Complaint Review: Allstate Insurance

In the June of 2010, on the way to the airport, while making a u-turn at a green arrow, a woman sped through a red light sending my car spinning. A witness, who claimed that three of my tires came off the ground at impact, said "You must have a guardian angel, because your car should have flipped over." 

I believe, that he was my guardian angel, because he pulled in front of the woman and blocked her car as she tried to flee the scene (which officers later reported was because she was in violation of her probation by being in California). Not only did he make sure I was alive and call the authorities, he also stuck around to leave his statement (including that he believed the woman had been talking on her cell phone while driving.) I will never be able to express my gratitude to this man, and it looks like I'll never be able to repay him either.

My hospital bill alone was over $5000. The car I owned outright, was totaled. I suffered a head injury that has since affected my memory, spurred problems with dyslexia, and caused me to have recurring headaches. My neck and back were severely injured, leaving me with arthritis along my entire spine and chronic muscle spasms, set off by something as simple as carrying a purse for more than an hour. 

I no longer remember what it feels like to not feel pain. I have moved twice so that I won't have to drive more than a mile to get to work because, so often I would have to pull over from shaking/crying anytime I was cut off, which unfortunately is still pretty much daily. I have been suffering from waves of relentless vomiting, lasting months on end, that, after half a dozen specialists, test, scans and prescriptions, doctors can only conclude is a result of stress and anxiety. Basically, my life will never be the same.

Almost three years later I am still dealing with this nightmare and with the lawyers. Allstate Insurance is trying to offer a mere $7000 for my damages, pain and suffering which barely even covers my hospital bill (not to mention all the other financial burdens, lost wages and lawyer fees). They have intentionally tried to make every knowingly false allegation in the book to keep from paying a dime more; such as claiming that they are not responsible for days I missed work due to not having a car. They claim that I could have gotten a rental car through them, when in reality the Allstate adjuster said they couldn't get me a rental until they were done investigating. After waiting over three weeks with no reply, I was forced to rent a car myself and hope to get reimbursed later (all of this is proven and documented in their files). This is just one of several petty attempts to belittle what I have been through and evade responsibility for their client.

I'm sure we all think about insurance in terms of what our insurance can do for us, if WE are hurt, and we pick a carrier accordingly. But do any of us ever think about or bother to ask what our insurance does in the event we are to blame? Perhaps we should I know I begrudgingly pay enough to AAA (my insurance carrier) over the years that if I were to cause an accident of this nature, I would expect them to make sure the victim is at least financially compensated, since nothing could ever repair or repay the other lasting damage. I would be outraged if I found out my insurance company was treating someone I hurt, the way I am being treated by Allstate. As evident by her actions, I can tell that Ms. Sanders is not as socially responsible or morally convicted as I, and that comes as no surprise. But isn't that why we buy insurance? So that we don't have to have faith in the honor system, or man's good heart? 

Here's how I see it..

Abide by the law, drive safely, and get hit by one of our clients :: suffer a lifetime of pain, anxiety and financial hardship.Run a red light, while talking on your cell phone, attempt to flee the scene, violate probation and harass public safety officers :: pay a slight increase in your premiums and we'll let you forget it ever happened.

That's Allstates's stand, what's yours?