It turns out that if you get in an accident, Dennis Haysbert doesn’t come right to your car and console you with his big man hands and a deep voice.
Nancy was an AllState customer for 22 years, but after reading her story inside, you may understand why that’s in the past tense…
Nancy writes:
- “Last Wednesday (Jan. 17th) I was involved in a hit and run accident on a busy Chicago area expressway at rush hour. My car was hit from behind at 50 mph by some idiot who was in a big hurry to pass the car in front on him and next to me. I swerved out of control, hit another car and slammed into the concrete median, completely crushing the driver’s side of my 2001 Mazda MPV. The car that hit me left the scene, no witnesses stopped to help.
After calling the police, I immediately called my Allstate insurance agent. Since it was after 5 p.m. I got his voicemail. I left a frantic message and then called the 800# on the back of my insurance card. Here’s where the fun starts. There I am, sitting on the left shoulder in a crushed vehicle (thankfully not injured, by some miracle!) and getting more recordings – press 1, press 2, press 1, etc. It took four transfers to get a real live person, who tells me to CALL BACK after the police report is issued.
Fine. I call back later that evening with the police report and accident information. I spent
hour on the phone with a nice person and filed my claim.
The next morning I expect a call from my insurance agent. No call comes. I stayed home from work and waited. By yet another miracle I was able to drive my vehicle home. But now I have no idea what to do with it. Finally, in the late morning I called my agent. He had no clue about my accident, but proceeds to tell me that I need to deal with the claims adjuster now, he can’t help me. Oh, and by the way, I don’t have coverage for a rental car, since during the 22 YEARS I have been an Allstate customer I have never bought it. Did the man ever bother to call me to go over my policy each year when I renewed? Wouldn’t you think he’d want to check in with me periodically, to maybe try and sell me some more insurance? So here’s strike one.
Then I wait a few more hours for the claims adjuster to call me. He finally does, only to tell me that my car has to be towed to one of Allstate’s Chicago area field assessment offices, both of which are more than 50 miles away. Oh, and it’ll be a couple DAYS before they can tow the car. I’m supposed to sit around a couple days, miss work and wait for a tow truck??? The car is in my parking space, and the village I live in has street parking ordinances where one cannot leave a car on the street overnight. I now have two cars (I went and got a rental car) and only one parking space. I need my crushed vehicle moved asap, but Allstate is “busy” and “backed up” and they just don’t know when the towing service can get to me. Strike two.
I decided to go to work the following day (Friday) and leave the keys to the crushed car under the mat. The windows are busted out, the car has been sitting open, in the cold and snow for two days, waiting for the tow. I call the claims adjuster TWICE from my office, asking him to please let me know when the car has been towed, and to have the field office remove the plates and hold them, so I can come get them. The adjuster never called, but when I got home from work the car was gone. I’m guessing it was towed (and not stolen), but I don’t know for sure. Strike Three.
Monday a.m. I call the adjuster again. I actually get him, and not his voicemail. I tell him how dissatisfied I am with the service I’ve been getting. I asked him why he didn’t’ call me the previous Friday. He said because I didn’t specifically “ask him to call,” so he didn’t. Huh? I am paying for a rental car out of my own pocket, I have no clue where my car is, and I need the plates back so I can eventually transfer them to another car. However, since I don’t know the status of my vehicle (I’m guessing it was a total loss, but I don’t know for sure) I don’t know where I stand financially. Hell, I don’t even know where my car IS right now. Again, no information is forthcoming, and I am passed on to yet another adjuster, the “total loss adjuster” who is supposed to call me today. Yeah, right. I’m still waiting for a call.
I’ve been an Allstate customer for 22 years. During that time I have filed two auto claims (one car broken into and one low speed fender bender on a snowy street – wasn’t ticketed either time) and one homeowners claim (siding ripped off during a windstorm). If I recall correctly, those experiences were also frustrating. I guess history repeats itself. I have had nothing but poor service, the runaround, unreturned phone calls and aggravation.
