Stephanie Canessa – State Farm Insurance Agent

I am moving to Oakland from Seattle soon and in the lease for my new apartment, the landlord had very specific requirements for the renters insurance policy he wanted me to get AND he only gave me a few days to provide him with proof of insurance! On top of this, I have a Staffordshire Terrier mix, which is a «bully type» breed of dog that many insurers will refuse to cover. I went to
, which is a Bay Area organization that provides resources for «bully» owners, and found Stephanie Canessa listed there as a highly recommended insurance agent.
I called her office and was helped by Jamie, who assured me that State Farm does not discriminate by breed and was instantly reassuring and helpful. I was relieved and impressed by State Farm’s common sense when it comes to this matter, as I have had my dog for over 7 years and she has never once been aggressive or come remotely close to biting someone!
Jamie wanted to make sure that I was going to get exactly what I needed to satisfy my landlord’s requirements and she worked super fast to make sure I could provide him with the proof of insurance by his deadline. She must have worked for two straight days just helping me and I cannot thank Jamie enough for her excellent and efficient work! I am so glad that State Farm is accepting of all dogs. Well done!!!

Stephanie and her assistant are professionally great!

We moved ALL of our State Farm policies to Stephanie Canessa’s State Farm Agency based upon a recommendation from a friend. Until then we were using another Oakland State Farm Agent who seemed fine.
We didn’t «really» have any complaints and everything seemed OK but we figured «why not» because our friend’s recommendation was so emphatic.
WOW are we glad we took the good advice. FIRST leaving the other agency was awful. Getting all of the information we needed was like pulling teeth. Policy details for homeowner and auto policies had been messed up by the other agent and at least ONE of our policies had just been WRONG leaving us exposed to an uncovered auto accident with a leased vehicle. We also later found out that the other agent had started multiple policies for our new home and created headaches that took time to uncover.
NOW for the good part… AFTER we made the switch, Jamie H., a member of Stephanie’s (excellent) staff got EVERYTHING up to speed SUPER fast and we moved from getting NORMAL slow imprecise customer service to AWESOME immediate resolution of each and every issue that has come up since making the change. I shudder to think what would’ve happened without their help (YAAY JAMIE!) Through buying a new home, refinancing that home and opening and closing multiple policies for New Mortgage, Cars etc. we have NEVER regretted jumping ship from our other agent to the BEST! Every difficult insurance issue, billing question etc has been favorably resolved THE SAME DAY. I can unequivocally say that Stephanie Canessa’s State Farm is BETTER STRONGER and FASTER than the «competition» from other State Farm agents in Oakland (well at least GB). I wouldn’t be surprised if they were cheaper too. Definitely it was worth the effort to go to a better team.

I was/​am looking for a quote, and I stopped to read the reviews on Stephanie. They were all very good so I called her office for a quote. I’m not sure how and where the reviews came from but I was not treated nowhere near the way these people stated that they were treated as a matter of fact I wasn’t given a quote but was told to go back to my other insurance company. I just want a «no obligated quote» Think twice and do not believe everything you read. because I did and received nothing.

I am so impressed that Stephanie requested an in-​person conversation with our daughter after obtaining her drivers license! She explained the responsibilities that come with driving and stressed the importance of safe driving; NO texting.
Great service.

I spoke with Stephanie on several occasions about insuring my home and automobile with state farm. I was extremely impressed with her level of service. Emails and phone calls were returned promptly, questions were answered efficiently. Stephanie took a significant amount of time educating me on all my options. This level of customer service was head and shoulders above the service I had received by insurance agents in the past. I ultimately decided to go with another insurance company that gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse. However, I was still very conflicted about the decision and even a bit sad not to be able to work with Stephanie and her office. Frankly, she was that good.

The best insurance-​related phone conversation I have ever had. Stephanie was not only extremely competent and professional, she made me feel well taken care of and put me at ease. My insurance application was processed with the utmost expeditiousness, and with a real human connection. Highly recommended!

Jamie, from Stephanie’s office, helped us with our home insurance. She was friendly, knowledgeable, patient… and willing to explain and re-​explain as necessary. I recommend her highly! I spoke with Stephanie once when Jamie was unavailable and she was also very polite, friendly and willing to help.
ALSO, I have a rescue dog and I am so excited that State Farm does not discriminate against any dog breeds or (legal) pets! If you need homeowners or renters insurance and you have a beloved family pet, «like a good neighbor, State Farm is there» lol.
Thanks for all the help Jamie!

Moving over to Stephanie Canessa’s office was the best decision I have ever made. I have been with State Farm for over 22 years and was with the same agent in Oakland up until 2 years ago. The agent and her office that I was with were totally incompetent. I had been disappointed over and over again for years. I finally decided to switch agents and am SO GLAD I DID! Stephanie and her staff are nice, friendly, professional, and easy to work with. Their communication with their customers is amazing, they are thorough, and really know what they are doing. During my first meeting with Stephanie, she found several areas of savings that my previous agent hadn’t seen or ever discussed with me. I was blown away. I continue to be amazed and thrilled every time I interact with one of her amazing team members. It has been a real pleasure working with her and her office.

