all agents with my former agent. Regards, Jay Wilbur, Managing Editor On Disk |5ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ Note to Our Readers: YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE the volume of mail regarding this column. Looks like we struck a nerve. We heard from readers insured by other companies as well who had the same problem. For the record, State Farm (or any other insurance company) is not the enemy. If you don't get satisfaction from your agent, ask him or her to read the company manual or contact another agent!