I hate Allstate

I am too tired and frustrated to even rant at this point. Two years ago they hit me up for fire mitigation; I was annoyed with their process but it needed to be done so I did it. So after I cut down 150 trees and met all the requirements of the State Forest Service (had them draw up the plan and verify actions completed), I thought I was done. Nope, two years later; they have another unannounced inspection, and they are back for round two. Of course they wait until August when the summer is coming to an end. Whatever you do, do not use this company...none of my neighbors are putting up with this shit. I imagine another company would like to have a home/auto policy with an individual who never has claims as in almost 30 years of no claims.

Those letters they send are annoying. Half the time it is just some contractor they paid to go look at the house. I've been on claims where the home owner was home during the "inspection" and the person just drove by slowly taking pictures. Never even got out of the car, then the home owner gets some letter about a bunch of specific things that need repairing. What are they asking for?

I dropped Allstate fifteen years ago and have no regrets.

Switched to Allstate several years back. They were very eager to write the policy and take my money. 2 months into the policy they pulled the same shit. Except they told us we had to clear ALL COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL within a 200 foot radius around the house. 200 feet. In Bailey. WTF ever. I told them to pack sand and cancel the policy. Then they tried to say I didn't pay a premium after I cancelled and sent me to collections. I had an attorney friend write them a letter also telling them to pack sand. Never heard from them again.

I had a good policy through Country Financial for the bulk of the time we lived in Bailey. You might check them out. Robert Clark in Littleton.

Don't expect any better from any other insurance company. I have friends going through the same thing with State Farm right now. Bottom line is insurance companies are in the business of making money so they want to reduce Their risk as much as possible.


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Originally Posted by mtnrider

Don't expect any better from any other insurance company. I have friends going through the same thing with State Farm right now. Bottom line is insurance companies are in the business of making money so they want to reduce Their risk as much as possible.


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You're prob right. I have AllState, when I bought my house they said i needed to replace all the siding. While the inspector said only two sides of the house. It is what is it, I wanted to upgrade to Hardie siding anyways. They also said I needed to move the "building material" but failed to see the trampoline (which most insurance companies will say needs to go). Otherwise I don't have anything to complain about. I can call my agent, speak with him in person. I know where his office is, and knows where he lives so i can pay him a "visit" when needed.

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Originally Posted by kwando

You're prob right. I have AllState, when I bought my house they said i needed to replace all the siding. While the inspector said only two sides of the house. It is what is it, I wanted to upgrade to Hardie siding anyways. They also said I needed to move the "building material" but failed to see the trampoline (which most insurance companies will say needs to go). Otherwise I don't have anything to complain about. I can call my agent, speak with him in person. I know where his office is, and knows where he lives so i can pay him a "visit" when needed.

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Every time I go to visit your agent he's busy with a line of satisfied customers out the door! I don't even try any more.

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Originally Posted by mtnrider

Don't expect any better from any other insurance company. I have friends going through the same thing with State Farm right now. Bottom line is insurance companies are in the business of making money so they want to reduce Their risk as much as possible.

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Insurance companies generally ARE in the business of making money like any other company but you CAN expect better from USAA if you qualify for membership. USAA used to be officers only but several years ago they created an associate membership for current and former NCOs or "dependents" (you count if you had a grandparent who served). USAA operates like a co-op so you are a member, not a customer, and they will try very hard to not lose money on you (not fair to other members if they do) but they will treat you with respect. Anymore, membership in USAA is the best benefit I've derived from my military service.

All it takes is grand parents who served? Maybe I'll have to look into them. I always liked dealing with USAA.

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Originally Posted by Irving

Those letters they send are annoying. Half the time it is just some contractor they paid to go look at the house. I've been on claims where the home owner was home during the "inspection" and the person just drove by slowly taking pictures. Never even got out of the car, then the home owner gets some letter about a bunch of specific things that need repairing. What are they asking for?

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Just brush and trees on all sides of the house; two years after I pulled down 150 trees and worked a plan with the CSF. I run the weed eater every 1-2 weeks and I don't use a ruler so the wild grass height varies . I have a platform I built on uneven ground on the side of the house so I can set a ladder and fill in woodpecker holes this summer, which needs to be done. I need to move it; Duh, the ladder and patch and paint are in the picture they sent and it is obvious I am doing work. There are a few shingles that are lifted; I looked at them and it appears that some of the nails are lifting so that needs to be done, which is is a legit issue. Finally I have a gutter that is bowed a little too much. Mainly, I am just annoyed about the brush thing after all the work I already did. The inspection notes said there was some minor work mitigation work done; BS removing 150 trees is not minor.

