Ain't Regulated Industries Grand??!!

Here's part one of our series of horror stories at the hands of "regulated industries" and the governments which protect them.

Auto Insurance ... Allstate (you know, the "Good Hands" folks)

When we moved to upstate NY in 1990 we had already an auto insurance policy with Allstate Insurance Co. in effect in NH. As a consequence we simply transferred our coverage to NY utilizing the Allstate Agency in Malone (Rockland St.) under the direction of agent Ernest Latreille.

Over the ensuing months I was at several points struck by the complete disregard for us as policyholders ... particularly when I had occasion to have been stopped in traffic (Finney Blvd. and W. Main St, Malone) and a woman came up behind me and ran into the back of my truck. When I reported the incident to Mr. Latreille, I was informed that I had to provide a copy of the accident report (Malone Village Police... other driver ticketed), contact her insurance company, arrange for an adjuster, and obtain repair estimates to be submitted to the other company. When queried regarding whether or not he would be involved in this process, his response was: "we're not allowed to act as a collection agency in the State of New York." Thus, I obtained NO assistance from him, his agency, or my insurance carrier (Allstate Insurance Co.) I thought that somewhat odd but, proceeded to make all of the long-distance phone calls, write all of the letters, fill out all of the forms, and obtain the stated estimates and contacted the adjuster. The consequence of this was that I was sucessful in obtaining a check in the approximate amount of $400 from the other driver's insurance carrier (I believe, Metropolitan) as compensation for damages. I was not happy with the performance (or lack thereof) of Allstate but rationalized this as having been a function of the other driver's fault and therefore, as Allstate wasn't likely to be financially involved, they simply put the burden on me, personally.

Things proceded with no incidents of note until the summer (approx. June) of 1995 when Allstate, in the middle of the policy, changed billing practices from 4 payments per 6 month policy to 6 payments (monthly). In the midst of this, our payments were not conveyed in a sufficiently timely fashion for Allstate and our policy was cancelled .... although reinstated as soon as we became aware ... an elapsed period of cancellation of 29 days however, had ensued and we were forced to pay a civil penalty to the State ... which we could only do for one of the vehicles and I surrendered the plates to my truck for the requisite 29 days which (by coincidence with the 4th of July holiday) was extended by DMV to 31 days. During this period, I made many phone calls and/or personal visits to the offices of both Assemblyman Chris Ortloff and State Senator Ronald Stafford seeking assistance and/or advice. In both cases, neither of these individuals was ("aware of this kind of practice") but they could accord neither advice nor assistance. (As an aside, another accounts agent working in Allstate's Malone office, Christine Burke, told me that many people had been caught in the same situation by the mid-policy billing change and that there had been many complaints and cancellations).

At the end of this our policy was once again in full effect and no additional items of note occured until shortly thereafter when Aliceann was involved in an accident at the intersections of Poplar Rd., Davenport Rd., Coveytown Rd. and Fountain Street in the town of Constable (four-way intersection where road names change ... otherwise typical crossroad intersection). This accident occured at approximately 7 pm on the evening of 15 August, a Tuesday. The circumstances of this accident are as follows:

Aliceann was westbound on the Coveytown Road approaching the intersection and the stopsign for which she, indeed, DID come to a complete stop (residents of surrounding properties corroberated this). Then, because of the fact that visibility at that intersection is blocked significantly by the presence of several large evergreen trees (Spruce belonging to Connor) she proceeded forward in order to effect her left-hand turn onto Fountain Street. As she did so she did not observe any traffic and began to move further into the intersection at which time a pick-up truck, owned by Dumont (?) and being driven by William Keating slammed into the front of Aliceann's vehicle, spinning her around toward the ditch and careening off to the left where he left the roadway and his vehicle came to rest against the side of a garage owned by ( ) Benware. Mr. Keating immediately exited the vehicle and ran down the road -- heading north on Poplar Road -- State Police Trooper Chad Niles arrived to take control of the accident scene -- at some point in time, Mr. Keating had wandered back to the scene. All three individuals, Aliceann, Jessica (our daughter), and Mr. Keating, were transported to Alice Hyde Hospital by the Constable Rescue ambulances where Aliceann and Jessica were treated and released. Mr. Keating was subsequently arrested for DWI-refusal. The accident was reported to Allstate Insurance on Wed. 16 August -- by me.

Although two ticket numbers are listed on the police report, NO ticket was ever issued to, or processed against, Aliceann as a consequence of this accident. Mr. Keating was found guilty of DWI-R in Constable Town Court (Justice Lyle Wilson) and subsequently left the area -- whereabouts unknown. The last I spoke with Justice Wilson he had issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Keating for having failed to comply with the penalties assigned for the DWI-R conviction.

