State Farm refused to pay the cost of fixing a 2022 all-electric Porsche Taycan at a certified collision shop after a collision, a man suing the company recently told WPLG Local 10 News. 

Assaf Sasson is at the center of a class action suit against State Farm filed in May of last year. 

His lawyers recently filed a second class action suit in Georgia after finding similar stories in that state, they told the news station. 

The original complaint states a certified facility estimated the damage to his vehicle to be $8,360.87. It states State Farm estimated the cost at $6,267.03. 

Sasson paid out of pocket to repair the vehicle, the article says. 

“I’m not paying cheap insurance. I’m paying very high insurance,” Sasson said in the article. “I was sure it wouldn’t be any problem. I have insurance with State Farm, which is a strong insurance company.”

Daren Stabinksi and Cristina Pierson, Sasson’s attornies, told the news station that State Farm is paying the same hourly rate regardless of the type of vehicle. 

“It is a very complicated job to fix these technologically-advanced cars, such as the electric cars my client has,” said Stabinski, in the article. 

According to the article, Pierson added, “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.”

After taking the case, the attorneys said they discovered the issue was widespread, according to the article. 

A second class action suit was filed in Georgia in January. The suit says State Farm refuses to pay the competitive price for hourly labor rates at certified repair shops specializing in high-value, luxury vehicles such as Maserati, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Bentley and BMW. 

For example, the suit states that the competitive price for a Maserati-certified facility to perform a paint job is $105 per hour based on the repair market. Yet, State Farm refuses to pay for labor rates more than $55 for the work without justification and contrary to its policy terms, the suit says. 

It says defendant Martin Brown submitted a claim to State Farm after he was in a collision with his 2021 Maserati Levante on July 21, 2023. 

Jim Ellis Collision Center, a Maserati-certified body shop in Dekalb County, Georgia, provided an estimate with an hourly labor rate for paint and body labor at $105 per hour, the suit says. It says State Farm rejected the estimate. 

Brown then contacted multiple State Farm “Select Service” shops but all refused to perform repairs on his vehicle, the suit says. He then requested State Farm provide him with a facility that would perform the repairs at the approved rate, it says. 

State Farm never provided an option, the suit says. The insurer, instead, offered to pay part of the estimated rate to repair the vehicle, it says. 

Brown ultimately paid for the repairs out of his own pocket, it says. 

WPLG requested a comment from State Farm about the suit and received this as a response, “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.”

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