Insurance giant Allstate leads the top 10 list of worst insurers in the country, according to a comprehensive investigation of thousands of legal documents and financial filings by the American Association for Justice (AAJ), a national trial lawyers group. According to this article, the group based this top 10 list on what it calls “a distinct pattern of industry greed” among these insurance companies that do what they can to avoid paying claims, play hardball with consumers and put profits over the welfare of their policy holders.
According to AAJ’s chief executive officer Jon Haber, Allstate “publicly touts its ‘good hands’ approach” but has privately instructed its agents to adopt more of a “boxing gloves” strategy against policyholders, making it near impossible for them to get claims paid. As for Allstate, the strategy is a gold mine – to increase profits, expand salaries for their executives — all at the expense of its suffering policy holders. The other top 10 worst insurers include: Unum, AIG, State Farm, Conesco, WellPoint Health, Farmers, Torchmark and Liberty Mutual – in that order from 2 to 10.
I commend the AAJ for publishing this valuable report and putting pressure on insurance companies to do their jobs. As a personal injury lawyer who is constantly working to help victims of auto accidents, I know how tough the process of negotiating with an insurance company can be. Be it medical insurance or auto insurance, if you have a claim arising from a motor vehicle accident, you are in for a significant challenge.
Insurance companies are adopting more of a “hardball” approach to claims, systematically denying rather than approving them. They’re hiring high-powered consultants to increase profits and that rarely works to the consumer’s advantage. The fact is, insurance company ads tout that they are working for you, however, their high paid consultants have shown them ways to make more money by systematically denying and delaying all claims, regardless of validity.
Why is this information important to consumers? In the case of automobile insurance, a consumer involved in an auto accident may have the misfortune of being struck by a negligent driver who is either uninsured (UM) or underinsured (UIM). In either case, the consumer would have to look to his or her own auto insurer for full and fair compensation. So, you’ve purchased auto insurance with UM and UIM coverage (for which you are paying premiums), you’ve made timely premium payments for decades, and you’ve never caused an accident. You might think that when you’ve been injured by another driver and need to rely on your UM or UIM coverage your insurance company would be on your side. Think again. In such cases, your own insurance company often fights you like you’re the enemy. In my experience, there are some companies who treat their insureds better than others. USAA comes to mind as being among the best. GEICO likewise is quicker than others to offer its UM or UIM coverage limits to its insureds. Not so with Allstate. In my opinion, you are not in good hands with Allstate.
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries as a result from someone else’s negligence, contact me today for a free consultation. I will use my experience, knowledge and resources to achieve the best possible results for you and your family.
