Is Allstate the Worst Insurance Company for Consumers?
After a serious accident in Alabama, dealing with an insurance company can add another layer of frustration. An adjuster may dispute fault, question your medical treatment, or disagree with the amount of compensation you are seeking.
When that insurer is Allstate, you may wonder whether it is the worst insurance company for consumers. There is no objective legal standard that labels Allstate the “worst.” However, people pursuing claims against an Allstate-insured driver may face disputed liability, pressure to settle, and disagreements over the value of their injuries and pain and suffering.
Why Can Dealing With Allstate Be Difficult After an Accident?
An important point often gets lost after an accident – when you make a claim against another driver’s Allstate policy, Allstate does not represent you; the insured is the other driver. This creates an obvious conflict of interest. You want compensation that fully accounts for your injuries. The insurance company has financial reasons to carefully evaluate what it owes under the policy.
Disputes may arise over questions such as:
- Who caused the accident?
- Were you partly responsible?
- Did the accident actually cause your injuries?
- Was all of your medical treatment necessary?
- Could you have returned to work sooner?
- Do you really need future treatment?
- How much is your pain and suffering worth?
These disputes do not automatically mean an insurance company is acting illegally. Insurers are allowed to investigate claims and dispute issues when they have legitimate grounds.
The problem arises when legitimate investigation crosses the line into improper claims handling. It can also be a problem when an insurer’s position simply does not match the evidence.
Why Might Allstate Dispute the Severity of Your Injuries?
Medical damages can account for a significant part of a personal injury claim. That makes your medical evidence important during negotiations.
Suppose you suffer a back injury in a Birmingham automobile collision. Your doctor recommends physical therapy, injections, and surgery. The insurer may examine whether all of that treatment resulted from the collision.
An adjuster might point toward:
- A pre-existing back condition
- Delays in seeking treatment
- Prior accidents
- Disputed medical procedures
- Differences between your reported symptoms and medical records
Having a previous medical condition does not necessarily prevent you from recovering compensation when an accident worsens that condition. However, these disputes demonstrate why detailed medical evidence can make such a difference. Your attorney can use records, imaging, physician opinions, and other evidence to establish what changed because of your accident.
Why Do Insurance Companies Try To Shift Blame?
Liability is especially important in Alabama. Alabama continues to apply the doctrine of contributory negligence. Under this rule, an injured person who is found to have contributed to the accident can potentially be barred from recovering compensatory damages based on ordinary negligence.
That makes blame-shifting particularly significant. An insurance company could argue that you:
- Were speeding
- Failed to yield
- Followed too closely
- Changed lanes improperly
- Were distracted
- Failed to watch where you were walking
- Could have avoided the accident
Imagine another driver runs a red light and hits you. If the insurer can develop evidence that you were also negligent in a way that contributed to the collision, then contributory negligence could bar your recovery.
Your lawyer can fight back with objective evidence such as photographs, surveillance recordings, dashcam footage, witness statements, vehicle data, and accident reconstruction evidence.
What Conduct Could Potentially Support an Alabama Bad Faith Claim?
Bad faith usually concerns your own insurance company and obligations created by your insurance contract. For instance, you might have a claim under your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. A dispute could then arise between you and your insurer concerning benefits allegedly owed under the policy.
Alabama courts identify core elements of bad faith that include:
- An insurance contract
- A breach of that contract
- An intentional refusal to pay the claim
- No reasonably legitimate or arguable basis for refusing payment
- Knowledge that no legitimate basis exists
When the claim relies on a failure to investigate, additional questions arise concerning whether the insurer intentionally or recklessly failed to properly investigate the claim or evaluate the results of its investigation.
Contact Belt, Bruner & Barnett Personal Injury Lawyers To Schedule a Free Consultation With a Birmingham Car Accident Attorney
So, is Allstate the worst insurance company for consumers in Alabama? There is no fair or objective way to answer that question. What matters is how the company handles each particular claim. If an adjuster disputes your injuries, shifts blame, challenges treatment, or makes an unreasonable settlement offer, you may have options.
Don’t take on the legal issues alone. Contact Belt, Bruner & Barnett Personal Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation with a Birmingham car accident lawyer. We know how to deal with any insurer, including Allstate. We will investigate your accident, build evidence, and negotiate for the compensation supported by your claim.
We serve Shelby County, Madison County, Montgomery County in Alabama, and its surrounding areas. We are located in Birmingham, Huntsville & Montgomery.
Belt, Bruner & Barnett Personal Injury Lawyers – Birmingham Office
880 Montclair Road, Ste 300,
Birmingham, AL 35213
(205) 973-6417
Belt, Bruner & Barnett Personal Injury Lawyers – Huntsville Office
116 Jefferson St. Suite 207
Huntsville, AL, 35801
(256) 781-9242
Or find us with our GeoCoordinates: 34.73159361945047, -86.58690898412395
Belt, Bruner & Barnett Personal Injury Lawyers – Montgomery Office
7 Clayton St, Suite 200,
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 518-6098
Or find us with our GeoCoordinates: 32.373594220209505, -86.3092041262694