Josh Hawley Asks Allstate Executive To Straight-Up Apologize To Unhappy Customer

Forbes Breaking News

At a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) questioned to Mike Fiato, an Allstate executive, and asked him to apologize to property owner Natalia Migal, an unhappy customer.

Transcript

00:00Thank you very much to both of the witnesses we will now have five minute

00:05rounds of questions we'll do a couple of rounds here and I will start let me

00:10just start with you Mr. Fiato so I take it from your statement just now that you

00:13don't have any regrets about Ms. Miguel's case Mr. Keating apologized to Mr.

00:18Vertel and promised to work with him resolve his case thank you for that Mr.

00:21Keating I didn't hear anything to that extent from you Mr. Fiato so you think

00:25all state handled it just fine no I stated in my statement that I regret

00:30that Ms. Miguel is unhappy with the yeah well that's like saying I'm sorry you're

00:34unhappy right that's I apologize but I don't apologize would you like to

00:37apologize to her now maybe I just misunderstood her I would like to say

00:41is Ms. Miguel here you go ahead I'm sure she's watching I'd like to say I I want

00:48to make sure that we get your claim resolved to your satisfaction and if

00:52there's additional information or things that we can do to continue to work

00:55to you with you we'll do that so I noticed that you said in your written

01:01testimony you just repeated it here let me make sure I get this right I'm going

01:05to quote you now we live and breathe our motto our customers worst day needs to

01:08be our best I have to tell you Mr. Fiato based on the testimony I've heard

01:12today based on the witness statements I've taken for witnesses it sounds like

01:15to me that it really ought to be amended to say that our customers worst day is

01:19your big profit opportunity I mean we've just heard testimony here sworn

01:23testimony from multiple adjusters that your company ordered them to delete or

01:27alter damage estimates to reduce payouts and to make you profits it sounds to me

01:33like you're running a system of institutionalized fraud yeah that would

01:36that would be incorrect senator that's not what we do so you have never ordered

01:40y'all state has never asked an adjuster to change an assessment on their report

01:45when we review an adjuster's estimate most often for authority requests so most

01:52adjusters have an amount of financial authority that they can settle claims up

01:57to without having to no wait a minute that's that's not what they testified to

01:59that's not what they just testified to you just heard sworn testimony from

02:03multiple adjusters and they said it happened one adjuster had only ever worked for

02:08you over years in the industry and he said he was repeatedly directed by you by your company

02:14allstate to change factual findings to delete material and his reports to alter his reports

02:22to make them factually incorrect all with the purpose of driving down the award and padding

02:27your profits I disagree with his statement well you know I have to notice that I mean your

02:33profits have never been better I mean they're really quite extraordinary fiscal year 24 allstate

02:38had 64 billion dollars in revenue that's 12 percent above the previous year you made 4.6 billion

02:45dollars in profits and your CEO Tom Wilson last year was paid 26 million dollars now Miss Miguel

02:54can't get her claim paid out but Tom Wilson whoever the heck he is gets 26 million dollars I mean

03:02that's really extraordinary do you just not do you not have the money to pay people like Miss Miguel

03:07why is she not a priority but Tom Wilson salary is we we've paid Miss Miguel's claim no you didn't

03:14you have given her a a paltry sum your own adjusters you said in your testimony just a second ago you sent

03:20out an adjuster in fact you sent out three and two of those adjusters testified just now under oath

03:25that your company ordered them to alter their reports against their will contrary to their advice

03:31and in fact to render them factually inaccurate I that's extraordinary I disagree with this you

03:36disagree that's what they said I disagree that that's our our process so they're just they're

03:42they're just they're lying they're lying that's what you're saying I can tell you that for example

03:46Mr. Schroeder wrote 15 estimates for for us none of those were reviewed by all state

03:52listen to another listen to another test and piece of testimony from another witness this is a

03:59whistleblower report that has come in to us this person says I've dedicated my entire adult life to

04:04the claims adjusting world in numerous roles I worked for pilot and all state for 12 years

04:09as an independent adjuster I work claims all over the country regularly throughout the years and I have

