Hurricane Sandy hit Tuckerton, NJ. When I called Allstate Insurance, they sent a man to look at my home, and he did not work for them. He was emergency help who wanted to get in and out as soon as possible, so he breezed through, and as I tried to show him my concerns from the wind, he basically ignored me and left.
I never got a report or an explanation, just a small check for just over $400.00. I called several times and was told this man is no longer involved with Allstate by Jennifer Wells, 800-326-0950 ext 4775.
She seemed concerned that I was upset. I have a wind-damaged shed, fence and dock, and the siding on my home is also damaged, along with the roof vent stack that is leaking water onto an electric motor on top of my heater, making a possible electrical fire if it is not repaired quickly. My heat cannot go on until it is fixed, as per the gas company, but Allstate has not done anything about it. The fence, shed, stack and all the wind-damaged items are all blown in the same direction. The water came in from the bay and flooded the front of the home, because that is where the bay is. The back of my home is on the second to last lagoon, followed by land.
Allstate is saying that the water came in from the land behind my home and pushed my fence in the opposite direction, actually towards the bay??? Anyone can look and see that that is not the case.
They simply do not want to pay my claim because I had a couple of recent claims due to home invasions and storm damage. They also just raised our premium just before this storm. Allstate is great at taking money, just not paying claims.
They sent 3 men out who told me the claim will remain as it is and said it is water damage and not wind damage. The water would have had to come from dry land in order to do that. Then they saw the neighbor's steps, which are approximately 8 to 10 inches lower than my elevation, and they took pictures and told me that the water actually came up much higher than it looks. I had 22 inches of water in my home, so we cut the drywall 30 inches to replace it. They said it was way over 30 inches, based on the neighbor's steps. Again, my property is 8 to 10 inches higher, so 20 to 22 inches is correct.
They took a tape measure from the ground to the water line on his steps to show 28 inches of water, but disregarded my 22-inch water line. I have a Mazda Miata that was in the driveway and was flooded. The water did not reach the dash. It rose 21 to 22 inches from the ground in the car. They refused to listen and kept using used car salesman tactics. Also, the steps next door show tons of reeds and bay debris forced against them, which shows the water came from the front of the home, from the bay. They ignored my logic, gave me a used car salesman routine and left.
My home has massive wind damage and is now unsafe due to a major electrical issue, and they decided to just walk away and disregard my problems. My family and my home are now unsafe, and Allstate refuses to help someone who has been insured with them since 1974.
I need help and am reporting them to the BBB and the media as well. If anyone wants to start a class action lawsuit, contact me and we will get legal help to make these people do what they advertise. This is consumer fraud and breach of contract. This will be a treble damages suit, as they are committing consumer fraud.
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