NORTHBROOK, Ill. (AP) - A consumer group on Wednesday accused Allstate Corp. of excessively raising home and auto insurance rates and using questionable practices to settle claims.
The Consumer Federation of America said the insurer also has led the industry's attempts to shift costs to taxpayers.
'Allstate is certainly not the only insurer pursuing these anti-consumer practices, but it has been in the vanguard in developing and implementing many of them,' said the group's insurance director, J. Robert Hunter.
He said Allstate's practices reflect the significant changes that property-casualty insurers have made in recent years in the way they assess risk, set rates and manage claims.
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according to Hunter, exposed the harmful effects of many of these changes on policyholders, especially lower-income and minority consumers.
Allstate spokesman Mike Siemienas said the Consumer Federation's report contained 'many inaccuracies.'
'The fact is, 17 million households can't be wrong. Allstate is proud of its 75-year history of meeting customers' needs,' Siemienas said.
The consumer group earlier this year blasted Allstate and other leading U.S. insurance companies for charging motorists and homeowners more for coverage, while paying out less, at a time of record-setting profits. Hunter said the biggest players in the industry were guilty of gouging the public.
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