Companies of Concern – Our Findings

Through our extensive experience and customer feedback, we’ve identified certain insurance companies whose practices in handling claims may not align with what we consider fair, especially concerning the appraisal clause. This clause is crucial as it offers an avenue for dispute resolution regarding the value of your claim.

• State Farm: Limits the use of the appraisal clause solely to Actual Cash Value claims, excluding diminished value claims and repair estimates. This restriction can significantly impact consumers, especially when dealing with repair-related disputes.
• Allstate – exhibits several concerning practices regarding the right to appraisal:
  • Hiring specific appraisers who intentionally delay the process, leading to resolutions taking up to 120 days.
  • Selling policies that have removed the word “binding” from the appraisal process.
  • Employing independent appraisers who insist on using umpires that favor Allstate’s interests, rather than selecting an unbiased neutral umpire.
  • Intentionally rigging the appraisal process to minimize payouts.
• AAA-Memic and Turo have explicitly excluded diminished value coverage from their insurance policies.
• Auto-Owners Insurance lacks an appraisal clause. As a result, disputes over repair estimates, the actual cash value of a vehicle, or its diminished value are more likely to require legal intervention for resolution. In addition, Your Auto-Owners agent may propose a reduction in premiums in return for a waiver of your rights to claim for diminished value.
• Safeco & ALFA: These companies have omitted the appraisal clause from their policies. Consequently, if their settlement offer does not meet your expectations, your options are constrained to accepting their offer or initiating legal action—a position we find unreasonable for any policyholder.
• Trexis (Owned by ALFA): While they have an appraisal clause, it can only be utilized if both the vehicle owner and Trexis agree to use it. In other words, Trexis can refuse to utilize the appraisal clause, rendering it useless and leaving you in a situation where you will likely have to sue them to get a response.
• Commercial Insurance Policies by Lula, and Auto-Owners, and some others. We recommend you send us a copy of your insurance policy prior to moving forward.

Disclaimer: Despite the concerns mentioned below, we have solutions available for you if you are with these companies. The concerns listed are meant to raise awareness about the manipulations in the policies sold by these insurance companies. If you are dissatisfied with your current insurer, please refer to our page of recommended insurance companies here.