When Your Insurer Denies Your Claims, |
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Don't Give Up! homeFact sheet review the facts for yourself!"You pay and you pay in case something happens, and when it does, they [pointing at State Farm’s building] won’t pay you."Send mail to:
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 His resolve does not wither Sept. 3, 1992 was a momentous day. State Farm Insurance moved into its new claims office at 1010 Hilltop Dr. in Redding, Ca. And like a good neighbor, George Withers was there. And he has stayed there. For one year now [at the time of this article], Withers has been spending Monday through Saturday, for several hours each day, out on Hilltop Drive directly across the street from the State Farm building. A sign proclaims "Don’t buy State Farm", and adds "Honk if your with us". If honking is any indication, there are a lot of people with Withers. At least 75 percent of the passing cars honk, bicycles ring their bells, and Withers waves at every one of them. Some afternoons the din is near deafening. "My arm gets pretty tired by the end of the day." Withers said. But his arm is not nearly tired of waving as Withers is of State Farm. His $179,000 claim filed in 1989 has yet to be resolved. The story is not complicated. Withers and Beatrice, his wife of over 55 years, bought a five acre lot in Woodland Park, Colorado in 1969. Over the years they slowly built a four bedroom retirement home, doing the work themselves. In 1989, their neighbor began to board horses. The more than 35 horses were in a corral just east and 38 feet uphill from the Withers well. The well became contaminated. Mrs. Withers suffered from kidney failure and problems with her heart and liver. Doctors at a Colorado Springs hospital concluded that fecal coliform in the Withers well had made Mrs. Withers ill and that it was the horse stable that did the polluting. Three separate water tests confirmed what the doctors had said. The Withers could not afford a lawsuit against the neighbor. Both the Withers and the neighbor were insured with State Farm, so Withers thought there would be no problem. But State Farm pointed out that the Withers were not specifically covered for any contamination of their well water. |
In 1990, after Mrs. Withers
became well enough to move, they relocated to Anderson, Ca. In September of 1992 the Withers protest in front of State Farm began. "We just want State Farm to settle with us." Withers said. "You pay and you pay in case something happens, and when it does, they [pointing at State Farm’s building] won’t pay you." Withers admits that State Farm did offer a check for living expenses, but only if the Withers would agree to waive the claim for damages. Withers had information sheets printed up, telling their story to anyone who stopped. In the past year he said he’d given out about 1,000. "People are with us." Wither said. He also claims that people have told him they would cancel their State Farm policies and that he has seen the parking lot of the State Farm office go from nearly full "to just about empty."
Withers has been asked by passers-by if he feels he is doing a disservice to the employees of State Farm. "I’m not trying to hurt the employees," Withers said, "I don’t want anyone hurt. I believe it is State Farm that is hurting their employees by not doing the right thing." Withers has no doubts he’s right. "I’ve given this a lot of thought. I don’t want to spend the last years of my life out here, but I know this is right and I have to do it." The State Farm office on Hilltop Drive refuses to make any statements concerning the Withers claim. Withers was raised in Illinois. He became an ordained Baptist minister in 1955 after being a steelworker for many years. Withers is aware of the opinions some may have about Baptist ministers. "I was never one of those hot-heads," Withers said. "I consider myself to be a teacher, a teacher of the Bible." He also said he’s going to stay there until his claim is paid. "They think I’m gonna die," he added, "but then my family will just take it up." |
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