This all begins with the claims adjuster who is assigned to settle your case. A look into Allstate Insurance Company's Claim Core Process Redesign Implementation Training Manual for claims adjusters reveals that when it comes to settling claims, Allstate, should not be calling themselves the "Good Hands People". The training manual encourages claims adjusters to keep injured people away from attorneys (who could negotiate a fair settlement for them). This manual further encourages claims adjusters to force even simple cases to trial. This tactic is designed to make negotiating a fair settlement for an injured person economically prohibitive.

    What motivation is there for this "Bad Hands" behavior? If Allstate and other insurance companies can keep injured parties with little negotiating experience away from lawyers who are trained to fight for the rights of the injured people, then these insurance companies can get off the hook for less. Attorneys settle claims twenty-three (23)times more than claims without lawyers. In other words, settle quick and cheap with an injured party who might not know how the game is played. In its manual, Allstate admits that it pays only an average of $3,464 where the injured party has no lawyer. These claims "cost about 90% more," once the injured party has an attorney. The "savings" is not passed onto you, the consumer.

    When the accident is relatively minor, it is more important that injured persons know about the insurance company on the other side of the negotiating table. The attorneys at O'Brien, Shafner, Stuart, Kelly & Morris, P.C. have been handling cases against insurance companies such as Allstate for over forty (40) years. These attorney's are available at no cost to discuss any claim you might have against Allstate or any other insurance company.