In May I was purchasing a home, my second home. I contacted my insurance agent, Allstate, David Crownover's office, to have them quote me a premium. Carla Rosenthal in the office told me they did not write insurance binders and, furthermore, that it would take 10 to 14 days to get the home inspected. I was closing in 3 days. I then contacted my realtor, who referred me to another Allstate agency in River Oaks, TX, Amaya Premier Agency. Both of these agents are with Allstate. Maria wrote the binder and faxed it to the closing office with 3 conditions of repair:
1. Roof needs replaced and trees trimmed from the roof
2. Roof needs repaired and limb debris cleared from roof
3. Fascia, soffit and eaves need painted
Not only did I replace the roof and trim the trees (cutting down 2 very large trees that were too close to the house), I also put on a new roof, replaced all of the rotted fascia, soffit and eave boards, placed a 7' curb of concrete along the back of the house to prevent further water damage to the back bathroom, placed a 20 x 15 foot, 12" concrete slab by the back sliding glass door to prevent further water damage from future rains, leveled the entire structure, and replaced much damaged, rotted wood from inside and outside.
First, it was like pulling teeth to get anything out of Maria Amaya's agency in River Oaks, TX as far as what exactly needed to be done. Second, Samantha in that office finally sent me pictures with the above short list of 1, 2 and 3, of which 1 and 2 are identical.
Two weeks later I began receiving calls from Carla with David Crownover's Allstate office in Keller, TX saying that my policy had been terminated. I asked why they were calling me when they did not even write that policy. I then called Maria Amaya with Amaya Premier Agency, the one who actually did write the binder, and asked what was going on. She said, no, the policy has not been cancelled, you have until July 17 to make those repairs. I then began receiving letters from David Crownover's Allstate office in Keller, TX stating the policy had been cancelled, but please pay us $211.52 for the time it was insured. I contacted Maria Amaya again to ask what the devil was going on. She said to just ignore those letters, the policy has not been cancelled.
I continued to receive notices in the mail from Carla Rosenthal at David Crownover's office in Keller. Note that both of these agents are with Allstate. One could not write the binder and get the inspector out in less than 10 to 14 days, while the other wrote the binder that same day. One also quoted me several hundred dollars more than Maria Amaya's agency.
I then called Maria Amaya and let her know the repairs had been completed. It just so happened that the day the inspector came out to take pictures again, I had Dave's Concrete out to pour the curb and slab that morning, and we had removed two rows of siding on the house to get a good level on how high we actually needed to go. The inspector stated, "Those boards have been removed, we will have to order another inspection." I explained to this inspector that this was not part of the repairs we were made to do, but an enhancement to prevent further water from leaking into the house. He said, "We'll have to schedule another inspection."
So here is a warning to everyone with Allstate Insurance: if you are filing a claim and your inspector comes unannounced, you had better not be in the process of remodeling another area of your home, as they will call it damage! I cancelled my primary homeowners insurance and auto policy that I had with David Crownover's Allstate agency for the last 15 years because of all this.
Maria emailed me today and told me that the second inspection did not pass and Allstate could not write the policy. They did not care that I had replaced all of the rotten, damaged fascia boards on the house and repaired the soffit when I replaced the roof. All they wanted was the limbs cut back and a roof on it and the fascia, soffit and eaves painted. They would have been satisfied with painting over extremely damaged wood. Splatter a little paint and we would be good to insure!
I had my homeowners policy with David Crownover in Keller for 15 years, and at times up to 4 vehicles insured at once. This is what I get for 15 years of loyal customer service.
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