Insults and Outrages
This is an article devoted to exposing some of the abuses by the insurance industry. In this example, Allstate Insurance Company has a practice and policy of inserting the phrase, “Full and Final Payment of All Claims” on property damage checks where they are paying the cost of repairing damage to vehicles caused by their insureds in automobile accidents. This practice came to light in my office when a person called asking for my assistance with regard to their property damage claims against an Allstate insured. They were about to pick up their car when they noticed this phrase on the Allstate check. When I called Allstate to request that they remove this phrase from their check, they refused. Consequently, the person's car was being held hostage, and they were unable to pick it up without endorsing the check and accepting the car regardless of whether any supplemental repairs might be necessary.
While this practice may be outrageous, the Insurance Department's response was insulting. I contacted the “Consumer Services” section of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department to ask for its assistance in assisting this consumer against an insurance company, and the Insurance Department representative all but laughed at me. When I commented that it seemed that the Insurance Department was more interested in serving the financial interests of the insurance company than the consumer, the representative all but agreed with me and ended the conversation.
In my experience, clients often find, after picking up their vehicle, that supplemental repairs are necessary. The practice by Allstate essentially insures that the person who was the victim in the automobile accident will be short-changed.
Remember the first word in insurance fraud is insurance, as in insurance companies.
