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Insurance: Unfair Insurance Claim Practices
- Assurant Insurance (formerly Fortis Insurance) Pays Dearly For Misconduct
- Buying Disability Insurance Article May Help Avoid Problems With Unfair Disability Insurance Claim Denials
- Unum Insurance, Provident Life Insurance, Paul Revere Insurance - Regulatory Settlement Details, etc.
- Independent Insurance Adjusters - Help With Insurance Claim Problems
- Insurance Bad Faith Claims on Wikipedia
News
- Thomas Pleasant Settles Homeowner Insurance Claim Case. Insurer Pays About Double What It Claimed Was Due For House Repairs
Posted on 5/17/2008 - State Farm appeals award
Posted on 12/7/2007 - Insurance Industry Stung by $11 Million R-67 Loss
Posted on 11/16/2007 - Bad-Faith Treble Damages Win in Wash. Vote
Posted on 11/10/2007 - Washington State Referendum 67 Update
Posted on 10/30/2007
Pleasant Law Blog (Insurance Claims, Medical Misakes, and Nursing Home Claims)
North Carolina Injury and Wrongful Death Attorney Thomas Waitt Pleasant's blog, facilitating commentary on North Carolina nursing home abuse, injury, neglect, and wrongful death; as well as medical malpractice, medical mistakes and medical negligence. Topics also include unfair and bad faith insurance claims practices.Insurance: Unfair Insurance Claim Practices
Assurant Insurance (formerly Fortis Insurance) Pays Dearly For Misconduct
Insurance company Assurant Health Insurance pays dearly for unfair claims practice / bad faith insurance in its handling of health insurance for the plaintiff in this lawsuit. Insurance lawyer handling the lawsuit and trial argues the company formerly known as Fortis Insurance must be taught a lesson for its bad conduct.Buying Disability Insurance Article May Help Avoid Problems With Unfair Disability Insurance Claim Denials
Wrongful denial of disability insurance benefits, including long term disability benefits from companies like UNUM Insurance, Provident Insurance, CIGNA Insurance, The Hartford Insurance, John Hancock Insurance and others: this article could help you avoid unfair insurance claims practices by insurance companies.Unum Insurance, Provident Life Insurance, Paul Revere Insurance - Regulatory Settlement Details, etc.
Unum insurance / Unum provident insurance regulatory settlement for its questionable insurance claim practices and activitiesLabels: The Hartford Insurance UnumProvident
Independent Insurance Adjusters - Help With Insurance Claim Problems
Problems with insurance claims with insurance companies like Nationwide, Allstate, State Farm, Progressive, GEICO, and others, sometimes require an insurance lawyer.Insurance Bad Faith Claims on Wikipedia
Insurance bad faith claims practices and unfair claims practices lawyer comments on Wikipedia article about insurance bad faithLabels: Insurance Claim Denial
Long Term Disability Insurance Benefits Denied Unjustly?
Long Term Disability Insurance Claims Denied Unfairly and in Bad Faith by Insurance Companies like Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, The Hartford Insurance Company, Unum Provident Insurance, John Hancock Insurance, Prudential Insurance, MetLife Insurance, Travelers Insurance, Nationwide Insurance, Allstate Insurance, American Heritage Insurance, and Zurich Insurance.McKinsey Insurance Claims Documents: Allstate Insurance's "Zero Sum" game?
Allstate Insurance Company McKinsey documents regarding Allstate's alleged bad faith and unfair insurance claims practices (where an insurance company wrongfully denies a claim)Hartford Insurance Story on ABC: Bad Faith/Unfair Insurance Claims Practices? You decide...
By Thomas Pleasant, North Carolina Insurance attorney. I ran across this informative video regarding Hartford Insurance practices in cutting disability insurance benefits to what appear to be deserving disabled clients. This happens more often than people might think. Sure looks to me like unfair insurance claims practices. If you are having a problem with an insurance company involving an insurance claim, contact my office. I do free consultations on most insurance bad faith and insurance unfair claims practices cases. Whether you are having a problem with Allstate Insurance, State Farm Insurance, Farmers Insurance, Unum Providence Insurance, or The Hartford; I may be able to help you. Cal Toll Free, 888-435-7156.Labels: Insurance Claims Lawyer
Fight Bad Faith Insurance Companies Website
This website, Fight Bad Faith Insurance Companies (FBIC) has some decent information about insurance companies the site claims engage in unfair insurance claims practices. The site's "Hall of Shame" top 3 include The Hartford insurance, State Farm insurance, and Allstate insurance. I am not sure who runs this site, but perhaps it will help someone avoid finding him or herself in a bad insurance claim situation. North Carolina has some fairly strong insurance bad faith and unfair claims practices law, so if you find yourself having a problem (denied insurance claim, etc.), you might want to consult an attorney who handles insurance law. My office handles these and provides a free consultation in most insurance claim cases. The Law Offices of Thomas Waitt Pleasant, PLLC | Toll Free: 888-435-7156 | Wilmington, NC | Fayetteville NC.Insurance Claim Payment Delays: Are They Unfair?
