I am contacting you regarding the recent activity on my Allstate insurance claim. In September my basement sustained a large amount of water damage. Allstate sent adjuster Thomas N. out to my home to survey the damage. On this date I received the written claim, which states that I am to be given $11,669.04 in order to repair my basement to its condition prior to the storms. The event was classified as water damage. I specifically advised Thomas that water entered the basement through the French doors and the 90-degree elbow disconnect from the PVC pipe, which recycled water through the sump pump.
In the days that followed, I pursued quotes for repair from 3 different contractors and selected the one that came closest to the claim amount I was awarded. The contractor pointed out the following concerns:
- The entire basement area will need 2 coats of paint to be repaired, as it is 10 years old. The estimator only quoted 1 coat.
- The ceiling tiles had warped from the humidity and moisture. These would have to be replaced. The estimator did not address the ceiling.
- I have 15 recessed lights placed in my ceiling. An electrician would have to come in to properly reset them once the replacement ceiling was put in.
As none of this was included in the original claim, I contacted Allstate to send Thomas back out for further review and a possible increase in funds on my claim. At that time I was told that Thomas is no longer working in my area and that once they could send me a new adjuster, they would contact me.
Two weeks later, Caid R. came out to our home to address our concerns. Caid took a quick look at our basement and proceeded to go out to his vehicle for the next half hour. He came back into our home and advised that we were not covered under our policy, and that if it had been him conducting the initial assessment, we never would have been awarded the $11,000. We got our agent, John M, on the phone and proceeded to debate what our policy included and did not. It became quickly apparent that John and Caid were not on the same page as to what we were paid for, what was available to us here in Virginia, and what monetary amount Allstate would provide.
Since then I have been on the phone with Allstate several times, and each employee has become ruder than the next:
- Caid (adjuster #2) advised that we were not going to receive any further funds than we already had received ($6,800) and that we should consider it a gift.
- John (our agent) advised we were fully covered by VA standards and that the water backup coverage Caid refers to is not available in Virginia. When I attempted to add this coverage (for the future) via the website, and as Caid was standing next to me, it allowed me to do so.
- The next day Crystal in customer service emailed that I did already have the water backup coverage policy in question.
- This evening another employee called me from customer service to discuss, and the end result was the employee advising they did not care if I escalated the matter.
On October 26, Robert (National Catastrophe Team) contacted me at work to advise me that he was trying to obtain more financial funds to help me repair my basement. The next day he called and said that he could not obtain more funds and, to quote him verbatim, "Keep fighting, don't give up." On Friday, October 28, I contacted your customer care center, and the service representative advised that I am fully covered. (See attached email.) On Monday, November 14, I received a reply from Joe of the office of David Prendergast to express empathy for the situation and to advise me that it was a mistake on Allstate's behalf that the adjuster approved the claim. On November 18, I wrote to Michael J. Roche, Executive Vice President, Allstate Claims, and still have not received a response as of today.
On Wednesday, November 23, I spoke to Nichole, who advised me that Caid (adjuster #2) had a different conclusion about how the damage happened and that is why I am getting denied on my claim. At this point, it is obvious that there are several inconsistencies in what we are being told, and the issue is becoming more confusing by the day. Bottom line, I was told almost 2 months ago that I had full coverage, and now suddenly I am told I should not have received a cent.
According to Allstate's Business Practice Credo: "If people don't believe we'll do what we promise, Allstate has no business being in business. So for us, integrity is everything." In conclusion, since Allstate had the opportunity to inspect the item in question prior to issuing a policy and accepting my premium payments, and because they did not do that, the fact that they issued a policy and accepted my premium payments means that you warranted that the item was in insurable condition. Please forward to me at my home address either a check for the repair of the item or a refund of all my premium payments from August 1999 through November 28.
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