The first car insurance policy that Allstate sold was for a 1930 Studebaker and cost $41.60 for the whole year. The first auto insurance claim was paid out when a customer walked into the offices of Allstate holding a door handle that a would-be car thief had ripped off.
Today, about 16 million people in the United States have car insurance through Allstate.
Do I Need to Hire an Advocate Before I Make a Claim With Allstate?
Before making a car insurance claim, you don’t have to hire an advocate, and in most cases, you don’t need to. So, if you get hurt in a car crash, you should definitely talk to a lawyer before taking a settlement offer from Allstate or any other insurance company.
Before you agree to a first settlement deal, you should talk to a lawyer for at least two reasons:
Usually, the First Offer From an Insurance Company is a Low One.
Insurance companies want to pay out as little as possible for claims about car accidents. When someone gets hurt in an accident, insurance companies usually make a low first offer in the hopes that you’ll just take it because you don’t know you can negotiate. A car crash lawyer with a lot of experience can help you reach a fair deal.
Victims of Auto Accidents Frequently Underestimate Their Losses.
Accident victims in cars are entitled to compensation for their past and future medical costs. Unfortunately, the majority of people struggle to predict their future medical bills. A knowledgeable auto accident lawyer can estimate the worth of your claim based on all potential losses.
Here is the Process for Filing a Claim With Allstate Insurance.
Before you file a claim with Allstate, you need to take a few steps to make sure you get the right amount of money.
1- Call the Police:
In most states, drivers are required to contact the police if they are involved in an accident that causes damage to property or injuries to people. It’s a good idea to contact the police after an accident, even if it’s not required by law. This is especially important if you want to file an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit.
The police officer who comes to your car accident will do an initial investigation and write a report. This police report may have helpful information for your Allstate car insurance claim:
- Contact and insurance details for all parties involved in the accident.
- The position of the cars, the length of the skid marks, the weather, and the time and place of the incident are all specific observations regarding the accident.
- Officer’s assessment on who was at blame for the accident.
- Contact information for any accident witnesses.
2- Contact your Own Insurance Agent
It’s usually a good idea to get in touch with an agent from your insurance company to report the accident, even if someone else was at fault. Three factors account for this:
- If you’re in an accident, your auto insurance policy might require you to notify your insurance provider (Allstate, for instance, requires notification regardless of who was at fault);
- it might also offer coverage if the other driver is not insured or if their policy doesn’t fully cover your damages.
- If required, your insurance provider can assist you in making a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurer.
Your insurance company can increase your rates even if the accident was not your fault, despite what many people think. If you believe that the insurance company of the driver who caused the accident will cover your damages, you may decide not to inform your own insurance company. It is not necessary for you to notify them in this situation.
3- File a Claim With Allstate
Filing a car insurance claim with Allstate is fairly straightforward, but before you do, make sure it’s the appropriate choice for your situation.
In the United States, there are two different types of insurance systems.
At Fault Insurance System:
In states with at-fault insurance, the driver who causes the accident is responsible for paying for the damages that occur as a result. In these states, you need to file your insurance claim with the insurance company of the driver who caused the accident.
No-Fault Insurance System
In states with a no-fault insurance system, each driver submits a claim to their own insurance company, regardless of who is responsible for the accident.
Once you decide to file a car insurance claim with Allstate, you have two choices:
- Online: You can easily file a claim with Allstate from your own home using the Allstate website or mobile app.
- Over the Phone: If you would rather talk to a person to file a claim, you can call the Allstate claims phone number at 1-800-255-7828 for help.
No matter how you decide to submit your claim to Allstate, you will need the following information:
- Information about how to reach everyone who was in the crash.
- Each car’s vehicle information and insurance details.
- Photos of damage to a car.
- Where and when did the accident happen?
- A copy of the report from the cops.
- Names of the police who visited.
Filing in a Claim Against Allstate for Bad Faith
When you deal with an insurance company, you have certain rights. If Allstate breaks these laws, you can file a claim against the company for bad faith.
Most of the time, to prove bad faith, you’ll need to show:
- Allstate did not act in a reasonable way,
- Allstate knew that what it did was wrong or so careless that it should be assumed that it knew what it was doing.
Some examples of unreasonable acts, but not all, are:
- Misrepresenting important facts or parts of an insurance policy.
- Putting on people rules that aren’t in the insurance policy.
- Offering payment amounts that are lower than what would be fair is a way to force the covered to go to court.
- Not taking insurance claims seriously and acting quickly and fairly on them.
- When insurance doesn’t accept or reject a claim within an acceptable amount of time after getting proof of loss.
- Not explaining why a claim was denied or why a payment offer was made.
- Refusing to pay a claim without a good reason (an insurance company’s refusal to pay a claim is “reasonable” if the claim’s truth is “fairly debatable” after an “adequate investigation”).
- Refusing to pay a claim without doing a fair review of all the information provided.
- Not finishing the study in a decent amount of time (usually 30 days) after being told about the claim.
Conclusion
In the end, the fact that Allstate’s first car insurance policy was for a 1930 Studebaker and that it now serves millions of people shows its growth and impact in the insurance world. When filing claims with Allstate, it’s best to talk to a lawyer before making a deal because their first offers may be cheap.
Contacting the cops, telling your own insurance agent, and making a claim with Allstate, either online or over the phone, are all parts of the process. Remember that people can file a claim for bad faith against Allstate if they do something that breaks the law. Allstate is a big player in the business because of its long background, insurance processes, and customer rights.