04:15watched the progression and controlling nature of claims worsen progressively all state created an

04:21internal review team with the sole purpose of making sure claims were paid as low as possible

04:26all state reviewers instructed adjusters to alter and delete factual findings in their estimates to

04:32drive down the cost of the claim the alterations and deletions were often factually wrong during

04:38hurricane Isaac in 2012 2012 an email was sent out that no adjuster could buy a roof no matter the damage

04:46present this looks like a pattern this is someone who's not even involved in this case in

04:51hurricane helene we've heard from person after person all this testimony is on the record it

04:56sounds to me like your company is running a racket and you're making more than you ever have

05:01those are not our processes senator but multiple people have testified that they are in fact this

05:07really all goes back to a strategy that your company pioneered with the mackenzie company back

05:11in the 90s isn't that right let's just take a look here at what mackenzie advised all state as early

05:17as the 1990s you went to mackenzie and asked them how can we get rich and mackenzie gave you this

05:23advice sit and wait they said delay delay delay it's a zero-sum economic game there can only be

05:30one winner and the winner is going to be all state it's not going to be the policy holders and then

05:33good hands or boxing gloves mackenzie suggests all state make a low offer on a claim like you did to

05:39miss miguel and then if the policy owner has the temerity to protest you go after him hard just like you did

05:46to her her home hasn't had one lick of work done on it not one lick and yet you sit here today and

05:54say you're sorry she feels badly about it i mean this this is really your strategy is it not and

05:59it's made your company just filthy rich that report is over 25 years old we've had you've implemented

06:05it to the t in those 25 years we've had multiple departments of insurance uh indicate that this is not

06:11uh an issue or or we're doing anything untowards what do you mean it's not an issue you're saying

06:18that you don't follow mackenzie's advice that's not the way we handle claims you've never done it this

06:23way you didn't go and seek their advice i've been at all state for about a year and a half i can't speak

06:27to what oh 25 years ago i see this all predates you you don't know anything about it i don't know

06:32anything about the mackenzie oh of course of course right deny delay right it's the same tactics over

06:40and over let me ask you do you ever engage in retaliation for employees who come before committees

06:46like this one or who raise objections to what you're doing to the fraud that you're engaged in

06:50would you ever retaliate it's a hypothetical question but the answer it's actually it's not

06:53hypothetical but go ahead what's the answer would be of course not well we just heard sworn testimony

06:58from mr millican that you have retaliated against him that he has been informed by all state

07:02that he is not going to be doing any further work i see your your suits behind you are shaking your

07:07heads no all state all state didn't have any communication we never had any communication

07:12with mr millican on this subject you're under oath now just of the of of this specific we've

07:19communicated with mr millican for many times he's worked for pilot oh it sounds like now we're

07:24prevaricating no we're not now we're prevaricating so my question is have you retaliated against mr

07:29millican of course not did you tell mr millican that he won't be doing any further cases with

07:33all state not that i'm aware of not that you're aware of course not did you have you taken any

07:38you are all say taking any adverse action against mr millican ever at all no have you done that has

07:43all state ever done that against any other employee i can't answer that question i can only answer

07:49what i've done no in fact you've been sued multiple times in court after court after court for

07:55retaliation you've been sued for fraud successfully time after time after time mr fiatto i have to tell

08:02you i i just i find your testimony absolutely stunning here today i can't believe after what

08:07we've heard i can't believe after what miss miguel has been through that you would sit here and insist

08:11that everything is fine and above board i can't believe that you this this pattern of fraud that

08:18you would have nothing to say about and these outrageous profits i mean don't you think that

08:24your policyholders deserve better than this i'm not sure what the question is senator don't you

08:30think they deserve better than what you're giving them that's my question i think we do our best to

08:35service our policyholders every day oh i think you do your best to make profits and i think you're

08:40very good at it and i think your policyholders are getting the shaft senator kim

08:44like bombs too good at it and i think you're having to spend time in China with public", so that's all

09:03you can only see the thing on the limous wind because there is some street tragedy in this média win and

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