How many people pay insurance, year after year, and nothing happens except for paying premiums? This was the case for Eva Mallek. Then approximately 20 years after she purchased the insurance, she had a fire. Allstate argued that no coverage existed because she was not residing at the home when the fire occurred. Mallet said she never received a copy of the policy and did not know of the requirement. 

Continue Reading Allstate Could Not Prove It Ever Delivered a Copy of the Policy

Can you imagine Allstate Insurance Company running an advertisement explaining that it tries to deduct labor costs as depreciable items when you make a homeowners claim? Allstate runs television ads trying to warn against “cheap” insurance but fails to disclose that it instructs its claims adjusters to cheapen its insurance product when it comes to paying its customers’ insurance claims.
Continue Reading Can My Insurance Company Deduct Labor Costs When I Have A Replacement Cost Policy? What Allstate Does Not Say In Its Ads

Whether labor can be depreciated in arriving at an actual cash value property loss settlement has been a hot topic of debate over these past five years. A federal district court in Ohio recently weighed in on the issue in ruling on motions to dismiss two putative class action lawsuits, one against State Farm Fire & Casualty Company1 and one against Allstate Indemnity Company.2
Continue Reading Federal District Court Weighs in on Whether Labor Can Be Depreciated in Arriving at an Actual Cash Value Loss Settlement

On November 22, 2016, Judge Berle M. Schiller from the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued his Opinion and Order in Payne v. Allstate Insurance Company, granting summary judgment to Allstate and awarding them $25,000 in damages, after finding that the Plaintiff made material misrepresentations while securing the homeowners policy.
Continue Reading Allstate Voids Policy and is Awarded Damages Due to Policyholder Misrepresentations

I suppose if business is really bad for some lawyers, they could just fantasize about representing people and seeking justice. If the pleadings filed by Allstate are true, one Texas lawyer went beyond fantasy and literally filed insurance claims and threatened lawsuits on behalf of policyholders he never represented. The story was reported by Texas Lawyer. It stated in part the following:

Continue Reading Lawyer Sued For Filing Claims on Behalf of Policyholders He Does Not Represent