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Originally Posted by Bailey Guns

Switched to Allstate several years back. They were very eager to write the policy and take my money. 2 months into the policy they pulled the same shit. Except they told us we had to clear ALL COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL within a 200 foot radius around the house. 200 feet. In Bailey. WTF ever. I told them to pack sand and cancel the policy. Then they tried to say I didn't pay a premium after I cancelled and sent me to collections. I had an attorney friend write them a letter also telling them to pack sand. Never heard from them again.

I had a good policy through Country Financial for the bulk of the time we lived in Bailey. You might check them out. Robert Clark in Littleton.

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Cool, I'll take a look.

Agreed, 150 trees is no joke.

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Originally Posted by mtnrider

Don't expect any better from any other insurance company. I have friends going through the same thing with State Farm right now. Bottom line is insurance companies are in the business of making money so they want to reduce Their risk as much as possible.
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There is asking something reasonable like fire mitigation, which I did two years ago because I figured it was a necessary requirement. And, there is unreasonable like invalidating the CSF service fire mitigation plan and making unreasonable requirements...none of my neighbors are dealing with this.

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Originally Posted by Irving

Agreed, 150 trees is no joke.

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If I was just pissed because I need to do work, that would be lame. However, I am pissed beyond words because I did the work. Coming back two years later after we went through this is beyond stupid.

My rates just went up thanks to all the other claims from hail and fire and mudslides....extremely frustrating to say the least but I just switch last year and saved a ton compared to Geico, but will be shopping again when the new house is done

We have USAA for our current homeowner's insurance. The yearly premium is about 30% of what we paid in CO. Great homeowner's policy...but their auto rates were horrendously high for us even with the multi-policy discount. Don't know why but no one even comes close to GEICO for us on car insurance.

Funny, I finally started looking around after USAA arbitrarily raised my rate last renewal. Progressive is about $200 a year cheaper for better coverage of the bike and car. I'll probably switch over when this particular renewal expires.

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Originally Posted by Bailey Guns

We have USAA for our current homeowner's insurance. The yearly premium is about 30% of what we paid in CO. Great homeowner's policy...but their auto rates were horrendously high for us even with the multi-policy discount. Don't know why but no one even comes close to GEICO for us on car insurance.

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Odd. I have USAA. Anytime anyone calls wanting me to switch and I tell them that, they sound dejected and thank me for my time. Always assumed USAA is just hard to beat.

Allstate was raising my rates 20% every year. Maybe they were counting on my apathy. Agent threw me out of his office. I switched to USAA.

Auro insurance is extremely profitable, and homeowners insurance...isn't. So companies that don't insure homes, or that don't have the majority of their policies tired to homes can offer much better auto rates.

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Originally Posted by Irving

Every time I go to visit your agent he's busy with a line of satisfied customers out the door! I don't even try any more.

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Ha! What a scum bag.

Insurance companies finally realized it would be wise to check in on the homes they're insuring. Make sure its not a huge liability/falling apart/etc. Part of that is brush hazards for wild fire zones. Yes, its annoying but I don't think it'll get much better going forward. I will never buy a house in the woods because of this. I would love it but insurance might start getting hard to find/very expensive.

If someone was giving you $2,000 a year and you had to pay them $500,000 if their home burned down, would you be insistent on keeping it mitigated?

Some companies can accept a mitigation letter from approved companies to pass these inspections now. Reach out to your agent and see what your options are. I know American Family has a "fire score" and if the address gives too high of a score, they wont even quote you. State Farm has similar guidelines to Allstate. Probably only a matter of time until everyone is on board.

Im sorry for your situation. It's very frustrating.

The reality is Colorado sucks for property insurance. Thanks mother nature.

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Originally Posted by Dave_L

Ha! What a scum bag.

Insurance companies finally realized it would be wise to check in on the homes they're insuring. Make sure its not a huge liability/falling apart/etc. Part of that is brush hazards for wild fire zones. Yes, its annoying but I don't think it'll get much better going forward. I will never buy a house in the woods because of this. I would love it but insurance might start getting hard to find/very expensive.

If someone was giving you $2,000 a year and you had to pay them $500,000 if their home burned down, would you be insistent on keeping it mitigated?

Some companies can accept a mitigation letter from approved companies to pass these inspections now. Reach out to your agent and see what your options are. I know American Family has a "fire score" and if the address gives too high of a score, they wont even quote you. State Farm has similar guidelines to Allstate. Probably only a matter of time until everyone is on board.

Im sorry for your situation. It's very frustrating.

The reality is Colorado sucks for property insurance. Thanks mother nature.

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I think you missed the part that I already did the mitigation. I pulled down 150 trees and had the Colorado Forest Service write up the plan. I met their guidelines and have all the documentation. What Allstate is doing is unreasonable!

Is there a way to post a couple PDF docs on here; I can share my mitigation documents.

No, I saw that part. I understand the frustration. Have you tried reaching out to your agent? There are a lot of options to try and tackle this, especially since you have done a lot of work for this.

MED, you should still reach out to your agent. The underwriting department sends out inspectors, who just write up whatever they can find and send in a report. Bring your issue to the agent and ask them to go ri bat for you to underwriting. Essentially there are three hands opperating and none know what the other two are doing. Your agent will be your advocate.

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Originally Posted by Irving

MED, you should still reach out to your agent. The underwriting department sends out inspectors, who just write up whatever they can find and send in a report. Bring your issue to the agent and ask them to go ri bat for you to underwriting. Essentially there are three hands opperating and none know what the other two are doing. Your agent will be your advocate.

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^this.

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Originally Posted by Irving

MED, you should still reach out to your agent. The underwriting department sends out inspectors, who just write up whatever they can find and send in a report. Bring your issue to the agent and ask them to go ri bat for you to underwriting. Essentially there are three hands opperating and none know what the other two are doing. Your agent will be your advocate.

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My insurance agent is heavily involved and just as pissed about it all as I am. She even came up to the property and inspected it for herself. Two years ago she fought like hell to get through underwriting and that was with the Forest Service documents. I thought I was done until this year when they said they were going to inspect every two years. My agent is frustrated beyond belief because she is losing customers because of what Allstate is doing; people like me who are old customers who don't make claims and make her money. She is looking into brokering a deal with a different carrier to be done with this mess. I kept them previously because my auto rates are great because of all my discounts from years of no accidents, but I am done. Mainly, I just wanted to warn other people. I was looking online, and I see that Allstate is among the bottom two worst companies for home insurance and I see why. when this first started, I was frustrated with their process but it needed to get done. This time around I am just pissed.

Lastly, a coworker of mine is heavily involved as a volunteer at the Evergreen Fire Department with tons of wildland fire experience. He believes what i have done is perfect and what Allstate is saying is ridiculous...they are just a ridiculous company.

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Originally Posted by Aloha_Shooter

Insurance companies generally ARE in the business of making money like any other company but you CAN expect better from USAA if you qualify for membership. USAA used to be officers only but several years ago they created an associate membership for current and former NCOs or "dependents" (you count if you had a grandparent who served). USAA operates like a co-op so you are a member, not a customer, and they will try very hard to not lose money on you (not fair to other members if they do) but they will treat you with respect. Anymore, membership in USAA is the best benefit I've derived from my military service.

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I Agree but even USAA is getting "selective" on where they insure. For instance they will not insure in Black Forest so we had to go with a different agency. So while they usually take care of you very well they are backing out all together of areas they consider risky. They did the same thing with motorcycles years ago. Used to be the cheapest place for cycle insurance but since they considered it risky they farmed it out to Progressive which is ridiculously costly.


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Med, I can empathize with your situation. It really does suck and I know its seems like you're being unfairly punished. They aren't trying to pick on you. The insurance industry is just changing...a lot. You can thank the Black Forest fire for shining a big ol' spotlight on fire hazards in CO. Even if you clear this inspection, you'll be in the same spot in 2 years so probably best you find a new company that better suits your situation.

I have bundled USAA insurance for home and cars. NEVER had a problem with a claim with either car or home claim (two different hail claims on home, hail damage to one vehicle, slight deer damage to my truck). We also get rebates back some years.

They also have banking services. Used their buying service when I purchased my new Truck and financed through them.

Point is when you need them they are there. No hassle. Great service. No political crap from the organization.

Well, USAA is a no go, but they sure wanted my auto policy; and I got my membership activated for future needs. I also had a couple more denials with other carriers who are not writing new policies up here. Only high risk carriers will write a new policy with high deductibles and high premiums ($3,250), and even some of them wont like the one USAA transferred me to on the phone. It looks like I need to stick with my grandfathered policy and suck it up or pay the cost of the high premium. Yep, I've never had a claim, but every year the front range gets ravaged by hail, floods, and crime....awesome!

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Originally Posted by MED

Well, USAA is a no go, but they sure wanted my auto policy; and I got my membership activated for future needs. I also had a couple more denials with other carriers who are not writing new policies up here. Only high risk carriers will write a new policy with high deductibles and high premiums ($3,250), and even some of them wont like the one USAA transferred me to on the phone. It looks like I need to stick with my grandfathered policy and suck it up or pay the cost of the high premium. Yep, I've never had a claim, but every year the front range gets ravaged by hail, floods, and crime....awesome!

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Finally! I talked to an agent in Aspen Park, and State Farm decided to be reasonable up here. If I meet the CSFS guidelines, I'm golden and no constant harassment...works for me. I also get a reduction in both my home and auto rates. From the sound of it, the agent has numerous clients who dumped allstate and came to her...I see why. I guess it makes sense to go to an agent that does business up here.