It’s time to switch carriers. “Good Hands”??? Yeah, I don’t think so.
Nancy A.
Oak Park, IL”
How about the gecko, or the duck? Are their phone trees also made of chicken wire? — BEN POPKEN
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In January of 2001 I was on the jury of a civil lawsuit in Bridgeport, CT. One elderly man had rear-ended another elderly man at a red light. His reasoning as to why he was not at fault? He thought the other guy was going to turn right. No, I am not kidding, that was his entire defense.
During the case, we learned two odd tidbits: that this accident had happened four years ago, and that the defendant’s insurance company had rejected paying a $6,000 settlement that the plaintiff’s insurance company had asked for during a binding arbitration hearing (designed as a kind of legally-binding middle ground in order to avoid the costs associated with a full-on lawsuit).
Anyway, after hearing evidence, we the jury decided that the rear-ender was liable, OF COURSE, and we awarded the plaintiff compensation for the dollar amount of damage done to his car, his deductible, the amount he had spent on doctor’s visits and physical therapy, legal fees, and then threw in a couple thousand extra for all the annoyance he had suffered at the hands of the “I thought he was turning right!” idiot. All in all, he ended up getting about $12,000.
When the case was dismissed, the judge asked us to wait for him in the jury room because he wanted to speak to us. He came in and told us he wanted to give us some details that he was not allowed to reveal during the case because they would have been prejudicial. He said that the rear-ender’s insurance company was Allstate, and that they were making it a policy to automatically reject as many claims as possible, even ones that were CLEARLY the fault of their policyholder, and were taking almost EVERY SINGLE CLAIM to court, rejecting all binding arbitration offers along the way (at least in CT). The judge said that he had never seen anything like it in his entire career, and in the past year, Allstate had single-handedly caused a major backlog in the Connecticut civil court system. He thanked us for finding the defendant liable, and for making Allstate pay more than what they rejected during arbitration, and he said he hoped that it would continue happening in order to teach them a lesson. He thought that what Allstate was doing should be illegal, and he couldn’t believe that Allstate actually thought that this tactic would save them money.
I was not an Allstate customer then, and in the six years since I was on that jury I have never even considered them as an option, even when their quote was the least expensive. I tell this story to everyone I know who is shopping around for insurance, and I bet my fellow jurors do too! I would also wager that the poor 80-year-old man who had to go through four years of insurance and legal hell just for the “crime” of being stopped in his car at a red light has a few choice words about Allstate as well.
No one points out the most blatantly obvious facet of this situation. Allstate is trying to build a PR campaign to fight any negative publicity from the fact that they treat their customers like dirt. Microsoft did it after they lost their monopoly suit while they were still actively participating in illegal business practices. Kaiser permanente does it all the time. Any time you see a commercial ask yourself if they are marketing a product or trying to market their philosophy. If they are marketing a philosophy it means they are chasing a crowd that bears that philosophy. You can’t make false advertisements about a philosophy. Otherwise alot of politicians would have been sued by now.
All Snake was the one company a lawyer friend said was hard for her to deal with in personal injury suit cases.
3) they cannot tell you where to take your car, you can take it or have it towed to any shop or location that you want (unless it causes additional storage fees to accrue that you would be unwilling to pay and that they would not have to pay)
correction. They can’t tell you where to get your car fixed. I believe they can, however, require that the car/moveable asset be presented at a specific location to have its damage assessed and, if the vehicle is not drivable, be allowed to tow it to that assessment location, at their own expense.
After dealing with State Farm at the age of 19 for an accident that wasn’t my fault, I’ve called auto insurance a scam from the the get-go. I should have just sent everything through my insurance, it would have been a heck of a lot better for me. I was stupid back then for not doing that.
And if I ever have to deal with State Farm again, I pity the adjuster.
The moral of this story is that the OP is an inexperienced insured driver. The ran into roadblocks from not having experience with dealing with them.
