Cincinnati Personal Injury Lawyer - Bad Faith

Insurance Companies Will Be There? For whom?

Brett Goodson — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:17:42 GMT

It was impossible to turn on the radio, a television or go online this weekend and not see the news. Michael Jackson, the king of pop himself, died at the age of 50. The headlines were everywhere, but so it seems, was something else. A commercial (see below) appeared on all the major news networks during what seemed to be every commercial break. It features a young Michael Jackson, during his Jackson 5 days, singing “I’ll Be There” and it’s doubtful the relation to the major story of the day was purely coincidental. If you haven’t seen it yet, the commercial is for a major insurance provider and features images of people who appear to have just suffered a devastating loss and the insurance company coming to the rescue. It also includes images of candle light vigils, soldiers returning home presumably from Iraq or Afghanistan, and cancer benefits, among other things.

Commercial

Perhaps I’m too cynical, but being familiar with the insurance industry’s unwritten policy of, “Deny, Delay, Refuse & Confuse,” I’d like to take this opportunity to suggest some new lyrics that may be a bit more appropriate for an insurance company commercial:

I’ll be there (to instruct contractors to alter damage reports and undervalue claims in Oklahoma following a tornado and in Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina so the company can refuse coverage to policy holders).

I’ll be there (to suddenly refuse coverage, after providing it for 8 years, to a boy with a crippling neurological condition that forces him to function at the level of an infant based on a report by a obstetrician/gynecologist).

Just call my name, and I’ll be there (to initially deny a claim for a liver transplant, stating it was not “appropriate,” only to approve the transplant mere hours before the teenage patient died from her illness).

Granted, the Jackson 5 version is catchier, but as far as insurance companies go, the above version may be more accurate. Insurance companies have their "good hands" out to collect your premium but put on the boxing gloves if you ever need to make a claim.

Don't allow yourself to be cheated by insurance company claims practices. You have rights which can be enforced in a court of law.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Goodson

Allstate Named as Worst Insurance Company in the U.S.

Alison De Villiers — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:48:24 GMT

A recent study named Allstate as the worst insurance company in America. It attributes Allstate's worst of the worst status to their shareholder over policyholder attitude. Other insurance companies topping the list are Unum, AIG, and State Farm. All of the companies are known for denying claims, delaying payment, and generally making things difficult for those making claims.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Alison De Villiers

Auto Insurance Carrier Treating Insureds Unfairly in Ohio

Stephanie Day — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:18:45 GMT

Imagine being involved in an auto collision caused by an uninsured driver. Naturally, you would look to your auto insurance carrier to cover your injuries via your uninsured motorist coverage and medical payment (med-pay) or personal injury protection (PIP) benefits for which you've been paying premiums. Assume amongst promises of good claims handling, you go unrepresented by an attorney and sign medical release authorizations so your insurance carrier can get medical information directly from your treating physicians.

Suppose your carrier asks your treating physicians whether the treatment they've rendered is related to the collision with the uninsured driver, and your physicians answer affirmatively and write a report addressed to your carrier to that effect. However, your carrier never tells you of the report.

Further imagine, several months later while your claim goes unresolved, your auto insurance carrier hires one of its doctors to do a "document review" of your medical records. Maybe all the necessary records are provided to the doctor, or maybe they are not. Surprisingly, your insurance carrier's doctor says there is no relationship between the injury and the collision. Your insurance carrier then denies your uninsured motorist claim based on its doctor's "document review" opinions.

You are still never told of your treating physician's opinion that your injuries are directly related to the collision. Only after hiring an attorney do you learn of it. This very scenario is occurring here in Ohio and other states. Insureds are forced to bring bad faith claims against their insurance carrier to try to secure benefits rightfully due them. In fact, State Farm is currently being investigated for alleged sham medical exams and document reviews. There is also a lawsuit pending against State Farm in the state of New York under the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) for alleged scientifically dishonest reports in order to terminate benefits of its insureds.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Stephanie Day

Grange Insurance Company May Settle Bad Faith Class Action Suit Relating to Use of Colossus

Alison De Villiers — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:31:17 GMT

Grange Insurance Company has proposed a nationwide bad faith class action settlement for Grange insureds who submitted UM/UIM bodily injury claims, pursuant to Grange auto policies between January 1, 1999 and December 12, 2007. Those affected must submit claims for consideration by April 3, 2008.

The lawsuit against Grange alleges that Grange underpaid people for UM/UIM bodily injury claims by using a computer program known as COLOSSUS, or other programs known as Claims Outcome Advisor and InjuryIQ. Specifically, Grange underpaid UM/UIM bodily injury claims through the use of COLOSSUS and conspired with others to reduce the amounts paid for general damages for bodily injury claims submitted under the UM/UIM portion of auto policies.

Bad faith actions like this one reveal the insurance industry's continued attempts to take money away from policyholders and put it into the pockets of the shareholders. The victims in this case are Grange's own policyholders, who paid premiums to Grange. Grange owes a duty of good faith to policyholders and should not work against them when they seek fair compensation for bodily injuries.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Alison De Villiers

Requested Allstate Files Could Show Bad Faith

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 01:14:01 GMT

Secret Allstate documents - coined the "McKinsey documents" - allegedly show how the company has intentionally made low-ball claim offers to its customers for years, netting Allstate billions of dollars.

But the McKinsey documents have yet to be seen. These documents could be potentially devastating to them in insurance bad faith litigation.

Trial lawyers who have previously sued Allstate have sought copies of the documents and Allstate has reluctantly turned them over to lawyers by subpoena. However, every time a judge has prohibited lawyers from distributing them to the media by protective order.

Florida now is demanding the documents from Allstate and other insurers in a broad-based investigation of the companies' business practices, including alleged collusion with other insurers and their claims handling procedures.
The issue came to a head last week, when Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty suspended Allstate's right to issue new insurance policies in Florida. A judge later lifted McCarty's suspension.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole