​How Our Lawyers Handle an Allstate Injury Claim?

May 11, 2022 | Personal Injury

Known as the second-largest personal insurance company in the United States, it is no surprise that Allstate has a reputation for placing its drivers “in good hands.”

Unfortunately, those “good hands” do not extend to car accident victims. When it comes to drivers injured in a car accident with an Allstate driver, Allstate is just like other insurance companies. Their insurance adjusters are only interested in giving up as little compensation as possible.

That is why it is beneficial for car accident victims to seek the help of a car accident attorney when filing an Allstate injury claim.

Allstate’s Bad Faith Practices

Some of the bad faith practices that Allstate has engaged in include:

• Using a combination of lowball settlements and tense litigation to meet the bottom line
• Forcing injured victims to have medical exams performed by the company’s physicians
• Denying claims for low-impact, soft-tissue injuries
• Accusing injured victims outright of being the at-fault drivers, despite evidence that proves otherwise​

What Are Bad Faith Practices?

Each of these actions performed by Allstate is rightfully considered illegal. When insurance companies sell a policy to their policyholders, they enter into an implied contract. Insurance companies that try to back out of the agreed obligations to their clients can be held liable for bad faith practices.

You can hold insurance companies held liable for bad faith practices for:

• Denying a victim’s claim for no justifiable reason
• Failing to investigate a claim properly in a reasonable time
• Settling a claim or attempting to settle a claim for far less than what the claim is worth
• Requesting a ridiculous amount of documentation from the victim
• Misrepresenting the law through policy language
• Putting profits over an injured victim’s legitimate claim

How Allstate Determines Compensation for Injury Claims?

One of the bad faith practices that Allstate has engaged in is offering lowball settlements to injured victims. To determine the amount of compensation that injured victims can settle for, Allstate uses software known as Colossus to calculate the cost. Colossus was introduced to Allstate in the 1990s and is still being used by the company today to determine a victim’s compensation. Allstate adjusters gather specific data related to the injured victims and key that data into Colossus to establish what price range the injury claim will fall under.

Why is Colossus Not a Reliable Source For Injury Claim Compensation?

While this software may help Allstate establish compensation for injured victims, Colossus is unreliable. Colossus offers an unrealistic one-size-fits-all compensation structure for all injured victims.

Every injured victim does not sustain the same injuries from car accidents. Some injuries may appear immediately, while others may not become noticeable until weeks after the car accident. In the latter scenario, injured victims whose injuries the company did not initially view as future problems are in danger of receiving inappropriate compensation for their injuries.

Another reason why Colossus is not a reliable source in an Allstate injury claim is the software fails to factor liability into the compensation. If the Allstate driver caused the car accident, that does not matter when Colossus calculates the settlement cost.

Colossus relies on particular injury codes to describe the injuries documented from the injured victim’s medical records. If the appropriate person did not report the victim’s injury on the medical records, it will not receive consideration. This strategy is another tactic used by Allstate to avoid paying as much as possible to injured victims.

How Allstate Insurance Adjusters Lowball Injured Victims?

Allstate insurance adjusters are similar to many insurance adjusters. They critique every bit of an injury claim and search for any information that can discredit the injured victim.

The first action that an Allstate insurance adjuster may try is searching for reasons to deny an injury claim. When that action does not work, insurance adjusters will attempt to offer victims a lower settlement than what their injury claim is worth. Instead of considering that accident victims are in shock and want to focus on healing as quickly as possible, adjusters take advantage of these feelings and attempt to manipulate the victim into accepting a terrible offer.

Why Many Insurance Companies Offer Lowball Settlements?

Allstate is not the only insurance company that wants to settle injury claims before making it to trial. All insurance companies prefer to offer settlements with victims instead of taking the matter to court. Settlements are so popular with insurance companies because they are a form of compensation that happens only once for injured victims.

Insurance companies only need to provide the right amount of compensation for the client, and the client no longer has the right to pursue legal action against the Allstate driver once they accept. Even if the injured victim discovers that their injuries are more severe than initially believed, they cannot pursue additional compensation once the settlement offer is accepted.

How An Experienced Attorney Can Handle an Allstate Claim?

When starting the claim process with Allstate, victims may mistakenly assume that Allstate is one of the “good” companies. They may not believe that Allstate is capable of delaying the claim process or attempting to stall the process by requesting additional documentation. However, many attorneys know what Allstate can do to its customers.

