FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A South Florida driver is one of many learning the hard way that just because you pay for full car insurance coverage, it doesn’t mean your insurance company will have your back.
One of the largest insurers in the nation could be facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly failing to foot the bill for the repair of high-end luxury vehicles.
Assaf Sasson thought all he’d have to pay was his $500 deductible when his 2022 all-electric Porsche Taycan was damaged in a crash.
Sasson took his vehicle to Porsche and was told if it wasn’t fixed by an approved Porsche-certified facility, the warranty on his $100,000 car would be voided.
“I’m not paying cheap insurance. I’m paying very high insurance,” Sasson said. “I was sure it wouldn’t be any problem. I have insurance with State Farm, which is a strong insurance company.”
But he soon found out, unlike a good neighbor, State Farm wasn’t there.
He said an adjuster told him, “They don’t pay those prices for that body shop, which is a Porsche-certified body shop.”
Attorneys Daren Stabinksi and Cristina Pierson are representing Sasson in a lawsuit.
“It is a very complicated job to fix these technologically-advanced cars, such as the electric cars my client has,” said Stabinski.
“They want them to take the car to a run-of-the-mill collision shop or another manufacturer shop that doesn’t have the training or the know-how and the certifications to repair that vehicle properly,” added Pierson.
According to a suit filed against State Farm, the estimate to fix Sasson’s Taycan at the Porsche-certified facility was $8,360.87.
The suit claims State Farm created its own estimate of $6,267.03.
It claims State Farm uniformly rejects repair estimates that exceed $4,700 per claim when the going rate for high-end vehicles is double that amount.
Sasson said he had to pay out of pocket to get the job done right.
“They pay the same whether it is a Pinto or a Porsche -- they pay the same hourly rate,” said Stabinski.
Sasson’s attorneys soon realized there were others.
“We have spoken to dozens of State Farm insured (people) in Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia,” said Pierson. “We have gotten so many calls, and it’s all the same story.”
“When I found out this is a widespread issue, that’s when we decided to take it to the next level and file a class action,” said Stabinski.
“What we did was we filed both a Florida class action and Georgia class action, and we are basically trying to hold State Farm to the terms of their policy,” said Pierson.
The class action suit hasn’t been certified yet in Florida.
Pierson claims one car owner who contacted her decided to call body shops off a “select service” list provided by State Farm after a crash.
“They got five or six names and they went down the list and called every single one and not one of them would even touch his Maserati,” said Pierson.
In a statement to Local 10 News, a State Farm spokesperson said the company refused to comment on pending litigation, but said:
“What we can say is that we take pride in our customer service and are committed to paying what we owe, promptly, courteously, and efficiently. Each claim is unique and handled based on its own individual merits and the facts of the loss.”
Roszell Gadson, State Farm Corporate Communications
The South Florida attorneys have advice for any current State Farm customers.
“I would have them immediately call their agent and broker and make sure what they believe they have purchased is actually true,” said Pierson. “If I get into a collision, where am I going to be able to take my car, and what will you pay?”
Added Stabinski: “No one would know they do this.”