While the company tagline claims, “You’re In Good Hands With Allstate,” the truth is usually anything but for most people trying to recover damages following a claim filed with the country’s fourth-largest insurance company, according to Value Penguin. When you are dealing with Allstate following any type of motor vehicle accident or another personal injury claim, make sure to have a skilled St. Louis personal injury lawyer on your side.
The American Association for Justice (AAJ) ranked Allstate number one in its list of the 10 worst insurance companies in America, noting that Allstate’s bottom line-first tactics even came at the expense of their own policyholders. Value Penguin also stated that National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint data showed that 68 percent of all complaints related to claims handling, with delays being the most common complaint with Allstate and the company having a national Home Complaint Index of 1.2 that was even worse than the average insurer nationwide.
Dealing with Allstate After an Accident
As the AAJ noted, consulting giant McKinsey & Co. is to blame for much of Allstate’s confrontational attitude towards its own policyholders because it was responsible for developing a way to boost the insurance company’s bottom line. McKinsey’s recommendation was for Allstate to focus on reducing the amount of money it paid for claims, regardless of their validity.
The result was Allstate typically extending lowball offers to victims and engaging in hardball litigation while Allstate was using a secretive claim-evaluation software called Colossus. Going back to delayed claims being common with Allstate, the company adopted an attitude that waiting to pay claims would be beneficial because many people would simply give up in their fights for greater compensation.
Many years ago, Allstate agreed to pay $10 million to 45 states in a regulatory settlement involving its use of Colossus. The agreement also sought for Allstate to make changes in its procedures and for state insurance departments to better train their examiners in how insurers use claims technology.
Allstate insurance claims can be complicated by a number of factors, including:
- The type of claim you are filing
- Whether you have injuries or just a property damage claim
- The severity of your injuries
- Your need for ongoing and/or future medical care
- Facts surrounding liability
- Possible insurance policy exclusions applicable
Allstate takes a number of factors into consideration when plugin information into Colossus, such as your first date of treatment, the type and duration of medical care you received, the names of your medical providers, the specialties of those providers, whether any impairment is noted and supported in your medical records if a personal injury attorney is involved in the referral, and the costs of medical care in your geographical area. Colossus takes all of this information and provides a settlement range for agents to work with.
Chances will be very good that if you are attempting to file any kind of injury claim with Allstate, you will not only deal with delays in the handling of your claim, but you are also going to receive a decidedly lackluster settlement offer. You have no obligation to accept a settlement that will not cover your expenses.
Call Us Today to Schedule a Free Consultation with a St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer
If you are dealing with Allstate to resolve any kind of injury claim after a car accident in the St. Louis area, you will want to retain legal counsel so you can be confident that you are going to get the best possible case outcome. Bruntrager & Billings, P.C. has dealt with Allstate many times and knows how to negotiate with this insurance company to produce truly beneficial settlements for our clients.
Our firm will be able to conduct an independent investigation into your accident and secure all of the evidence necessary to back your claims. Call us at (314) 646-0066 or contact us online to receive a free consultation so we can sit down with you and go over every single detail of your case while helping you understand what steps we can take to make sure you get justice.
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