Allstate Insurance: Barbara Crockett

When we moved to Marin from the city in 2013, I decided it would be better to choose an insurance agent closer to our new home. We had State Farm in San Francisco, so naturally, we looked at switching to a local State Farm agent. Unfortunately, the State Farm agent we met was somewhat unprofessional and didn’t seem to be interested in our business whatsoever, so we decided to shop around.
I went to Allstate’s website to get a quote, and because they had great rates available, I took their suggestion and signed up with Ms. Crockett’s office. The signup process was quite easy, but from that point forward, my interaction with her office has been anything but.
Over the last two years, I’ve had questions at various times about our policy, and I would estimate that I’ve sent Ms. Crockett’s office at least half a dozen emails and left at least as many voicemail messages (several to her office staff, and two to her directly). In that time, only one of these voicemails has been returned. All other times, I have had to call the general Allstate customer service number to get questions answered about my policy. Granted, I’ve been able to get the answers eventually, but what’s the point of having a physical insurance agent if you can’t ever speak to them?
The only reason that I’ve stuck with Ms. Crockett’s office is because Allstate rates were very competitive. However, when I was informed of my policy renewal two months ago, the rates increased by almost $ 70 per month. When I called her office to ask about the rate increase, the gentleman said it was because they are automatically using a higher estimate for yearly miles driven. (This, by the way, is the only time I’ve ever actually gotten to speak with someone at the office.) When I told him that we haven’t increased yearly miles driven, he said he needed to send me forms to fill out to prove it. That was two months ago. I still haven’t received any forms, my policy just renewed at the much higher rate, and I’m tired of dealing with her office.
While I realize that the rate increase is no fault of Ms. Crockett, she and her staff have been terrible at customer communication throughout the life of my policy, and I would definitely not recommend her to anyone.