At 03:12 PM 2/27/97 UT, doug russell wrote:
Dr. Doug,
I started to respond privately and not 'busy up' the list, but ...
First of all, I wish you well in the outcome of your "ordeal." It's
unnecessary but some insurance adjusters seem to thrive on tweaking
claimants. Thank goodness you and your family weren't injured -- at least
seriously.
I don't know about Allstate, but many insurance companies contract out
claims to private adjusters. My take on this is that the more the adjuster
can "shave" your settlement, the more he makes. This is a wild, but
educated, guess based on what my neighbor is going through after an
accident that occurred almost two years ago.
>because I Allstate is suppose to provide excellent service. I even let
one of
>Allstate's body shops do the work (this is a shop where there is an
agreement
>with Allstate for discounted repairs) which saves Allstate a bundle of
cash.
This is the part that really got my attention!! Using an
"insurer-preferred" repair shop!!
May I digress, just a bit??
I worked (briefly) for a general contractor here in SA. I came to know the
owners as less than ethical and referred to them as "the little chiselers,"
because they basically cheated all their customers. I could tell you some
real horror stories about repaired roofs letting go and flooding houses,
etc. But, the point is they were [no kidding] a Preferred Contractor" of
Prudential. The Rock!
Prudential liked 'the little chiselers' a lot because they prided
themselves on doing cheap work that "looked good." About two months after I
began working there, Prudential gave them the designation of "Preferred
Adjuster," too! That gave these clowns the opportunity to give a higher bid
on the repairs and still do a very poor repair. It is my understanding that
Prudential (at least in Texas) has only a few, if any, adjusters on their
payroll.
So...if my insurance company ever recommends that I use ABC Company for
anything, you can bet I will be checking them out with a magnifying glass
and requesting references, just as I would if I were initiating the repairs
on my own. The insurance company certainly isn't going around selecting
quality work. They're trying to save money, and will do so at anyone's
expense!
>Finally, the accident is completely chargable to the other driver's
insurance
>company. Well, the car is suppose to be ready to leave the shop today and
>yesterday I got a call from the shop owner telling me that an Allstate
>adjuster stopped by and started disallowing certain damage because they were
>not, in the opinion of the adjuster, accident related - to boot, this
adjuster
>just left for a 2 week vacation. When I called Allstate, blowing a cork at
>this turn of events, I was told that the adjusted had the final word (of
>course he won't be back for two weeks) although she would discuss it with
the
>supervisor and get back to me (no call yet).
The adjuster gets extra points (or pockets the money he saves) for
"shaving" your claim? It's a thought....
Sad thing is, you can't just go off and leave the car there! The shop can
put a lien on it. Doncha' just hate this rock/hard-place situations??!
>I think this is despicable and
>unacceptable and am taking it further up the line. ALL of the damage on the
>car was accident related and signed off by a previous Allstate adjuster -
the
>implication of the second adjuster that I am committing fraud is most
>insulting.
Allstate should be fighting "with" you, not "against" you if the accident
was chargeable to the other driver... Of course, I'm trying to be logical
in an illogical setting...
>back in after Allstate comes to its senses. I pay the extra premiums
charged
>by Allstate to avoid this type of hassle - if I wanted bad service I could
go
>anywhere.
[snip]
>commission in your state. You can always take the ultimate revenge and go
>with another company and share with others, like I am doing here, how
terrible
>they were (If you are shopping for insurance now how many of you would have
>Allstate at the top of your list of companies after hearing my little
tale??).
With all due respect, I know I would *never* use Allstate as a carrier!!
Too many folks I know have had too many problems with them. (Maybe this
'condition' is isolated to San Antonio, TX.) And obviously I have no
respect for Prudential now, either.
In summary, whenever something doesn't make sense, look for the $$$ interest.
I hope you can get this resolved to your satisfaction, but I'm not holding
my breath!
Good luck..
Carol
PS When my sister's tin roof suffered severe hail damage, would anyone care
to hazard a guess as to whom Prudential sent out to give an estimate??!!
She and I both almost choked we laughed so hard!
And, the MGA is insured through JC Taylor. Is this a good thing? Better
companies out there? I, too look forward to some "life experiences" with
some of the antique car insurance carriers.
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