Chicago Personal Injury Law Blog

There is a new TV commercial out from Allstate that pitches people on the idea that they should have their insurance reviewed by an Allstate agent to make sure that they have enough coverage. The plotline of the commercial involves a couple of guys who need to dress as cheerleaders to sneak into a football game because one of them lost the season tickets in a lawsuit.

The idea that you should get your insurance reviewed by an agent is a good one. Insurance is important to protect you and your family. It also serves to compensate people you might accidentally injure, such in a car accident. Having an agent review your coverage is a good idea.

The good message is undermined by the subtext of the commercial. The subtext of the commercial is that there are greedy people out there with frivolous lawsuits who are going to take your season football tickets, given the opportunity. That subtext helps underline the basic Corporate America theme that the civil justice system is something which is being abused by the undeserving. This is part of the systematic poisoning of the well which makes it so hard for deserving to get fair compensation from juries today.

The truly infuriating part of the commercial is the suggestion is that Allstate is the one who will keep your valuables, including your season football tickets, safe. As has been widely documented, Allstate was named by AAJ as the worst insurance company in America. Their claims practices are notorious for causing cases to come to trial which really should be settled. When cases go to trial and there is an excess verdict, your assets (such as your season football tickets) are what is at risk. Allstate's claims practices place too many of their policy holders' assets at risk -- the exact opposite of the message Allstate is selling in this commercial.

Allstate should be embarrassed, but they are too busy counting their money.

Labels: Allstate, Car crashes

In November, 2006, a Kansas City jury found that Allstate was guilty of acting bad faith when it failed to settle a claim against one of its insureds. The Allstate insured was driving drunk and crossed over the center line, resulting in a head-on collision and causing devastating injuries to the other driver and his passenger.

The Allstate insured had limits of $50,000 available to cover over $300,000 in medical bills. When the lawyer for the injured people demanded the $50,000 to settle the claim against the Allstate insured, Allstate failed to settle. This resulted in a judgment in excess of $5 million against the Allstate insured.

The Allstate insured assigned his bad faith claim against Allstate over to the people he injured, and in November, 2006, a jury found that Allstate acted in bad faith by failing to settle the claim against the insured and awarded the full amount of the judgment plus $10.5 million in punitive damages. The appeals court affirmed that judgment this week, finding that there was plenty of evidence to support the jury's verdict.

Allstate has a carefully cultivated image of being a company which treats consumers fairly. The reality is that Allstate has one of the most aggressive set of claims handling practices in the entire country. They have developed a very sophisticated strategy of reducing claims payouts and making even the most routine claims clear every possible hoop before payment is made. Where people have devastating, but less-than-obvious, injuries such as herniated discs or mild traumatic brain injury, fair treatment by Allstate is far from likely.

Of note, the news article about the bad faith verdict also noted that Allstate settled another bad faith claim in the Kansas City area after being assessed $25,000 per day in fines for refusing to follow a court order to turn over internal documents concerning their claims handling practices. The total fines amounted to over $7 million before the settlement occurred. What secrets were worth $7 million in fines?

There is a real reason that AAJ named Allstate the worst insurance company in America. If you have a significant injury and were injured by an Allstate insured, there is no real reason to think that you are in good hands with Allstate. That is a marketing tag line, not reality.

Labels: Allstate, bad faith, Car crashes