Allstate is the worst homeowners insurance I can imagine! Their delay in settling a claim has permanently damaged my health. I almost choked to death from mold that was growing in my lungs. It made me severely asthmatic due to a newly developed allergy and forced me out of my home.
On New Year's Eve (Dec. 31), our house suffered severe ice-damming damage, causing the roof to buckle and rise from the frame and some of our ceilings to collapse from the water that seeped in. I called their claims hotline, but because it was a holiday, all I got was a recording saying they would call back on January 2nd. I ended up sitting on hold for an hour on January 3rd, as they still hadn't called back.
Finally, on Jan. 20, an adjuster came and refused to look at 95% of the damage. His settlement check was for 1/10th of what was needed. Another adjuster came out 3 more weeks later, after the damage had spread and we had flooded, as the insulation and drywall were now saturated with water. That was Feb. 13th. On March 1 we still had no check when he met with our contractor and they agreed on the dollar amount of the damage.
On May 17th, still no check. I woke up gasping for breath and coughing up grass-green phlegm. I called my doctor and went to his office immediately. He called Allstate and told them that I could no longer live in the house, as the mold was so bad it was growing in my lungs and I had become severely asthmatic. They offered to put us in temporary housing or pay for me to live in the hospital. I had to find the temporary housing myself, as our adjuster couldn't be bothered. They allowed us 3 weeks, when we didn't even have a check yet.
This claim dragged on through October. Every time the contractors started repairs, they found more damage, and it took Allstate weeks to send an adjuster and a check. They blamed us for being impossible policyholders, although I had to work with 3 different adjusters. They told us the contractor was delaying the repairs, when it was them not returning calls for weeks and Ocwen holding up payments to the contractors. They decided it was taking too long to repair, and we found out 3 weeks after the fact, in a letter to our adjuster, that they were no longer paying for our temporary housing. We ended up getting evicted from the temporary housing and liable for the last month's rent. We were forced to move back into an incomplete home with no heat.
We not only feel that they are guilty of breach of contract, as they did not settle the claim in a timely manner. They are also responsible for my permanently damaged lungs and the rest of the money we paid to complete what they refused to accept as part of the claim. But no lawyer will take on the case without a large retainer that we can't afford.
No new insurance company will touch us for 3 more years because of such a large claim, even though Allstate's delay tactics are what caused it to be so large. I'm afraid to file a complaint with the state insurance commission for fear of being dropped.
Their penny-pinching shows no regard for the people who pay their salaries through their premiums. They are supposed to help us in times like this, not put the "good hands" around our throats and choke the physical and mental health out of us.
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