Allstate says that if its car insurance customers aren’t satisfied with the service they received on a paid claim, they can get a credit for six months of auto premiums for the car in question.

The company’s new “claim satisfaction guarantee” means that if a customer “is not happy, for any reason, with the service they received on a paid auto claim, Allstate will provide a credit to the customer’s auto policy,” the company said.

Kevin Smith, a company spokesman, said in an e-mail that the guarantee is meant to “go beyond the promise of a competently repaired vehicle” and address the customer’s overall “claims experience.”

Customers must “express their dissatisfaction” in writing within 180 days of the event. And they must live in one of the 30 states or the District of Columbia where the guarantee is now in effect. (As of Jan. 1, that includes Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming.) Allstate is working to bring the feature to additional states this year.

Is there some sort of catch? What if, say, I just don’t like the claims representative’s tone of voice on the phone? Mr. Smith said that the guarantee has been widely in effect for only a few weeks and that he can’t predict what sort of problems may spur a complaint. “It does come down to satisfaction,” he said in a phone interview. Allstate tested the guarantee last year in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Georgia, he said, and received a “handful” of written complaints. He said he didn’t have details on what sort of problems led to a payout.

Details on the insurer’s Web site do mention that the company doesn’t have to agree with you before giving you the credit. “Our provision of a premium credit under this endorsement does not mean that we agree with any reasons you stated for your dissatisfaction,” it states.

Of course, the guarantee applies only to paid claims. More dissatisfaction would be expected in circumstances in which the company doesn’t pay out.

Still, a six-month premium credit may go a long way toward soothing ruffled feathers. What do you think? Would you like to see your insurance company offer such a guarantee?

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=273d1366817feafe59804c6a54d57966