Roberta Reed sent a message to Jeff Dailey - Chief Executive Officer of Farmers Group, Inc. - Email Address that said:
September 17, 2017
Open letter to Chris McSwain Agency, Jeff Daily, Ginny Francis
I understand this letter will not provide any relief for the damages my husband and I received in the flood related to
Hurricane Harvey, however, I am in the hopes this will relieve some of the disappointment and despair we are feeling at this
point in our lives.
In January 2017 when I received my FEMA Flood plan invoice I called the McSwain Agency office to pay by credit card as I have
done prior years, I was told by a representative at the office (female I spoke with speaks with an accent) and was informed at
that time it had been filed with my Escrow. I questioned that as it had not been done in the past. The woman I spoke with
assurred me this was the case, so I was like ok, saves me paying cash . I then received a late notice, and once again called
McSwain Agency, spoke with the same person, who told me not to worry, it was filed with my escrow and FEMA always sends late
notices. Once again I trusted the information received.
To make a long story short, none of the above was correct...What a shock when I called FEMA Flood to make a claim and am told
that my Flood insurance had lapsed due to non payment.
During the time of the flood my husband was in Critical Care due to another heart attack. He was released from the hospital on
September 1, 2017, bedridden and a very poor prognosis. To come home to devastation and no hope of recovery is very emotional
and hard to deal with. I am unable to perform the work necessary to clean the house, remodel once again, etc. due to my having
had open heart surgery myself a year ago. Thankfully, our daughter, grandchildren and a few volunteers pulled the wet items
and sheetrock from our home. Without them we would be living in mold infestation.
It is now at the point where we must begin looking at how to afford to replace what we lost, replace walls, etc. We are both
seniors and do not have the available funds to begin this process, so we will be living in what it is now, a shell of a home.
We have worked very hard to have a comfortable home to live our retirement, and are still paying for the $26,000 remodel per-
formed in 2014. There is no way we can afford another remodel and repair. Which is one reason we purchased Flood
coverage each year.
I live this nightmare daily and nightly in my dreams (nightmares actually) while attempting to carry on attending to my
husband and job. I do assume some responsibility for not confirming the information given to me by the representative, however
I use McSwain Agency because I have been assured on many occassions they will handle my insurance needs and I need not worry.
They will help. I can only wonder if the representative who has denied the conversations ever took place, thinks about this,
does she have nightmares on what we are having to live with? I can only hope there is enough humanity in her to regret her
error and ensure it does not happen to another client.
Chris, during our conversation regarding this issue on August 31, 2017 you assured me you would take care of me. Well, I
was then told that your employees all do not recall the phone calls, and there is nothing that can be done. Once again,
disappointment.
As can be expected, I will be moving all of my policies to another company in the near future.
I understand this letter will not solve my problems, however I do feel this letter should be shared with employees so they
understand the impact incorrect information can and does have on insureds and their lives.
Sincerly,
Roberta Reed/Darrell Reed
2903 Sand Reef Ct.
League City, TX 77573
979-373-6345
rannhillreed@yahoo.com
Roberta.Reed@AmericanNational.com
