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In Reply to: Allstate does not fairly settle auto accidents posted by Jacque on November 17, 2003 at 14:04:41:
: An Allstate client hit my vehicle on the Interstate on August 2, 2002. It then created a 4 car pile-up. The Allstate client was issued a citation by the poice, and an eye-witness statement was included in the police report stating that person was entirely at fault. It is now over a year later (November 17, 2003) and Allstate still has not settled with me. My vehicle was totaled and they offered me 1/3 less than the Blue Book price (they say they have their own "adjustment system" and don't use a standard like the Blue Book). They are also claiming that the accident was 20% my fault and only want to pay me 80% on my car. They also say I owe the woman ahead of me 20% of her damages (which will in effect increase my own insurance rates for years to come when I never caused any part of this accident). I am not responsible whatsoever for these damages according to the police report and eye witnesses, but Allstate ignores that. Now I have an attorney and hopefully will get my money by court order. Also, I received a letter this month from Allstate saying I owe them over $6,000 ($15/day) in storage fees for my vehicle. This is more than I paid for my monthly apartment rent last year - this is a ridiculously high rate. My car was totaled in a state where I do not hold a residence so I have not been able to move to the car to my own property. I also must use an attorney outside my state of residence because of jurisdiction laws which makes things very difficult. Allstate has demanded my title (I assume as payment of this bill since that's how much they appraised my vehicle for). I feel like I have been crushed by Allstate. Their client totaled my car, and now they say I owe them the value of my car in storage fees, rather than them owing me money! I would recommend that anyone who is hit by an Allstate client enlist the assistance of an attorney immediately. Also, record the names and phone numbers of any witnesses at your accident because you might need their help in court. I have seen nothing but bad things about this company on the Internet, and now I am experiencing it for myself.
I can certainly empathize with you, Jacque.
On October 26, 2003 a girl ran a stop sign and "T-boned" me in an intersection. She freely admitted to me and the police that the collision was her fault. The driver's side door of my '91 Honda Civic (193,000 miles, one owner)could not open and my right front tire was bent inward at an angle.
We were both insured with Allstate. The claim was filed on her policy.
Allstate called my car a total without making what I consider a proper inspection and offered no estimate of what it might cost to repair the damage. They claimed that a new law in Ala. required that they only have to pay 75% of the value of the car as they determined it.
I asked for another adjustor take a look at it and contact my local Honda dealership for my service records to get a better idea of the maintenance I had kept on it for twelve years. It was by no means in pristine condition, but it was in great mechanical shape and I felt safe taking it on trips of 700 miles every month or so.
Part of their intial inspection was cosmetic repairs to prepare the vehicle for resale: dings in the doors; nicks in the windshield; new paint job; a rip in the upholstery. I stressed that I did not want to sell the car, but to continue to drive it for another 100K miles if I could. It was a great little car. I was unable to get a straight answer from them on the estimate of the cost to repair and make it safely driveable again, if possible. They explained about another new law--salvaged title, where I would have to sign over the car to a "special" salvage man, have him do the repairs, pay to have a state trooper inspect it, and then have it signed back over to me. I felt pushed to accept their paltry offer.
All this time I was driving a rental car they had arranged.
Yesterday I reluctantly agreed to their proposed pay-out of $2100, and they scheduled me to visit a local office and to signover the title and receive their check. I couldn't find the original and called to cancel until my wife could look more extensively after work.
Having found the original title, I called to meet with their local agent, thinking we could do it during lunch and I could drop off the rental. Their representative could not be available until Wednesday (this was Friday), and could see me at 9:00 that morning.
I never imagined that they are so busy that in a city the size of Montgomery, Ala, (185,000), there's no one who can write a $2000 check.
I called the initial claims rep.--not my agent, who seems sympathetic but powerless-- and explained how dissatisfied I was with the way things were being handled, that I was forced to go shopping for a new car with the meager value they were offering for my car damaged in a collision by their client, that I had been a good customer for twenty years, safe driver, etc. and that with my policy up for renewal in a few weeks, I couldn't really see why I should renew with Allstate. I wasn't sure if I would be available to make the Wednesday meeting and that I might need to keep the rental beyond that date.
She rudely stated that legally when I agreed to their offer the rental could be taken back, and that she could have authorized to let me keep the rental beyond the Wednesday meeting, but that she wasn't now.
That's when I hung up. I returned the rental, for which they will owe $700.
I have yet to settle with them. All of this happened today. I haven't signed anything, and I don't know now what I'm going to do, except to find a new insurance company.