They refuse to send a second adjuster

[edszr]

Hi everyone,

I'm curious if anyone has gone through what I'm currently going through and/or if anyone has any advice. I noticed leaking on the walls/ceiling inside my home a couple of weeks after christmas. The next day I noticed a contractor working on my neighbor's roof. I asked him to have a look at mine and he said that I had significant hail damage. At least 2 of my neighbors (including a house that sits about 10 feet from mine) were fully covered for hail damage roof replacement. I called allstate to have them send an adjuster. When the adjuster came, she had a gentleman with her who was introduced as a co-worker and they both made it seem that he was some trainee. They looked things over and then they told me that I did not have hail damage. My contractor told me that I could request a second adjuster from allstate to have another look, so I made the request later that day. The next morning allstate called me to say that because the gentleman who was with my adjuster was a manager, they would not send a second adjuster out. I've spoken to several contractors since about this and none of them have had this happen. Has this happened to anyone here and if so, did you ever get a second adjuster to come out? I've been a customer for 10 years and have never missed or been late with a payment. The most frustrating thing about all this is that they were so underhanded and deceitful by hiding the fact that the guy was a manager.

thanks,
Ed

[Pine Hill Gal]

Ed - Pine Hill Gal here to quickly readjust your understanding of Allstate as an Insurance Carrier. I have had them for Auto for 30 years, and homeowners for 10, and NEVER made a claim on either policy (even after hurricane katrina!). They are not in the business of helping you get back on your feet - they want to deny or minimize as many claims as possible to keep profit in their pocket. You can go to the web site for your state's insurance commissioner and see the statistics for all insurance company complaints. Allstate and State Farm rate at the top! I would suggest that you file a complaint with your state insurance commissioner. They will get Allstate to follow up on correcting the problem or else Allstate will be fined for not complying with processing your claim. You should get a couple of written reports from roofers that will document your damage, estimated cost, and include photos of the water leaks, weather reports about the hail storm etc... This will allow the insurance commissioner to have the tools they need to make Allstate pay you. You need to do this ASAP and before you contact a lawyer because 1) this is much cheaper, and 2) the insurance commissioner will do nothing to advocate for you once you file a lawsuit b/c your attorney is the advocate in charge. Hope this helps. p.s. I now have Amica Insurance, they have one of the highest ratings for customer satisfaction, and my rates were 20% lower than what I paid with Allstate.

[RatPak11]

Hello Ed,
I agree with Pine Hill Gal 100%.
I also have a suggestion: Send a letter to Allstate explaining what has transpired incuding the fact that you disagree with their denial. You should also point out that a number of your neighbors received the same type of damages you did, from that same hail storm and that their insurance companies paid for those damages. Be sure to mention that your roof leaks did not start until after the hail storm. Explain that while you received a verbal denial for your claim for damages, respectfully request that they formalize the denial by reducing it to writing and that they include the portion of the policy the denial pertains to (Always be respectful). This request to Allstate should force them take a closer look at your claim. If they continue to refuse to re-open your claim, you should have the denial letter in your hand, a letter from your contractor stating the cause and description of your damages, and the contractor's damage repair estimate and photos of your damages. You will then be prepared to present your formal complaint to the insurance commissioner's office. Keep us posted and good luck.

[Peter12975]

I am a public adjuster licensed in Florida,Texas and Colorado and have many claims involving Allstate Insurance. I guess that explains why I joined this web site. It seems that they are once again acting in bad faith. We are going to be starting class action suits in Colorado and Texas soon against Allstate. For example, in Colorado, they would have to pay twice damages plus legal fees should a homeowner prevail in a law suit. Speak to an attorney or Public Adjuster in your state. A public Adjuster in not an attorney but he would be familiar with the statutes in your state and also the policies in your state. If you chose to retain a public adjuster, his fee would be a contingency one. Most insurance companies would not refuse a public adjusters request for a re inspection. The adjuster would also have the names of qualified attorneys in a first party insurance claim, which is what you have, and most of them also work on contingency. Should the attorney prevail, most states require the insurance company to pay legal fees.

I hope this is helpful
Peter

[publicadjuster]

Write a letter to the Claims Supervisor. Tell the claims supervisor that you are going to give a copy of this letter to the State DOI, television news, if he does not provide a second adjuster. Also I am an Independent Adjuster but I mostly work as a contractor. I have 20 years insurance experience as an agent, underwriter and have handled State Farm and Allstate claims. I am planning to become a Public Adjuster very soon.

[edszr]

First, thanks to all for the great advice you all offered to me. Complaining to Colorado's Dept of Insurance was enough to get a second adjuster out here, but I figured by that time the deck was more than stacked against me. My claim was denied a second time. In the end, I decided to give up. I just don't have the time and/or funds to fight them. I replaced my roof at my expense and just yesterday I canceled my allstate policy. I was half hoping they would ask why, but they couldn't have cared less. I plan to write a letter to allstate detailing what a horrible experience this was, and that I will go out of my way to bad mouth them for the rest of my life. Thanks again all!

Ed