Allstate to Pay Half Million on Georgia Claim Highlighted in Hearing, Senator Says

Three months after a U.S. senator chastized Allstate for its response to a Georgia woman’s storm claim, Allstate has paid more than 10 times its initial payout on the claim, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said Tuesday.

“Allstate has finally agreed to pay Ms. Migal’s claim in full. But there are many others like her across the country who(m) the insurance industry continues to scam,” Hawley said in a news release.

Hawley, chairman of a Senate subcommittee, led a Senate hearing in May, in which he grilled Allstate Chief Claims Officer Mike Fiato over reports that that the insurer had offered about $46,000 after a large oak tree fell on Natalia Migal’s Sandy Springs home.

An adjuster for Pilot Catastrophe Services testified at the hearing that the home was structurally damaged but Allstate claims reviewers had urged him to remove some items from his inspection report. When he declined, Allstate sent a second adjuster, who said that his estimates were often reduced inappropriately by company reviewers.

The allegations echoed what other adjusters have said frequently happens with a number of insurers after storm claims, in Florida and other states. Fiato said at the hearing that some of the information presented at the hearing was inaccurate, and that much of the Migal home damage was cosmetic and excluded by the policy.

After the Senate hearing, though, Allstate agreed to pay $497,000 plus attorney fees in the Migal claims dispute, Hawley said. Hawley, who has indicated he plans to run for U.S. president in 2028, did not elaborate on what prompted the insurer to raise its offer.

Allstate representatives could not be reached Wednesday morning to confirm the payout. The homeowner who spoke at the hearing, who is the chief risk officer for an international finance company, also could not be reached Wednesday.

Related: Allstate Q2 Income Eclipses $2B as Auto Turns in Combined Ratio of 86

Topics Georgia