I recently moved to the bay area with my husband because the offer on our new home was finally accepted! I was then faced with getting Homeowners Insurance and really did not know where to begin. I called Stephanie’s office and spoke with one of her team members. Jamie really explained to me the importance of having the Homeowners Insurance Policy and how the coverages would protect me & my family. I felt confident that I made the right decision after speaking with her. I was shocked to see the quotes emailed to me so quickly as well. I really appreciated her honesty and the fact that she had so many recommendations to help build me the policy our family needed.
We ended up coming into the office to purchase the policies a few weeks ago. We were able to meet Stephanie and sit down with her to review everything. Stephanie was so great to talk to and made us feel like family. We also had the opportunity to meet her entire team before we left and they were all so kind!
To Stephanie & her team– you guys are wonderful! Thank you again for everything!

Remember once upon a time your insurance agent treated you like part of their extended family, well you have found that agent here. Stephanie Canessa and her team are professional, detailed and customer service oriented. I moved my policies to Stephanie’s team when my family moved from the Orange County area. When I called her offices her team immediately handed me with kit gloves and was told that Stephanie would be calling me back which she did the same day. We scheduled an insurance review and the process of the transfer. Everything went smoothly and was informed when the polices transferred by Stephanie.
We are glad that we found Stephanie!!! If you need insurance, she and her team are the best!!!

I cannot say enough good things about Stephanie. 2012 was about getting rid of vendors that didnt serve us. We already had State Farm but with an agent that gave us zero attention, which was lame since we had multiple policies. Once we changed our policies to Stephanie’s office, the service was totally different. She did a thorough policy review, came to our house to do a walkthrough and came up with better coverage for less money through a thought-​out analysis. Not many people can say they are thrilled with their insurance agent, but I can. She rocks!!!

Stephanie Canessa was terrific in helping us determine what kind of coverage, and how much coverage we should consider having-​including the why it’s important to have said coverage. We needed multiple policies for a various items, including: car, motorcycle, renters, and home-​owners insurance. And she gave up her Saturday morning to come in and work with us! How awesome is that? Great customer service, face to face time with an actual insurance agent, and great rates on top of that. Oh and the turn around time was fast! I called on Tuesday with the basic info, and she had a quote ready for us by Thursday, and that included the fourth of July holiday in between!
We feel that not only do we have the proper coverage in the event of an unfortunate event, but a «go to» person who we have developed a working relationship with. Someone who will go to bat for us when we need it most.
We would highly recommend her services.

Happy to recommend Stephanie. We have our home, cars and lives insured with her. She is friendly, thoughtful, professional and knowledgeable.
A huge shout out to her staff who always return our calls within just an hour or two!
You can’t go wrong w Stephanie.

Stephanie is professional, knowledgeable, and always available for her clients. She is great at promptly returning phone calls, which is a huge asset in my opinion. I have had several agents in the past who never picked up the phone and returned my call only after I left 4 or 5 messages. Stephanie always calls me back right away and this makes me feel that I am as important as some of her (I’m sure) larger accounts.
Stephanie’s knowledge of her products is also impressive. I don’t want to have to read through policies and take time out of my busy day to educate myself about the insurance process. Stephanie makes this so easy because she explains everything to me in a way that makes sense.
I would recommend Stephanie to anyone who needs a reliable, intelligent, and customer service oriented agent!

My family has used State Farm for years, so we were happy to see Stephanie’s positively reviewed agency nearby when we moved to Montclair. So far we have obtained our homeowner’s policy, and also received a very helpful quote to use as we search for a rental income building. Although we have yet to experience a crisis, Stephanie and Julie were as prompt, informative, responsive and professional as I would expect. I have every confidence that should we experience a crisis, we will be in good hands with the team. I want my reviews to be fair and balanced, so if there anything less competetive about State Farm, it may be that they’re model is not to provide the absolute lowest quote available. But I believe that you buy insurance for the guarantee of top notch, reliable and fair service and assistance in the event of a crisis, and more confidence in a quality firm like State Farm is worth a modest premium, in my view.

