Has anyone had the wrong home insurance policy wrote up from allstate?

We purchased a home and had allstate insurance, we recently had a fire and now we are being told that we had the wrong policy and we are in a long drawn out process. We dont know if the policy will be covered or not yet. Allstate is dragging there feet. Even though it is the agents responsibility to take pics and view the home she did not. they told us that the agents are not actual employees of allstate. can anyone give us advice on what to do?

First of all, if the agent wrote up the application for you, it had to go through Allstate for approval and issuance of the policy. Even though their agents may be private contractors, that doesn't mean Allstate has no responsibility. There is a legal principle called "agency" in which liability for the actions of one person can be imputed (transferred) to another because the first person was doing something in behalf of the other. That is the relationship between Allstate and its agent. Allstate is not off the hook because its agent may have screwed up. I don't know what kind of policy you got that made it "wrong" but if you were led to believe you had coverage, it might boil down to the agent's errors and omissions liability insurance paying for your damages. In either case, someone needs to step up to the bar and take care of the loss. Allstate has a certain number of days, depending on the statutes of your state, to make a determination of coverage on this "coverage question". That period of time can range from 30 to 45 days.

I were you, I'd contact your state's insurance commission and file a complaint. I'd also send a letter to Allstate and your agent, putting them on notice that you expect a determination of which of them is going to take responsibility for paying for your loss and pointing out to the agent that if Allstate decides against coverage, you are looking to him for coverage of your damages, so he might want to contact his "professional liability insurer" (errors and omissions coverage). Good luck with this.

Not that it matters at this point, but what type of policy did you have and what type of policy should you have had?

Allstate considers their agents independent contractors. In essence, they are business owners of their own agency. The Agent is suppose to write the proper policy for each risk. If Allstate eventually denies the claim, your only recourse will be to sue both Allstate and the agent.

What has the current agent said regarding the situation? If the agent is not working with you to get the situation resolved, you might want to consider contacting an attorney.

Allstate agents work very similar to a franchise.

I would be patient. They will pay the claim eventually. Meanwhile, I would be throwing hints that you may be filing a complaint with the state insurance commission.

I would also be asking the agent, directly, who her errors and ommissions insurance is with...that covers her if she advises you incorrectly and Allstate refuses the claim. She is required by law to carry the insurance.

Hmm. Something's wrong here. If I had to GUESS (and I do, because you didn't put in the details), I'd say you bought a HOMEOWNERS policy on a house that isn't YOUR HOME. Or maybe it WAS your home when you bought it, and either you moved out and it was vacant, or decided to rent it out, or otherwise changed it, and DIDN'T TELL YOUR AGENT.

Agents are NOT employees . . . but their contract means they can REPRESENT the company, within pre-stated guidelines.

What to do? Well, you need to ask Allstate for something IN WRITING. You need to ask the adjuster this. And you need to call your agent, and tell them, hey, this thing needs to get resolved one way or the other, within 30 days. Sic your agent on this, especially if this is their error.

Obviously, if this isn't a house, (maybe it's a trailer?) there's going to be a problem, and if there was arson involved, you're not looking at a quick resolution. But if this is the AGENT'S ERROR, you are probably going to have to hire a lawyer, and sue the agent (hopefully, they had errors and ommissions coverage in place).