Once again, we have an insurance company not living up to its end of the bargain. This time, its Allstate who will not pay money it owes!
Allstate was ordered to pay additional living expenses by a judge in Texas. Allstate said it would appeal, but agreed to begin making payments. Instead of making payments, Allstate appealed and a Texas appeals court has said that Allstate does not have to make payments until the dispute is resolved.
All I can say is UGH! Allstate is, in my opinion, one of the worst at paying claims. They are arguing that they will not pay for additional living expenses for people in Texas unless the house sustained direct damage. The Texas Department of Insurance says Allstate owes the money if people were barred from their house by the authorities or there was a long term power outage.
First, kudos to the Houston Chronicle for covering this story. Second, kudos to the Texas Department of Insurance for going after Allstate. It would be nice if the California Department of Insurance would take a stand once in a while. Third, Allstate is once again doing a bad job. Even if they are right, they are killing their good will. Of course, one has to wonder if its not intentional since they are the second biggest insurer in Texas. Maybe they are doing this so people will cancel their Allstate policies and Allstate can reduce their exposure in the state.
I am just tired of insurance companies forgetting their first obligation – pay claims!