The “Good Hands” at Allstate Continue to Fight Legitimate Claims

By Aline Miranda on January 25, 2011

Allstate markets itself as the “good hands” company. Don’t believe it. When it comes to filing a claim against Allstate, watch out for those “good hands” or you may get sucker punched.

Without an attorney fighting for your rights, filing a claim after an auto accident may feel like a David versus Goliath match up. That’s because the big insurance companies like Allstate routinely deny claims, make low ball settlement offers, and make you fight for every bit of compensation you deserve. Allstate knows that if they fight your claim hard enough, there’s a chance you may give up the fight. Tired of fighting Goliath, you may accept a low ball settlement or you may walk away from your claim altogether. Every time an accident victim gives up the fight, Allstate wins and corporate profit goes up.

In their recent book, “From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves,” authors David Bernardinelli, Michael Freeman, and Aaron DeShaw talk about Allstate’s strategies — including automatic denials, low ball offers, and others — to avoid paying fair compensation to accident victims and boost corporate profits. Allstate knows that a serious accident can leave the victim in a financial crunch. Hospital and medical bills pile up fast, especially if you’re not able to work because of your injury. You’re only in “good hands” if you accept their early, low ball settlement. If you don’t, Allstate trades in the “good hands” for boxing gloves.

A recent item in Business Week tells a similar story about how Allstate fights claims in order to settle them for pennies on the dollar. If you don’t take their early “low ball” offer, accident victims may face a long uphill battle against Allstate’s attorneys. According to the author, “You can get your claim resolved promptly or fairly, but not both.”

Bottom Line: When fighting a Goliath like Allstate, you need an experienced injury lawyer on your side to make it a fair fight.