CL
Christopher Lee
Jun 7, 2026
I'm transferring units in my apartment complex and thought it would be a good time to review my renters' insurance provider.
Allstate is frustrating, since when I call their customer service, it's answered by an overseas parrot in India or the Philippines; it's hard to have a conversation with them due to their different way of speaking, and they are incompetent and/or mistake-prone. Once I bypass them by saying I need to speak to a licensed agent, the service is good.
So I went on State Farm's website to get a quote. There's a question about having water damage at an apartment, whether or not a claim was made. I said yes since there was flooding at my last Austin apartment back in summer 2024. Once I answered that, the site couldn't proceed and I had to fill out a contact form, which was routed to this office. From past experience, I know these agents are aggressive and will call immediately once information is received, even if it's not really a good time to talk; whether that's being busy with work, driving, etc. So I wrote "do not call."
So, some minutes later, I received a text from this Morgan fellow, checking in. I ignore it as I'm busy getting things organized and planned for the move, then I'm going to a movie.
So then I'm in the movie, and it's after 5 pm. This guy texts again, "reaching out before the end of the day" to go over the quote and asking if I have a few minutes to chat. Again, I ignore it. It's after 5 PM, and I'm watching Mando and GoGurt.
Then, Friday afternoon at 4:45, pretty much closing time, this guy texts again to get details and work on the quote. I text back and tell him sure but not right now, that 2 unsolicited texts near or after the end of the workday are as bad as the phone calls I wanted to avoid.
He replies back, apologizing. He's had a busy day; probably a busy day with aggressive selling via phone calls and texts, but I digress. He needs to know what was the nature of the water damage claims. Was it from an appliance, or weather related?
I fired off a quick reply. It wasn't at my current apartment, that it was 2 years ago. 2 separate incidents. In May 2024 the entire apartment was flooded because of some negligence on the part of the person in the unit directly above me with the washing machine. In July 2024, a buried pipe somewhere nearby backed up and flooded my unit and some others.
Then I said I'm just answering the question on the website, and it's odd I have to jump through these hoops by answering the question honestly. I think that's the end of it until Monday, but no.
He then texts on Saturday morning while I'm trying to relax and rest. He's in the office on Saturday, also! Yay. He says since it was a claim, they have to review the information and the send it to "the backend team" (vague) has to review it also in order to get it taken care of for me.
Again, I fired off a quick reply, telling him no thanks and to discontinue texting. After hours texts and text on Saturday are disrespectful of my time and privacy. Followed by a diatribe about needing this information about water damage was shady--as the water damage was no fault of mine, in either incident, then explaining that I was exploring my options, but now continuing with Allstate.
I'm not sure why I was routed to this agency, as it's a ways away from me and there are probably other agents nearby, but all good. I feel like I dodged a bullet, that this aggressive selling means they would disappear if/when there was a claim, and I needed help.
Jake from State Farm was definitely not a good neighbor here. No Aaron Rodgers touchdown dance for Morgan.
Response to reply: Yet you didn't ever address the issue of why I had to jump through these hoops anyway--I didn't cause the water damage. As stated, it seems like that is a shady way to get out of paying a claim if there is a future event.
And yes, it is aggressive selling--continuously texting after 5 or on a Saturday is disrespectful. You need to be cognizant that people cannot drop everything they are doing to respond to repeated texts.