The insurer has issued a memorandum to agents in response to the newly implemented language translation criteria.
Since lawmakers in Colorado approved a statute requiring insurance businesses to provide translation services, Allstate has requested that its representatives in the state only interact with customers and clients in English.
Insurers in Colorado will be required to provide policy documentation in the same language used for advertisements starting in the new year, according to House Bill 23-1004.
Allstate reportedly sent a memo prohibiting its agents from advertising or selling insurance in any language other than English in order to meet this new rule, as reported by Colorado Newsline.
In a note dated December 8, the insurance giant Allstate stated, “You are only authorised to advertise, prospect, quote, or sell property and casualty policies on behalf of Allstate in English.” “Anything related to Allstate conducted in a language other than English is hereby forbidden.”
Allstate has announced that it will be discontinuing its Spanish-language agency websites and automated Spanish-language phone options as part of this move.
Representative Elizabeth Velasco, who was a co-author of the law, argued that this decision goes against their initial intentions.
“We’re alerting them to the gap, and their first response is to exacerbate it,” Velasco stated in an interview with Colorado Newsline. “The idea was for these documents to be translated into the community’s language.”
About sixteen percent of Coloradans do not speak English at home, according to the state’s 2022 census. According to data provided by the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI), Allstate holds around 4% of the market share for property and liability insurance in the state.
It will be exceedingly challenging for insurers to translate all required documents by the time the measure takes effect on January 1, 2024, according to Carole Walker, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA).
She said to Colorado Newsline that insurance companies require a more practical timeframe to execute a substantial shift and that this situation is a result of the legislation’s attempt to assist individuals being undermined by establishing an unachievable legal standard.
The time required to translate policy materials into Spanish might be two to four years, according to Walker. Plus, the majority of policyholders still consult with agents to clarify the ins and outs of their coverage, regardless of the wording used to write the contract.
“At this time, we are unaware of any harm that has been proven,” she continued. “People who speak languages other than English are being catered to.”
To make it clear that customer service agents who speak languages other than English or who show signs in languages other than English do not qualify as ads under the law, the DOI published an emergency regulation in October.
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