Comments on: State Farm won’t underwrite social software?

By: Steve Golab

Steve Golab — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:19:01 +0000

Sam, call me. I have a ballsy idea and would love your input. Is Austin in your time horizon?

By: Ben Tremblay

Ben Tremblay — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:44:00 +0000

Not that this addresses the main point, but … how behind the curve is State farm _really_ … look at the last bit of the second paragraph. The “does not meet” bit … see something curious? “… ourunderwriting guidelines”.

That’s the sort of typo that happens on a typewriter. Could it possibly be?
Just imagine someone sitting there, November 9, 2009, banging away at some venerable Selectric.

By: Blackbox Republic: “Velvet rope” socialnet targets niche social dating « digiphile

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:15:28 +0000

[...] at least where traditional business are concerned: as Lawrence shared on his blog, State Farm chose not to underwrite “social software that helps people meet online.” Lawrence says that an iPhone app is in [...]

By: Traian

Traian — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:04:02 +0000

@sam: is there any email I could contact you directly, for a private matter? or you can follow back twitter.com/roigeek and I’ll send you a message. thanks

By: Name Chris Nordyke

Name Chris Nordyke — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:28:10 +0000

I’m a State Farm agent, and social media adopter/enthusiast. As a State Farm agent, I’d obviously love it if State Farm was open to writing any and all companies, unfortunately it doesn’t make sense for all involved.

If I had to guess,(and I’m not speaking on behalf of the company) the big concern here is personal injury liability, or the opportunity for slander, libel and defamation of character. You may not think that’s a concern, but it’s a very real reality on social networks, and you as the webmaster are facilitating all of it.

I agree that it would be great if the State Farm PR officer would comment with a first and last name, but frankly I think its pretty cool that he/she was “listening” and responding at all. A lot of corporations are actively broadcasting on facebook and twitter, but not as many actually listening and engaging.

Good job @StateFarm. Keep your ear to the ground. Cheers, Chris Nordyke, Agent.

By: Jeremiah Owyang

Jeremiah Owyang — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:26:52 +0000

I meant @statefarm, not @allstate.

By: Jeremiah Owyang

Jeremiah Owyang — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:25:08 +0000

It’s interesting, and refreshing to see @allstate respond, given their justification into the conversation. The only thing to make it better? Use a trusted first/last name not just the corporate handle. Having worked with a few financial services firms on social strategy, I can understand why a corporate handle only.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:13:36 +0000

It’s unfortunate that insurance is not in the business of helping anyone other than themselves.

By: @StateFarm

@StateFarm — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:56:01 +0000

Sam, I apologize for any lack of clarity in the underwriting letter. To clear up any confusion, it’s definitely not the sex-positive nature of your site that led to the decision not to offer business insurance.

As Craig wrote, we simply don’t take on the liability risk associated with operations of your size and scope (i.e. social networking sites that reach such a large audience and consumer base.) It’s not that we dislike social networking or don’t want to connect people – we work hard to engage on Twitter and other media – but from a business perspective, the liability risk is just too great for us to take on. We don’t insure companies like Facebook or Twitter, either.

I’m sorry for the inconvenience, and I wish you and Blackbox Republic good luck. Feel free to contact me at @StateFarm on Twitter.

By: Stowe Boyd

Stowe Boyd — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:53:20 +0000

I think others have said what I feel: online dating, esp. with a sex angle, are iffy. Insurance doesn’t like iffy.