Allstate Cuts Iraq Vets A Break

By Mark E. Ruquet

NU Online News Service, July 15, 2:44 p.m.EDT?While one national carrier said it would make changesto its automobile underwriting system so active duty servicemen andwomen are not punished for a lapse in coverage, other carriers havefailed to take such action, a regulator said.[@@]

Jim Poolman, North Dakota's commissioner of insurance, among thefirst to take up the cause of returning G.I.s, said, "I'm pleasedthat Allstate is following our lead in making sure they aretreating servicemen and woman appropriately and not punishing themfor noncontinuance coverage while they are on active duty in Iraqand Afghanistan. I hope other companies follow their lead."

He said while other companies have said they will make changesto accommodate service personnel, they have not followed through onthe underwriting end and made the necessary revisions to theirunderwriting systems.

"It is important for insurers to know that it is nice for themto talk the talk, but they need to change their systems to walk thewalk," he remarked.

Allstate said today it has relaxed its automobile insuranceunderwriting guidelines for U.S. servicemen and women returningfrom military deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Northbrook, Ill.-based insurer said auto insuranceapplications from U.S. military personnel whose auto insurancepolicies lapsed solely due to their active duty deployment in Iraqor Afghanistan will be treated as if auto insurance coverage hadbeen continuous during their overseas deployment.

"We don't think that returning military [personnel] should bepenalized upon returning from serving overseas, therefore we havechosen to relax our prior insurance requirement and extend the GoodHands to our soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan," saidTom Wilson, president of Allstate, in a statement.

Military personnel who were insured with Allstate prior to theirdeployment in Iraq or Afghanistan will have their policiesreinstated to the date of deployment without any lapse in coverage,the company said.

The policy change also applies to new customers, allowingservicemen and women that were not previously insured by Allstateto obtain coverage with the company provided that they had no needfor liability insurance while deployed and they actively seekliability insurance coverage within 30 days of their return to theU.S., the carrier said.

The company added that its policy changes apply to servicemenand women whose auto insurance has expired solely due to theirmilitary deployment overseas in the war. The policy does not applyto any other service personnel or situations.

Allstate is in the process of implementing the new policy amongthe various states, said a spokeswoman, and making the necessarychanges to its systems.

Leonard Brevik, executive vice president for the NationalAssociation of Professional Insurance Agents, noted that 10 stateshave requested insurers to make changes in their underwriting soservice personnel are not punished for lapses in coverage, and hehoped others would join in soon and call for the same changes.

"What Allstate has done is exactly the right thing to do," saidMr. Brevik. "These soldiers have done the most they can do for usand their country. This is the least we can do for them."