Dave Stewart – State Farm Insurance Agent

My building was in a major fire and my apartment was completely destroyed. Everyone at State Farm did an incredible job helping us get back on our feet. Seriously I think we paid $ 10/​month for our renters insurance and it was totally worth it! State Farm put us in great hotels, helped us get temporary housing, and was completely fair with our claim. I would highly recommend State Farm renters insurance!

I spent 6 years as customer of Dave Stewart State Farm for Auto, Renters insurance only to have it cancel after a claim that was never even paid.
Do yourself a favor and choose another insurance company and agent to do business with that will actually cover you in times of need. Thousands of dollars later and much disappointment I have learned a lesson.
Thanks Dave!

My husband and I have been Dave Stewart clients for over 20 years. While we haven’t needed to interact that much (few claims, knock on wood), every time we’ve needed assistance from the office, we have experienced personable, professional responses from staff. I have just recently needed to become an independent contractor for my employer, and have been working with agent Jillian Morrison. She has been fantastic — extremely prompt, thorough, and friendly throughout, which has made a stressful situation very pleasant and reassuring. She has definitely gone above and beyond, which I wasn’t expecting since I am a small potatoes client in terms of policies. We would never go anywhere else for our insurance — we feel like Dave and his staff have got our backs. Good going!

Dave is very trustworthy and capable of handling complex Insurance issues. We have used him for over 10 years. His prices have always been good, and most important is his skill at helping with issues from car Insurance, home Insurance, long term care insurance, to life Insurance.

One star for the little calendars they send out at the beginning of the year.
Zero stars for delayed accounting (including a bill for an additional assessment 20 months after the premium year ended), poor customer service, and last minute threats of cancellation. We’ve moved on after «service» like this from Dave Stewart…

I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Dave’s office, including when my wife backed into our neighbor’s Jaguar. It was an older model Jaguar, so as not to give the impression that I’m rich and live amongst luxury car owners. Anyways if you go with Dave/​Jake their people will take care of you.

I used to have renter’s, earthquake and auto insurance through State Farm with Dave Stewart. My checks were always sent on time and gladly cashed by these guys for 2+ years.
My policy was up for renewal and somehow I forgot to send in my check. Due to a poor driving record (my fault) and my bonehead move of not mailing in my renewal check (again, my fault) my policy lapsed and they refused to renew me.
The tough part was that I found this all out half-​way through a 2 wk road trip while I was in the deserts of Arizona. After begging and pleading for them to somehow help me out until I got back home, they told me there was nothing they could do.
Needless to say, you think you’re in good hands when you have a «local» agent but always remember, a big corporation like State Farm is still a big corporation with rules and regs that can’t and won’t be broken or bent by their franchise owners, even for customers in good standing who are in a pinch and really need them. A real let down.

Do not buy insurance from Dave Stewart unless you want terrible service and denied coverage when you need it most. Like after a catastrophe. Or if you want Dave to simply call you back when you have a claim. He doesn’t.
Easily one of the worst business/​customer service/​policy holder experiences of a lifetime.
During the power outage in Oakland on January 20^th, our 3 basement sump pumps failed with no power provided by P, G and E. As a result, the water accumulated and began to rise, eventually up to over 3 feet deep. Many of the items we had stored floated around, and eventually caught on fire when making contact with the heater.
I was less than a minute away from leaving my house for the day with my 10 year old Golden Retriever locked inside, when I smelled smoke. I acted quickly and made 3 breath holding trips down into the flooded basement with a garden house, eventually extinguishing the flames before the house would have probably exploded with gas lines, a heater and a water heater surrounded by 6 foot flames. I called Oakland fire, who responded with 3 trucks and 10 firefighters in 5 minutes.
I called David Stewart’s office right away, where I was greeted by an assistant who insisted on taking my information instead of letting my talk to my agent. After 10 painful minutes of literally having to repeat every word at least twice, I asked her to please have David call right away. He didn’t. Not even close.
I needed to find out right away if our policy covered a cleanup organization like Serve Pro to come and help us with the aftermath. His assistant clearly had no clue about how to interpret a policy. We knew that if we were not covered, we would have a group of family and friends help us with the basement. We can’t afford Serve Pro on our own.
The next day, the assistant (no Dave yet) called me and promptly called me the wrong name and had the wrong case, and didn’t really appear to remember much about me. I asked her to please have Dave call me.
Friday. Standing water damage in the basement worsening. No call.
Finally, on Saturday, I call and get Dave’s voice mail, where I had a chance to express my shock and displeasure regarding his complete absence. He calls me later that day to tell my to hire Serve Pro, «whether or not we’re going to pay for it.»
Serve Pro shows up in one hour, with 7 – 8 guys, does a fantastic job. They come back every day to check on things, photograph everything, archive everything.
Meanwhile, State Farm’s central Catastrophe department is calling me repeatedly to tell me that «an adjuster would be on the case in 24 – 48 hours.» The same thing the next day. And the next. Finally, we get a voice mail on Sunday night 5 DAYS AFTER THE FIRE.
Then on Wednesday, January 27^th, said adjuster arrives at our home to tell us we have been denied coverage. Surreal, cruel, and devastating.
We are on the hook for thousands of dollars with Serve Pro. If had left the house earlier and/​or not extinguished the flames, our house, with our dog inside, would have burned to the ground. And we would be denied coverage based on a water damage exception.
State Farm is denying the claim based on the fact that water damage to stored contents and physical structure is not covered in the policy. Which only considers the effect, not the cause. When an electrical outage «outside of the residence» (i.e. P, G and E) leads to equipment failure (like sump pumps, which are a means of protecting the house), the case is not just water damage. It’s cause and effect. State Farm selects the wording that suits them, denies claims, and keeps the company profitable.
I promise to update this review once our lawsuit is settled, even if we lose. At the very least, we’re suing on principle. At most, we want compensation for our losses from a policy we’ve paid on for 11 years without a single claim.
David Stewart’s service was just awful and very insulting in our time of need. State Farm’s was as bad or worse.
If I were to make one suggestion to the marketing department, it would be this: It’s time to change your jingle/​slogan. You know how it goes. Here’s my idea for the new one:
«Unlike a Good Neighbor, State Farm is Where?»

I have been with Dave Stewart for years now. I think they give excellent rates, but the customer service I have experienced has been frustrating and almost maddening. When I have called to ask for an explanation about something on my bill they have just re-​read what is on the bill to me without being able to explain to me the charges in layman terms. The other day they were going to call me back with a quote. They didn’t do so and when I called the next day the agent that was supposed to get back to me was on vacation. They mis-​quote me on the phone all the time (as in do their math wrong). Heads-​up: not the sharpest communication. But they are patient and in the end it all works out. Just give it a lot of time and check for errors.

I don’t know how Dave Stewart managed to get two bad reviews! His customer service is top notch, his employee Tyler Randolph saved me $ 150 on my renter’s insurance, the entire staff is very friendly, and if that wasn’t enough, I got my insurance set up and active in 3 days over a 15 minute phone call. Dave Stewart is a good guy and he runs an excellent State Farm office.