It has been exactly one month since a driver, insured by Allstate, pulled into the path of a car being driven quite legally and responsibly by by son. Joe College is still driving a rent car. Hopefully, that will change soon.
I give Allstate a bit of a pass because their "total loss" department is in New Orleans and they sort of evacuated the city last week. I got a call from them last Friday, and surely enough my Total Loss Person was a Gustav victim. She had not left town, but her whole family stayed in a shelter in Shreveport. She said she wanted to get this settled. So do I. As you all know, I have surrendered to Allstate. Having my son in a rent car exposes me to much more potential trouble than the fight is worth.
Still, I need to continue to express my frustrations with "the good hands people." My friend the Gustav victim, who alertly did not flee the city in the path of the storm, told me on Friday that she knew I was frustrated with all the delays and that she would "overnight" the proper paperwork to me. Saturday came. No papers. Monday came. No papers. Tuesday....found the papers on the porch in a DHL envelope. So, now I'll work on the papers.
Meanwhile, our devastated vehicle rests forlornly in a body shop. I stopped by to pay my respects and was told that the salvage company called and wanted to pick the car up. I told the guy, "please do not surrender that car to anyone until I let you know I have a check from Allstate in my hand." So, that's the working plan. I'll be sure to overnight all the documents to them.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Still Scrapping with Allstate
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Good Hands? You Be the Judge
One of my best friends is an insurance agent, so I have a rudimentary grasp of how those guys think. I've looked deep within myself on many occasions and attempted to be fair with insurance companies. I firmly believe that ridiculous lawsuits and unreasonable demands lead to higher premiums for all of us.
I want to be fair and I hope they will be fair back.
I have an example: My wife had a new car and about three weeks after she got it, the bumper was damaged. We filed a claim and took it to the dealership for replacement or repair. State Farm paid. We got a call back from the dealership saying that they would be replacing the bumper at their expense. They had attempted to repair it before we bought it and had done a poor job.
We returned the check to State Farm. They fell all over themselves thanking us. I only bring this up now to illustrate how we typically approach things.
Now, almost three weeks after a man insured by Allstate made an illegal left turn in front of my son causing a collision, I feel strongly that we are not being treated properly by Allstate. It took them five days to send an adjuster to examine our devastated vehicle the first time. The process, not all of it their responsibility, dragged out for 17 days before they decided the car is a total loss.
They are offering me $7,000 less than we paid for the car, which is a 2008 model. I had no expectation that we would get what we paid for the car. I mean, it's been driven for months and My Man put a lot of miles on it going back and forth from his girlfriend's house and delivering pizza. Still, I expected at least a couple of thousand more.
I surrender. I just want to get this behind me and move on with my life. The Allstate guy appears to be making an effort to be patient with me. Trust me, he got an earful along the way. Allstate wins. I lose. Now we have to go buy another car. Money down the stinkin' drain.
