Lance Haver, Philadelphia Consumer Advocate, Is Livid About's Allstate's Homeowner's Coverage Rate Increase

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Stuart A. Carpey

Allstate Insurance Company, one of the the largest insurance companies in the country and certainly in Pennsylvania, is raising rates on Pennsylvania insureds. But here's the kicker. They are only raising rates  on folks who have their homes insured with Allstate; insureds who have  the combination of homeowners and auto coverage are not seeing the same level of increase in their premiums. Here's what Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Harold Brubaker wrote yesterday in his article on the subject.

 

Allstate Property & Casualty Insurance Co. is imposing an average premium increase of 33.4 percent on the roughly 45,000 Pennsylvania customers who buy only homeowner's insurance from the company. The average increase for customers who insure both their homes and their cars with the division of Allstate Corp. in Northbrook, Ill., is 11.3 percent, according to a filing with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. The increase was effective for renewals starting May 20.The big jump in costs for homeowners-insurance-only customers prompted Lance Haver, consumer advocate in the Philadelphia Mayor's Office, to buy radio advertisements with his own money warning consumers of the rate increase and advising them to shop around before their renewals kick in. Haver, in an interview Tuesday, called the two-tiered rate increase bizarre. It's as if they think there is "some correlation between your house catching fire and who you insure your car with," he said.

 

Seems to me that this may be a clever, and perhaps devious, way for Allstate to market to their insureds combining homeowners and auto coverage. In other words, when an insured gets the premium increase, and calls his or her agent, the agent will have a script ready to tell the insured how to lower the premium...."buy auto coverage through us!"

The point is, shop around for your auto, and homeowners coverage. I tell clients that all the time. One of the best places to go is the Pennsylvania Insurance Department website.

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Pennsylvania Car Accident Victims Are Catching On: In "The Great Recession" Car Insurance Companies Are Not Going To Treat Them Fairly

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Stuart A. Carpey

What's the first thing the other guy's insurance company representative will want from you after a car accident?  He'll want to take your recorded statement about the accident and your injuries.  He'll also want you to sign a medical authorization so that the insurance company can get all of your medical records all the way back to when you were in elementary school. He might even offer you money to settle your case, and in exchange he'll want a "full and final release."

Some  Pennsylvania accident victims are catching on. When the adjuster asks them for a statement, they turn it around on the insurance adjuster and ask if they can take the statement of the insured driver who was at fault . (Of course the insurance company won't allow that). 

One of my clients (who came to me after she got tired of the shenanigans of a State Farm investigator) told me that when the State Farm investigator started asking her about prior accidents and  injuries, she insisted upon knowing how much bodily injury coverage limits the State Farm insured carried. Now that's clever.

I have another client who told me when the Nationwide adjuster insisted that his car be repaired at a "certified" Nationwide repair shop, my client began asking what type of money on used parts Nationwide would save if the car was repaired at the "certified" repair shop as compared to another auto repair shop not "certified" by Nationwide. At that point the Nationwide adjuster backed off and explained that my client could get the car repaired where he wanted and Nationwide would have to pay no matter what the cost.

Here's the jingles we all hear on television and see in print media.

Allstate: "You're in good hands"

State Farm: "State Farm is there"

Nationwide: "Nationwide is on your side"

Geico has the gecko and the Neanderthal.

Progressive has the catchy TV commercials with Flo. All Flo promises is what the Progressive policy provides for; that is, what the insured paid for.

 

 

But, now more than ever consumers need to realize that these companies have no interest in protecting you following an accident. They are profit driven, nothing more and nothing less.

If you're not sure what to do if you've been involved in an accident and the insurance adjuster is knocking at your door, seek out the advice of a qualified personal injury attorney, whether it's our firm or another firm. There are plenty of good law firms in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas who handle personal injury cases. The point is, be smart. Don't rely on what the insurance company is telling you.

 

 

 

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