An experienced attorney has some knowledge of what it takes to file a car accident claim and the best ways to combat Allstate’s tactics. Do not let Allstate bully you into accepting lowball settlement offers for your injuries. Instead, fight for your right to compensation with the help of a personal injury attorney who has experience with Allstate injury claims.

Reaching Out To An Experienced Attorney Before Taking Allstate On Alone

Seeking immediate medical attention is the primary concern for many accident victims. Still, victims must contact an experienced attorney at the beginning of their claim process. Once someone reports the accident, Allstate will waste no time collecting information that can contradict the victim and limit compensation payments to them. Reaching out to an experienced attorney can set the claim process on the right foot.

Evaluating The Actual Worth of an Allstate Injury Claim

A qualified attorney can share information with an injured victim that Allstate will not readily provide, like the actual worth of their injury claims. The computerized, calculated compensation that Allstate offers is usually not the true worth of the injury claim.

Injured victims may pursue additional compensation from Allstate and may not even be aware of it. An experienced attorney can evaluate the different types of compensation that injured victims can be awarded and inform the injured victim of those types of compensation.

Negotiating With Allstate Insurance Adjusters For Fair Compensation

After determining the actual worth of a victim’s injury claim, that is where the real work begins for the attorney. The attorney will use their deliberate negotiation skills to request fair compensation for the injured victim. Allstate insurance adjusters start to take notice when an injured victim has an experienced attorney on their side. Instead of treating that injured victim unfairly, insurance adjusters are cautious and are suddenly open to discussing fair compensation.

Receiving Compensation for Low-Impact Accidents

Having an experienced attorney can also help injured victims of low-impact accidents receive their just compensation. Allstate is notorious for denying injury claims of car accidents with low-impact collisions. These car accidents produce whiplash injuries and other injuries that can be difficult to prove in court. Because injured victims might not prove the existence of these injuries at the time of the claim, it will be easy for Allstate to offer victims lowball settlements. However, the presence of an attorney can help injured victims receive the proper compensation that they deserve.

Offering Legal Protection Against Allstate

One of the most beneficial aspects of having an attorney during the injury claim is having additional legal protections against Allstate. Allstate is a powerful entity. It can feel intimidating for injured victims to decide to go against one of the top five insurance companies in the United States.

With an experienced attorney in their corner, injured victims can feel more secure in pursuing compensation for their injuries. In addition to negotiations, attorneys can help collect the proper paperwork for their clients and ensure that the claim process flows smoothly for their clients.

Represent Injured Victims in Court

When insurance companies like Allstate continue to deny victims proper compensation, victims have the option of taking the matter to trial. If this happens, an experienced attorney is more than capable of representing the victim in court and designing the best case possible for the victim to be successful in their lawsuit.

Attorneys can gather the necessary evidence to prove that Allstate has practiced negligent actions against the injured victim. Attorneys can also review the additional forms of compensation that the injured victim is allowed to pursue. Injured victims can pursue different forms of compensation during a trial that are not limited to a settlement.

Can Injured Victims Represent Themselves In Court?

Injured victims can handle each aspect of the claim process by themselves. But why should they? While it is true that injured victims can take on Allstate by themselves, they will have to tackle many legal responsibilities that they are not familiar with.

Injured victims will also have to navigate these unfamiliar waters while trying to heal from their injuries. Instead of placing additional stress on an already stressful process, relying on an attorney’s expertise can help lighten the load. Attorneys are accustomed to dealing with deceptive insurance agencies like Allstate and can use that expertise in the injured victim’s favor.

Chris Dixon & Greg Motil

Speak to an Experienced Attorney Today

You can hold Allstate accountable for bad faith practices. Insurance companies cannot get away with reneging on contractual obligations promised to their clients. Unfortunately, insurance adjusters are known for deceiving car accident victims in their time of need. That is why victims need an experienced attorney by their side. Injured victims can feel more confident taking on insurance companies like Allstate with the proper attorney.

There are many attorneys with a rich history of fighting against the bad faith practices of Allstate. Hiring the right attorney for an Allstate injury claim can make the difference between receiving the deserved compensation and accepting the offered compensation. No matter the perceived reputation, all insurance companies are interested in paying out as little as possible to injured victims, no matter how legitimate their injuries are.

Hiring an attorney with experience before and during the injury claim process can give injured victims an important advantage over insurance companies. Insurance companies will look out for their best interest, and injured victims should do the same by having an advocate. Build your case against Allstate with the help of an experienced car accident attorney today.