By Thomas Waitt Pleasant, North Carolina Insurance Lawyer, Toll Free 888.435.7156. Whether an insurance company's delay in payment on an insurance claim (whether for homeowner/fire insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, or other insurance), may or may not be in bad faith. It depends upon the circumstances and reasons for the delay. An article from Risk & Insurance Online discusses this topic. I recently handled a case involving a six-month delay in the denial of a homeowner's insurance payment, after his home burned in a fire. The insurance company in that case did not even take a position in writing before jumping out and suing my client in federal court. It took several months of litigation maneuvering to get the court to allow my client to assert insurance bad faith and unfair claims practices claims; but once this was accomplished, the insurance company ended up paying a substantial settlement to my client. In that case, there was (in my opinion) no excuse for denying the insurance coverage at all, much less delaying the denial decision for approximately six months. There are more details to the story of this case, of course, but the bottom line is that insurance companies must have a legitimate, solid reason for delaying the payment of an insurance claim on an insurance policy; lest it will risk liability for insurance bad faith and/or unfair insurance claims practices. All insurance companies are subject to the laws protecting consumers from bad insurance claims handling practices. Just because your insurance company is a big insurance company, you should not necessarily be sure that bad faith delays won't happen to you. Whether your company is State Farm, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, Unum, USAA, GEICO, Allstate, Prudential, or any other large insurance company, the same obligations are owed to you as a policyholder. If you are having trouble with your insurance company paying what it owes you, contact my office for a free case consultation/evaluation. Toll Free 888.435.7156.Labels: Insurance Bad Faith
Would Your Insurance Company Sue You? It Can and Does Happen.
By Thomas Waitt Pleasant, North Carolina Unfair Insurance Colaims Practices Attorney. Toll Free 888.435.7156. Attorneys are seeing an increase in the insurance claim tactic by insurance companies whereby they simply sue their own insured/policyholder, rather than just deny the claim. This is a particularly abusive and unfair tactic in my mind. This is not necessarily a new insurance company tactic, but it seems to be on the increase by a number of big-name insurance companies. Technically, the insurance company may have the legal right to do this under most states' declaratory judgment laws, but the technical right to handle an insurance claim this way does not necessarily make the tactic fair or in good faith. In my opinion, this conduct is without question in bad faith. A typical scenario might be that, after you submit your insurance claim (whether for fire damage to your house, for medical insurance, cancer insurance, etc.), the insurance company decides it thinks there is no coverage. Rather than simply deny the claim in writing with the reasons for the denial, as they relate to the insurance policy provisions (as many states' unfair claims practices laws requires), you get served with a lawsuit. If your insurance company sues you, you should get an insurance attorney immediately. Once you are sued, deadlines will apply to your lawyer's filing of a proper response to the lawsuit, and how this is done can have a dramatic effect on the outcome of your case. If the insurance company did not actually handle your claim properly (for example, by failing or refusing to thouroughly and objectively evaluate your insurance claim), your lawyer should file counterclaims (a countersuit) for unfair claims practices, bad faith, and, probably, several other types of claims. I generally provide free consultations to people who have been sued by their own insurance company. Contact my office Toll Free at 888.435.7156.Incredible Allstate Insurance
Allstate Insurance is appearing in the news a lot lately, and in an unfavorable light. Several articles on my website library attest to the problems this company has.Labels:
On Insurance Claim Fairness
When considering bringing a bad faith lawsuit, remember that what this is all about is fairness. If someone as consulted an insurance lawyer because his or her insurance company has violated unfair claims practices statutes, or acts in bad faith, or otherwise mishandles an insurance claim; that client is put in a bad position. