You're In "Crummy-Sleazy " Hands With Allsate Insurance Company

THE DOCTOR IS IN
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LAS VEGAS- Hello America, and how is the world treating you?

Allstate Insurance Company? I personally do not like them. I have had a very bad experience with them. I wanted to complain about Allstate Insurance and I went on the internet and found that there were websites dedicated to complaints just against Allstate Insurance. I didn't know that until I started to research places I could air my gripes against this company and their partners.

In any event, here is my horror story. Make what you will of it.

My bad experience - - -

Ten years ago. I transferred some annuity money from Prudential Insurance into an annuity contract with Allstate Insurance and their partner Putnam Securities. I was told by the insurance agent that Allstate Insurance and Putnam Securities was a major player in annuity contracts and if I bought this particular annuity through Allstate Insurance with an income guarantee attached, and let it set without touching it for ten years, I would earn 6% interest a year and after ten years I could annuitize the contract. I was assured by the agent that once the contract matured: "like all other annuities " I could take my money and do what I wanted with it or select "lifetime payments of: (A) "LIFE ONLY"- lifetime monthly payment of (X) amount of dollars until I died at which time payments would cease. (B) Monthly payments with a 5 year certain: - meaning, monthly payments, (amounts would be less than a life only payout) with a 5 year option. This option meant that after I died payments would continue for a period of 5 years to anyone I designated. (C) Monthly payments with a 10 year certain: -meaning, monthly payments (would be less than the LIFE ONLY and the 5 YEAR CERTAIN). This option meant that after I died the payments would continue to be paid out for a period of ten years to anyone I designated.

It should be noted that I had a couple of small annuities annuitized before this Allstate Insurance-Putnam Securities annuity matured. On those annuities I have always chosen the "LIFE ONLY" option because that option paid the highest monthly benefit and because I was a single person. The "Life Only" option was always the best selection for me. I wanted the highest monthly payment available. The other highly rated insurance companies that handled those annuities for me were forthright and straight forward. When I wanted to annuitize they immediately gave me those three options to choose from and as always I chose the "LIFE ONLY" for the highest monthly payment. There were no problems and the insurance companies began sending me my monthly checks.

BUT, let's get back to Allstate Insurance and their partnership with Putnam Securities. When I gave the insurance agent the money to transfer to Allstate Insurance all he gave me was a color brochure with a few things highlighted describing that I couldn't touch the money in the contract for ten years in order to receive the guaranteed interest.

Well people, I waited the ten years. After the annuity contract matured. I called Allstate Insurance and said I wanted to take all of my money that I earned on the contract and give it to another insurance company to buy an "immediate annuity" for life. I was told that "I could not do that." Allstate and Putnam Securities told me that I could only annuitize the contract with them.

I then said okay, send me the papers to select my options so I can select "LIFE ONLY." They told me I couldn't select a life only payment (Which would be the highest monthly payment). This lousy company told me, -"You only have one (1) option if you want to annuitize the contract before you are 80 years old. That option is "A ten year certain", meaning I would lose a few hundred dollars a month from a "LIFE ONLY" selection. I asked them if I can't get a "LIFE ONLY" monthly payment I would like a five (5) year option. It would pay less than a life only, but would be more than a ten (10) year option.

Allstate told me that I could only receive a five(5) year monthly payment if I were over 80 years old. They went on to say if I wanted to annuitize the contract now I only had one choice, the ten (10) year option which would pay the smallest amount of money each month.

When I wrote the company and complained about them denying me annuity payment options they told me they were going to fax me a prospectus and that I should read it. I received it and read it. Folks, it was seventy (70) pages of insurance gobbly-gook but in the text they covered their butt wherein it said the only choice I had was to receive the ten (10 year payment option. What a rip off.

Remember, in the entire ten years I owned this annuity contract I have never, ever received a prospectus describing all of these restrictions.. All I ever received from the insurance agent was the few pages on a color brochure. And, I still have it. There was nothing in the brochure stating that I could not take my money out and/or move it after my contract matured. It did not state anywhere in the brochure that I did not have an annuity payment option of "LIFE CERTAIN" and it did not state anywhere in the brochure that the only payment option I had was a (ten (10 year certain).

As a single person I wanted to receive the highest monthly payment possible which is always the "LIFE CERTAIN, life only) option. I didn't want too or do not want to leave ten years of monthly benefits to someone I do not know. In these tough financial and economic times I wanted to receive the highest monthly benefit check possible. However, with sleazy Allstate Insurance and Putnam Securities I am now locked in receiving the lowest monthly payment available on any annuity monthly payout choice. What good is a monthly annuity check if you have to wait until you are eighty (80) years old before you start collecting it? And even then, you cannot receive a LIFE CERTAIN option. You have to accept a five (5) year certain option. For single people that doesn't make sense.

That's my story people. Personally, I would not recommend Allstate Insurance and/or Putnam Securities to anyone. My feeling are,starting with the insurance agent, Allstate Insurance and Putnam Securities lied to me and withheld relevant information about an annuity contract. If from the get-go, the insurance agent would have told me that I would not have "annuity payout" choices like all other insurance companies offer I would not have transferred monies from the insurance company I already had. If the insurance agent would have told me that I had to wait until I was eighty (80) years old to annuitize the contract with only a five (5) year payout option I clearly would not have bought the annuity.

People, I believe that Allstate Insurance and Putnam Securities did a lot of bad things to me which include but is not limited to: acted in "bad faith", "misrepresented financial contracts", failed to provide written and verbal information on initializing the contract.

The Allstate Insurance Company slogan is "You're in good hands with Allstate." If consumers believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell them.
Their slogan should read "You're in CRUMMY and SLEAZY hands" with Allstate Insurance. It's really hard to lose a few hundred dollars a month of income for life. And, that's my opinion.

Make your own decisions when you are thinking about dealing with ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY and PUTNAM SECURITIES. All I can tell you is what happened to me when I dealt with these low life companies. I tried everything within reason to get these companies to make things right and pay me my annuity with a "LIFE ONLY" option but they refused.You decide.

Bradley W. Kuhns, Ph.D., O.M.D.
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Dr. Kuhns can be reached by e-mail at:
bradleykuhns@gmail.comc