I am presenting this story to make folks aware of what is going on with an insurance company here in Texas. This is a story that MUST be seen and acted upon. Insurance companies, *some* companies, not ALL, just ignore their customers and their needs. This story points to one of the more well known companies, Allstate, they call it All State in the original story, but you get the idea.
Homeowner frustrations grow over unpaid storm claims
FORNEY – Man versus nature is a theme we all know –– but what about man versus insurance conglomerate?
That’s Randy Curtis’ story. And he doesn’t like the way it ends, either.
“I’m totally disgusted,” said Curtis, who lives on the border of Terrell and Forney.
After vicious April tornadoes ripped through the Forney area, Curtis noticed insurance companies replacing roofs in his neighborhood. He also noticed, with frustration, how his insurance company, All State, refused to replace his, or the roof right next door, or the roof directly across the street.
All of them All State customers.
“All I want is to be treated fairly by my insurance company,” Curtis said.
Roofer Roddi Boesel does too. News 8 outfitted him with cameras as he inspected Curtis’ roof, which showed large patches of loose shingles.
His opinion? Curtis needs a new roof to the tune of $14,000 to $16,000. News 8 asked him if 100 of his peers inspected the same roof, how many of them would agree the roof needs to be replaced?
“Oh, every one of them,” Boesel said. “Every single one.”
Boesel also inspected the home next door to Curtis’, owned by Mark Scensy, and reached the same conclusion.
“I’m not happy with All State, at all,” Scensy said.
All State says it’s paid out 10,000 claims in connection with the storm.
News 8 contacted the company about the three unpaid claims in Randy Curtis’ neighborhood and asked the company to review their decisions. They did and determined, again, that the company was right, even though All State never reached back out to homeowners or re-inspected their roofs.
In a statement, the company writes it’s committed to customer satisfaction and this: “Each policy and case is unique, and the determination of insurance coverage may differ from expectations that may be set by some contractors who come into a neighborhood after a storm.”
But not every claim ends that way.
Robert Rice works for a company called Skipton and Associates. The way you might hire an attorney to deal with the IRS, Skipton works on commission for commercial clients taking on insurance companies.
Clients like Cal-Tex Produce, in Dallas. The company’s roof was damaged in that big June hailstorm that hit Lakewood, but was turned down by its commercial insurance carrier.
After Skipton stepped in?
“Right now, what we’ve received in proceeds is a little over $200,000,” Rice said. “And we’re still working on that.”
“The moral is, sometimes you need somebody in your corner fighting for you,” said Cal-Tex co-owner Jimmy Hutton.
That’s true for the little guy, too, if you complain to the Texas Department of Insurance. Last year, the state resolved more than 18,000 insurance complaints and returned $29 million to consumers.
“We’re able to take a look at what the company is doing, how the claim is being handled, and then be able to address those issues with the carrier to assist the consumer,” said Valerie Brown with the Texas Department of Insurance.
It’s an option few homeowners, like Randy Curtis, know about. But when your life story is man-versus-insurance conglomerate, sometimes it helps to have an extra set of good hands.
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Full Story Here:
Homeowner frustrations grow over unpaid storm claims
My Son works as an adjuster and the company he represents goes out of their way to take care of its customers. It so happens that we have all of our insurance through this same company and have had for many years. State Farm is our choice, and maybe some have had problems with them but in MY book State Farm is top shelf!
I will have more on this story as it develops.
I sure hope this post helps the homeowners who are getting “screwed” over by their insurance company.
Lots of damage around me here also, but I know of no-one who is being screwed over.
Each case is in fact different.
I’m not sure it’s Allstate completely. I suspect that some decisions are more localized than others. Am I correct?
BZ
In this particular case it’s Allstate and it’s in Forney, a small town east of Dallas… I have heard some harrowing tales about Allstate and I’m sure someone is displeased with State Farm but I have been a State Farm customer for over 35 years and have never had a problem…
Allstate is doing the same in NY and NJ with damage from Sandy. But State Farm has been there from the beginning. (I use State Farm for all my insurance.)
Allstate discovered it can do this to its customers after Hurricane Andrew and has been doing it ever since.
All the way back to Andrew… Exactly correct… Folks in Florida took a beating then, as in Katrina and every other hurricane..
BUT — homeowners doesn’t cover flood in Texas, I have no idea about other states but you have to have separate flood insurance.
That is true every where Fred. But insurance companies know that they can claim it was flood damage and the government covering flood insurance will claim wind damage. The home owner gets screwed.