Insurance Company Tricks
How Some Insurance Companies Deny, Delay,
Defend, Confuse, and Refuse

In order to increase profits and employee bonuses, some insurance company adjusters and insurance companies have done the following:

 

  • Attempt to obtain an admission (sometimes recorded) that the insured was party at fault in order to reduce the amount paid.
  • Discourage the insured from consulting with an attorney to protect his or her rights. The most common technique is to state that an attorney will receive a percentage that does not have to be paid because the insurance company will treat the insured fairly.
  • If you are seriously injured, attempt to contact you and record a statement while you are in the hospital taking strong medication for pain (e.g., morphine). Under such circumstances, it is easy for a trained adjuster to obtain a recorded statement that will compromise your right to compensation.
  • During the recorded interview, if your explanation of what happened is favorable to you, the adjuster will interrupt you constantly in order to confuse your explanation or make it less effective if used at a later date. They will also attempt to change the subject by interrupting if it suits their purpose.
  • If you are seriously injured, they may attempt to settle very quickly before the total extent of your injuries has been determined. They fully understand that severe medical problems often do not become evident for many months.
  • If an injury is life threatening, they may delay until after the injured insured is deceased. Often, family members devastated by the loss of a loved one become push overs for low settlements. In other cases, older people who die may have no close relatives to follow up on a claim. In these cases, insurance companies are able to avoid paying anything.
  • Attempt to convince a prospective insurance customer that the policy being discussed covers everything, and when a claim is later made, that the policy covers nothing.
  • Captive agents will often discourage clients from making legitimate claims, warning them that the insurance company may decide to increase the premium rate or decide not to renew the coverage as a result of the claim.
  • Delaying accident claims on the excuse that they cannot find necessary witnesses when they are not doing what is reasonable to find them.
  • Blaming your injury on a preexisting condition when your preexisting condition is not material or has minor relevance.
  • Claiming your accident and injuries were caused by your failure to maintain certain equipment.
  • Using the fact that you did not request medical care at the scene of the accident as justification for claiming your injury was not serious.
  • Insurance companies sometimes establish contests among insurance adjusters and their captive agents providing bonuses and other gifts to those who payout the lowest percentage of insurance proceeds. This obviously creates a conflict of interest with the client. The result is predictable.

 

Many of the largest insurance companies in America have been sued in order to force them to pay claims that should have been paid routinely. The list includes Farmers, State Farm, Allstate, and many others.

Contact Michael Chulak if you need a referral to an independent insurance brokerage firm that will protect your interest not the insurance company. See Five Reasons to Use an Independent Insurance Agent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PacificBusinessAdvisors.net
Office: 818-991-5200
Direct: 818-991-9019