s ladd

This is long, but definitely some insurance drama going on here.

Ok, so most of you know about my car accident that occurred on 5/27/08. After much arguing with Allstate, I got them to total the car. This was 3 weeks ago.. A couple days after agreeing to total the car, they got it appraised at $32.9k plus around $2k in taxes. So they told me they were going to pay me $34.9k for the car.

This was 3 weeks ago, keep in mind. Well 2 weeks ago they picked up the car from the collision center because they did not want to keep paying storage on it if they were going to total the car. Last week I drove to their Allstate office in Smyrna and signed the power of attorney. That was so they could take ownership of the car after making the payment to GMAC to pay it off. They said it would take 2 days to get an official payoff from GMAC and then they would issue funds.

Since I knew I would have to turn in the rental car as soon as they made payment to GMAC, I went Friday and got another car. Today I checked my GMAC account and noticed that they had not made the payment yet. So I started making phone calls.. They told me that their insured person only had 10k worth of liability collision coverage since the policy was a FLorida policy. Well, after blowing a headgasket at my desk I called my attorney and he called Allstate. Within 5 minutes on the phone with them, they said they would pay the Georgia minimum of 25k.

That is where the problem is though. They told me they were going to pay 34.9k around 3 weeks ago. Now, over 5 weeks after the accident they are telling me this person was underinsured. wtf? Shouldn't that have been the first thing they checked before we proceeded with this whole thing?

So they want me to turn it into my insurance and let them pay for it and let my insurance go to allstate to re-coop funds. I do not like that idea because if my insurance company wants to repair the car, I will be completely screwed.

I plan on posting this on every message board possible and I have already filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I am definitely one pissed off consumer at this point. At one time, I would have considered having Allstate as an insurance company. Now I would rather go uninsured compared to giving them any of my money.

I know I should have waited til the first car was paid off and completely gone before getting another one, but when I signed the power of attorney over to them I considered this chapter closed. I am going to continue to fight it because they have put me in a real bad situation giving me the assumption that they were going to pay my car off as they stated.

Thanks for reading and comments are welcome.

Mark2ooo

Sorry to hear that. I hate insurance companies. You pay tons of money to them and then when something happens there is always an issue that you have to deal with.

BOTYNV1

Just wrong, and no I'm not suprised

Zilla

did you have underinsured coverage with your insurance?

s ladd

That is a standard in Georgia however I do not want my insurance to demand to fix the car. The damage was only 18k so it was on the border of being totaled and being repaired.

Mr.Bill

Sorry about your troubles, I have Allstate and am very happy with them for the last 15 years or more. They have been fast with claims for me, Never an issue. Now Farmers is another story for me.
Bill

lil vette

Does your back or neck hurt? Mine does, just reading your story.
.
If it was me, I would stop taking my medications.......(you don't want to see me off my medications)
.

rustyguns

thats only for hospital not collision

johnv474

I work in the insurance industry and am familiar with Allstate. I dare not express my full opinion of them, however I will give you a helpful piece of advice. Call your state department of insurance. This mild-mannered state agency has the authority to completely revoke Allstate's ability to be in business in that state, and their job is partly to protect consumers from unfair claims settlement practices.

Basically you or your attorney can expect a battle which will drag out for a long time and you will get likely get less than the $34.9 they originally said. Do not be afraid to keep asking for each person's supervisor.

Best of luck.

JCFILM

Always get it in writing before signing anything over.
Ridiculous how insurance companies treat people.

My parents were in an accident. Their mini van totaled. Other car hit them and was ticketed.
They received $1800 for the van. Actual replacement cost in finding another mini van
with comparable mileage, condition, and year was $6000. So they had to come up with the
$4200 difference. Insurance is the worst. Besides politicians.

jacks996

Let us know how it finally works out

DefenderC5

Maybe I'm missing something, but if the other person's insurance doesn't cover the costs... doesn't YOUR insurance cover the rest of your expenses? I mean, isn't that why you buy insurance in the first place?

Be sure to change carriers when this is all over.

eylesda

Q. What do you throw a drowning insurance salesman?
A. An anchor!

MovOva

Sorry to hear about the trouble, keep us updated on what happens.

kww

I'd be upset too. If they gave you one claim amount they should have stuck with it.

lightnin

Sounds like the "good hands" folks have theirs wrapped securely around your nuts.

ZO6 Lee

I have a different story about Allstate. After being with them for 20 years I had a serious (large) claim on a rental property. They took over a month to assess the damage and then denied the claim. I lost the income for that period and had to fix the damage myself. So I cancelled the insurance with Allstate. I never received a call, not from the agent, not from the company, to find out why I was cancelling. Agents will tell you that staying with a company gives you some credits when something happens. Not in Allstate's case.
Sorry about your difficulties s ladd. Call the regulatory agencies and whoever else you can think of. And if the first quote was in writing sue Allstate in court.
Good luck.

0Quik Z06

Hmm, I would definitely be pissed off if that was me. Quick story of my own with an insurance company (Geico) I believe. We had a 00 Celica GTS which we paid $24K for and a year later it got hit head on. It had $18K damage and they wanted to fix it. So kinda like you did, I called an attorney and he said to tell them to total it out our my attorney will be calling them. Well about 30 mins later I get a call saying it is totalled. They sent me a check for $24K (which was cool) However my gripe with them was, I told them you can fix the car, but your keeping it. I told them no way in hell im getting a car that has $18K in damage and still making payments on it, the car is worthless to me at that point. I could never get any value out of it if I would try selling it. I say just keep fighting them, and keep track of everyone you talk to. Ok maybe the story wasn't so quick

Lol, also had problems with AAA. Had a car stolen and (supposedly had my $6K stereo covered, per my agent) and after they found the car stripped and burnt to a crisp, they tried to say my stereo wasn't covered. I fought them for a while on that as well, they ended up paying me for it as well. I know it's a PITA, believe me, but keep fighting.

rrhvette

They aren't on our side............

BonestockZ06

Thats insane. Thats the Allstate stand, "Are You In Good Hands?" That sux, I hope they go out of business for screwing with their people like that.