We recently switched all of our insurance (2 cars and 2 houses plus umbrella) to Stephanie and her team and could not be more pleased with our decision. This summer we were informed by our previous insurer that they would no longer cover our house because it was «built on land fill». Since our house is not (and never was during the entire 10 years we were with our previous carrier), I naively thought a call would resolve the error. I was very wrong. The nightmare of long calls waiting on hold, many letters written (and unanswered), which ultimately led to no resolution to the error, convinced my husband and me that we needed a very different insurer.
I searched Unilocal and found Stephanie and what a difference that first phone call made. We have ultimately ended up with superior coverage for essentially the same price (except for the earthquake coverage which is now a CA state standard coverage). But beyond the dollars and cents, we have been impressed with the personal approach of the entire team, the ease with which everything was done (including a trip to our house to finalize details), and the knowledge the team possesses about insurance options. We appreciate the personal touch of Stephanie and her team.
Stephanie also helped us find a State Farm carrier in Arlington, VA where our daughter lives to assist her with renter’s insurance and car coverage. She took the time to followup to make sure our daughter was in good hands; even though the business did not directly benefit their office.
If you are tired of being a nameless person to an insurance carrier; if you want excellent information about insurance options; and if you want very competitive prices & great customer service, please call Stephanie and her team today! You will not be disappointed.

We started with Stephanies father and have been through the Loma Prieta Earthquake, the Oakland Hills Fire and a collapsed chimney with them. When we moved from Montclair we kept Stephanie as our agent in Lafayette. She and her staff have always had our back. Because of the nature of my business I deal with other agents from time to time and none have the personal, friendly, knowledgable staff as this office. I can’t imagine doing business with anyone else!

I have loved having Stephanie as my agent. Every time I have called the office with a question or because it was the day my payment was due and i’d forgotten or even my first time there when they advised me on how to get my new to me stick shift out of a parking spot on their hill, it has all been lovely interactions. I have a great ability to laugh at myself and the people in the office always laughed with me instead of thinking i was ridiculous. They were always kind and helpful and understanding.
I also really appreciated that occasionally when i’d call they would ask me if i’d like a better insurance plan, since I had the bare bones, no frills plan. But each time I would remind them that I really couldn’t afford more, and they never pushed it. I never felt any pressure to get more or extra things. They understood my situation and were happy to work with me.
Now that i am moving to Portland I hope i can find an agent and office that fits me so well.

I «inherited» Stephanie from her father when he retired many years ago. Thanks to him, she was destined to be a terrific agent. Stephanie Canessa and her staff at State Farm were unbelievably terrific when my condo burned several years ago. After the fire dept called me at work to tell me my condo was on fire — and that my cat had died in it — I dashed home to find 3 firetrucks on site — AND Stephanie — with food! It only got better — under horrible circumstances. Stephanie’s State Farm claims agent arrived and he was awesome as well. He guided me every step of the way, including tips on how to prove all my personal property losses, which I did. I was able to max out my coverage for personal property — AND State Farm paid my living expenses for the 9 months it took to rebuild, no questions asked. I got each check on-​the-​spot as I proceeded through this awful experience. Juxtapose this experience against the HOA’s building property carrier, Farmer’s — and I had to fight with them every step of the way to replace all building-​related property, down to wallboards and light switches, and we finally settled on a less-​than-​satisfactory amount with the help of an attorney that I had to retain. The difference in service, attitude and settlement couldn’t have been more polar opposite! Stephanie — and State Farm — should get a Peter Drucker POS award (Positively Outstanding Service). She’s «da man!»

I’ve had great experience with this office, particalarly Kristen. She’s been very helpful with setting up my car and renter’s insurance. Would highly recommend — plus the car insurance rate was way lower than anyone else!

I have been with Stephanie for about three years the only reason I am switching is to have a agency closer to my home. I have to say that It has been a pleasure to do business with her and her staff. They have been very helpful, professional and friendly. If you live in the neighborhood I would definitely recommend stopping by and comparing rates. Great Insurance, great people and great prices!

My review comes from a perspective of being both a customer and former employee of Stephanie’s office. I have always been treated with respect. No matter what, they have a morale in the office that no one is too busy to bring you service with a smile. You are #1 and are treated with the utmost respect and care. You always know that they they are truly there to save you money and get the most out of your insurance policy. I’ve been with many insurance companies throughout my life, many State Farm offices as well. None with an office staff as down to earth and professional as this office is. I’m happy to be a customer and I don’t plan to change offices even though I moved to Pittsburg.
From a former employee’s perspective: Stephanie’s true goal is customer service and saving you money. This office is 110% service driven. She and Julie both have a very extensive knowledge of insurance and understand that saving customers money, even if it’s just a few dollars on policy reviews is really worth the extra time and research (especially in this economy). You would be suprised how much a policy review could save you, even if it is a comparison with another provider you go through. They are service driven, hard working, and trustworthy people. They raise the bar for the insurance world.

I have to agree with Kari C. on this one. I grew up in the East Bay and have been with Stephanie Canessa and State Farm Insurance for half my life. Scary realization yet it’s true. I am 32 years old and have been insured through her and the State Farm team since I was first driving at the tender, and now distant, age of 16.
Their service is timely and professional. I would never dream of going elsewhere. If you live anywhere in the area, I would highly recommend connecting with them.