Neal Gallo – State Farm Insurance Agent

Neal insures our autos and home and commercial properties. Very responsive and knowledgeable. State Farm is not the cheapest. But you don’t get dropped after an accident. That has happened to me with others. Service is better.

I have been very pleased with Neal’s office. He has great customer service and his staff is always able to answer questions regarding my auto policy. Working with him, I’ve also come to learn that he plays a big role in the community. Neal volunteers at Misericordia, and provides great recommendations to students looking for driver discounts. As a mother with teen drivers, he has helped me navigate through various small auto accidents and has made excellent recommendations to solve my problems. You should also check out his radio show on Sunday mornings, 8:00 am on 560 AM. He contributes to a radio talk show called Real Estate Revealed.

I can’t seem to get a fair settlement for the damage to my 2007 Mazda Miata from an August 2, 2015 hailstorm. I’ve also wasted a considerable amount of time trying.
The local agent advised me to get a written estimate from Wreck & Roll, 6652 N. Western Ave in Chicago. They took many pictures of the damage, but would not give me a written estimate unless I agreed to have the car repaired. They said it would cost between $ 2,000 and $ 3,000 to repair the car, but they wouldn’t know how much until they actually did the repair. I was not sure whether I wanted to repair the car or not.
I next took the car to another shop in the State Farm program, Lakeside Auto Rebuilders. They would not give me a written estimate either, but said it would cost between $ 2,000 and $ 3,000 for the repair.
Upon further questioning, State Farm said they have another group of companies that will do estimates, and sent me to Service King Collision Repair in Lincolnwood. They actually wrote up an estimate for $ 1997.50, below the two other shops. When I asked why it was so low, the estimator said she did not have the special laser lights needed to properly evaluate the damage, and probably had not seen all the dents the other shops had seen (the other shops did not use any special lights.)
State Farm then suggested that I take the car to Brown’s Auto Inc. at 6440 N. Western in Chicago. I called them to make an appointment, but they said that I would have to leave my car with them for two full days ( Unilocal reviews indicate that they tend to replace parts of your car with damaged parts, so this would not be a good idea). They also said they would give me a fair estimate, but that they would keep 20% for themselves.
When I told this to the local State Farm agent, they did not seem concerned, and over the course of a couple days, determined that they couldn’t do anything else except send me to the Claims Department.
The Claims Department was also unwilling to give me more than the $ 1997.50 from my first estimate, and tried to convince me to have the car repaired. I believe I have the right to recover a fair appraisal of the cost of repairing the damage, rather than some lesser amount specified by State Farm, or a fair amount minus 20%.
I have filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Insurance.

I was moved from another State Farm office to this office, because of shut down or merger (was never told). Noone from that office called to notify me, all of a sudden stranger calls and says my 85 year old father’s bill is late. We settle it, then same representative calls and says we are late on a bill (i have her voice mail: Stefanie Meza from This office). Then she calls again in 2 minutes to apologize because she can’t read their own software information and she misquoted the late payment to me.
Today, she tell me because i moved from 60 090 area to 60 076, then my rates hiked up by 100 dollars, and when I asked her how come when the opposite occurred, I didn’t get a discount, she had no answer. Oh ! there were excuses: System tells me what to do, underwriters decide, I can not look up that far back ! And therefore, Mr. Customer, since I have no answer, you gotta eat up the 100 dollars ! Mr. Gallo might be good for his old clients, but cares none about his new clients, and his staff reflects that.
I wrote an email to State Farm CEO at:
, and will call him at his number at 309−766−2311 to see if he can answer a small question of why the increase but not the decrease.

This insurance office is the best ever. Neal is Great and He always hires the best staff. Always professional always honest and helpful. I have been with them for over 13 years. I have never had an issue they are top notch and this means a lot because I don’t trust insurance people. most just want a commission. I had to cancel my car coverage at one time, because of financial troubles, however I kept my home with them. I also didn’t know who to trust for new coverage, but one of Neal Gallo’s excellent staff members told me who to get coverage from until I could afford to return to statefarm. That meant the world to me because I was already dealing with so much starting a new business during an economy crash in 2008, I was so grateful and the company she told me to try was so excellent as well I was sad to switch back, Its hard to find insurance people to trust with your life. Neal Gallo is worth it, I was never treated any less important when I couldn’t pay, this office is Amazing they should have a million reviews of satisfaction because they deserve it. That’s why I took my time after 13 years to say thank you Neal Gallo and Staff for taking excellent care of Me

I am really happy with Neal Gallo’s office. They explain everything so clearly and every time I have had any issue or reason to make a claim they have been very very helpful. When I call, they recognize me and have my info right in front of them immediatley. The staff is friendly, informative, efficient, and it is evident that they enjoy working for Neal. Very very helpful, and comparing rates with other companies, you get what you pay for.