Insurance claims, health, car, home, etc are cumbersome to deal with you have to be persistent and never assume.
Magdelane:
I have to respectfully disagree with you. As an agent for a smaller company, statements like “the agent can’t even give you your pricing and terms without consulting corporate. They have, alas, become glorified salespeople, stripped of any power to help you as they once did” don’t ring true. I have an intimate relationship with my claims adjustors (first-name basis). When you’re dealing with the Allstates, Nationwides, etc., you’re not going to necessarily get the best service. However, when you work with a smaller company, you can get a fair rate and still have a relationship that counts. I hope that esurance has treated you well so far, but I really hope that they come through if you ever have a claim. As far as those “ridiculously high commisions?” Tell me where those are so I can find them. Believe it or not, insurance isn’t the best-paying gig in the world. IMHO, you get what you pay for. Spend a little more, establish a relationship, get excellent service. Go online and look for the cheapest thing out there, get a roll of the dice when push comes to shove.
oy vey….
Well I guess I can add my two cents. I work in Claims Service for a major insurance company. No, not the gecko….think older…less hipper. Anyway, I am the person that you speak to initially…yes, the little entry level-er that gets to ask all the questions and get all the information. Luckily I’ve been in my position long enough to know a few things about a few things. FIRST At the initial claim report, you can have your vehicle a)towed to your home (which does not incur storage fees, mind you, which with my company, sadly we do not reimburse) b) have it towed to a tow yard or c) towed to a body shop. Now, upon having it towed to any one of these locations, the vehicle can be assessed by an adjuster ANYWHERE. For the first initial appraisal the adjuster can go to your house, a tow yard, any body shop, your uncles house, whatever. Upon appraising the vehicle they will deem it either fixable or a total loss. NOW here’s the thing: when you initially report the claim, atleast with my company, my little computer screen tells me whether it might be fixable or if it could in fact be a total loss. In order for us to pick the vehicle up from wherever it is being stored, WE MUST ASK YOUR PERMISSION, SINCE IN FACT, THE VEHICLE BELONGS TO YOU. And yes, unforch, it takes (for us) 72 business hours to do so. But, the towing is at our expense and you will not be incurring any kinds of fees with your vehicle at our lot. But, if you do not want to go through the 72 hour deal, you can REFUSE PICKUP. And have the possible total loss inspected anywhere.
Thats what my company does. Initially…after its been deemed a total loss, thats a different story entirely.
And thats my two cents.
I have to agree that rental insurance would have been the key here. In NC they offer you unisured motorist insurance for about 1 to 2 dollars also and you would not believe how many people turn it down, thinking that you cant drive a car in the state without insurance….so why do I need this? Just buy the &*^%*&%$ coverage so you wont need to complain when crap happens or that loser decides he will steal a license plate and put it on that rust bucket sitting in the yard. Then drive down to the local store for a pack of smokes and a fifth and next thing you know BAMM he’s hit you in the side while your dropping off the kids at day care.
Some things just make sense!!
There are a few things I just don’t get here. First of all the rental coverage, bottom line you after 22 YEARS you should look at your policy at EVERY RENEWAL and CALL YOUR AGENT if you notice something is lacking or have any questions. Believe me ANY agent would rather deal with your stupid question than deal with an unhappy customer at the time of the claim. Secondly when the claims department was giving you a hard time you need to once again CALL your agent, they can not read minds, they do not know if you are having a problem unless you tell them. That’s what an agent is for! They are suppost to be your advocate, your go between.
As for the person who asked who your agent is when your buy over the internet or phone… it’s a CSR, making about $8-12/hr,doesn’t care if you renew your policy, who’s trained for 40hrs and then put to work. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be with someone who has been doing this for a while and has a vested interest in me. I don’t renew my policy, my agent doesn’t get paid, I don’t renew my internet policy the CSR still gets paid. Simple as that.