Again, when I addressed Mr. Latreille of Allstate Ins. Co, Malone, I was told to obtain the accident report, estimates, etc. etc. and, again, NO assistance was forthcoming from his agency. I requested that he (or his office) contact the other driver's (actually vehicle owner's insurance company) but such request was ignored. After fighting my way through the process yet again, I was sucessful in contacting an adjuster and the other insurance company (again, I believe Metropolitan handled by the Sid Speare agency in Malone) and was successful in obtaining a replacement vehicle rental through the other company for a period of about two weeks. During this time the adjuster examined our vehicle and pronounced it a total loss. I then negotiated, completely independently and without ANY assistance from Mr. Latreille, a payment for our vehicle to the level of 85% of assessed value ... which effectively meant that I had to accept a 15% liability for the accident on Aliceann's behalf. I subseqently received a check from the other insurance company for $1393 (and some cents) representing the value of 85% of THEIR insured's liability via Mr. Keating's responsibility for the accident.

At no point did Mr. Latreille or the Allstate Insurance Company provide me with any assistance whatsoever... and, while I conveyed pertinant information to them on a regular basis, none of my information was ever accepted or included within the file held by Allstate Insurance pertaining to this accident. (Although I was unaware of this fact at the time and only found out later as I shall shortly explain). None of the information provided to them by me was ever investigated or confirmed.

In the interim, and because of the failure of Allstate to obtain any information regarding the accident, I visited the accident scene, photographed it, and measured the pertinent skid marks, etc. My personal investigation showed that Mr. Keating had obviously been moving at a highly imprudent speed as evidenced by his pre-impact skidmarks amounting to 178 feet. He then hit our vehicle and, upon impact, shifted the entire front end of the vehicle approximately 12" off center to the right, and with sufficient remaining force to diplace the vehicle sideways across the roadway a rotational distance of some 15 feet. Then, still skidding, he proceeded an additional 78 feet before coming to rest (as previously stated) against the side of the garage owned by the Benwares. (The adjuster with whom I eventually spoke, also took it upon himself to visit the scene and verbally confirmed his agreement with these findings to me). I also took photographs of our vehicle and the damage sustained during the accident (as, too, did the adjuster).

Upon reciept of the check from the other insurance company I believed the matter closed and our replacement vehicle ... private sale... was immediately placed on our Allstate policy.

When, in the late winter (Jan/Feb) of 1996, I went to Allstate to pay in cash a bill I believed totalled $139. In Mr. Latreille's absence, I met with Christine Burke who called up our policy on the computer and, after accessing account information, informed me that, "No, you only owe $85." When I questioned that, and informed her of my belief that the bill was, again, $139, she confirmed the $85 amount and then mentioned that the additional monthly premiums would also be $85. (Or thereabouts, $86 and change is, I believe the actual figure from recollection). This appeared to approach twice what our previous bills had been but, because this renewal also coincided with new rates within NYS... ("Shouldn't be that much, you were already covered") and Jessica would now be driving .. ("Well, that's some increase but not that much") Christine then based on her assessment of information on the computer screen announced that the company had pro-rated our past-due amount across the next 6-months policy. I then paid the $85 (approximately) demanded... in cash... and was assured we were "set 'till next month." Within a couple days, I received a cancellation notice in the mail but, having just been in to set things right, and having been assured by our agent that we were "set 'till next month" I presumed that it had already been in the system and was not reflective of anything more than "crossed communications."

When I went in on the 2nd of March to make my next payment of $86 (approx) I was informed that the policy had been cancelled, and that the payment I offered was not sufficient to reinstate and that I would have to pay an additional nearly $200 but that the cancellation would, in any event, remain between the date of cancellation (which, as I recall, was around 15 February) and that date (2 March).

When I approached Mr Latreille for further information and assistance, I was met by his (now usual) "nothing I can do about it" philosophy. In the midst of the discussion, I asked for my file pertinent to the accident. What I found was:

1: Allstate listed damage to our vehicle as "right front fender" 2: Allstate showed Aliceann as having been issued a ticket for the accident and... 3: That she (Aliceann) was 100% liable for the accident. 4: Allstate had paid out between $3000 and $4000 (as I recall) to the other company in support of a drunk driver! (Convicted)

When I protested the absurdity of this situation, I was once again subjected to the "nothing I can do about it" mentality -- whereupon I simply became dysfunctional where this entire issue is concerned.

It is my sincere belief that Ernest Latreille, of Allstate Insurance Company (Malone, NY) conspired to arrange for the cancellation of this policy because of the accident but by means of the only method possible for which no accountability would be demanded -- non-payment. As a result, I was knowingly presented with a demand for payment of an insufficient amount... and the remainder subsequently ensued. (As a further aside: I have subsequently, and recently, spoken with Christine Burke who, when presented by me with these concerns, reacted in a way which was clearly intended to convey a tacit agreement).

Mr. Latreille, is no longer the agent in charge of the Allstate Agency in Malone but has "retired" after more than 25 yrs. to work for a small, private agency in Fort Covington, NY-- I believe the King-Clark agency.

Scott Carlton

P.S. and, no, we're not alone. For more horror stories I suggest you visit the Allstate page...

Oh... and by the way... no names in here have been altered in any way to protect any identities... the folks who played this out in real life know full-well who they are... and they know how they played.

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