Rick Carter – State Farm Insurance Agent

Rick Carter is the best insurance agent ever! He has been my family agent for over 20 years. I bought car insurance from him since I was in high school. Since then, I’ve changed coverage for 3 different cars and also purchase my home insurance together.
Whenever I need help or have questions, Rick is there to assist me. He has been in the industry for so many years, he knows what he is talking about. It’s nice to have a local agent you can depend on. Rick is friendly and patient, never pushy like he’s just trying to sell you something. I would recommend him to anyone. He also gives all different discounts to save you money. Who doesn’t appreciate that? Rick is prompt with returning calls or e-​mails so you don’t even need to go to his office. Come to think of it, I’ve never actually met him in person! His admin assistant, Phyllis is a real doll too. She’s also a pleasure to work with.
Bottom line: Rick is awesome. Discount double check!

I have never spoken to Rick. We were referred to him by an out-​of-​state agent (my husband moved his car to California from Oregon), for his location. It started out semi-​okay; I asked for a firm quote on the monthly premium, and they hemmed and hawed and wanted us to add home insurance and then had a two-​car discount, but every month the premium varied between $ 162 & $ 60, and after 6 months of this I asked why, and they blamed me for not knowing what I wanted and Phyllis said, «…We are not able to spend hours with our regional office and the out of state regional office to spec out each & every charge & credit…» In my mind, that’s part of an accounting function-​I do it for my customer, and with an adequate system in place it sure doesn’t take HOURS. After about a year it finally stopped bouncing all over the place and we just were too lazy to deal with it. I’ve never received a Christmas card — although this year he sent out a very lame new year-​ish letter — I’ve never received a phone call from him — I feel like he just sits back and lets the cash roll in from the Lamorinda folks.

I’m sorry to have to give Rick Carter such a negative review, as he seemed like a good agent in our initial phone conversation. He was recommended to me by my real estate agent, and she usually makes great recommendations. I sought a homeowner’s quote from Rick, asking very specifically for a minimum hazard quote to satisfy my mortgage lender (with a plan to add more coverage after escrow closed). Within the same day, he provided me with two quotes. Unfortunately, the quotes were much higher than the rate I had been told to expect for a standard homeowner’s policy, and he included coverage for a variety of things I didn’t ask for.
He offered to discuss the quotes at a specific time that evening after I finished work. I sat by the phone, quotes in hand, and waited for 20 minutes past the agreed time. He tried to call me a half hour late, then multiple times the next day (after I had already told him I wasn’t available that day due to an all-​day professional commitment.). When I emailed him at the end of the day about why I wasn’t free when he called and reiterated my request for a minimum quote, he angrily stated he felt unappreciated for all of the work he had put into those quotes (his choice, as I was looking for a basic quote) and refused to continue working with me.
I don’t know if he is just having a bad week, but I wouldn’t recommend him.

Rick’s service is absolutely top notch. I’ve had my insurance with him for a good ten years now, and he really makes matters easy for me with real life, practical experience lending to his already terrific people skills. The staff is friendly, and his office is really nice (in the Orinda hills).
I can’t give him a higher recommendation, Rick keeps his long time clients for a reason.

Rick Carter guides you in the right direction and finds State Farm insurance plans that work best for you.
He is friendly, knowledgeable and willing to slow down to clearly explain things.
I highly recommend his services.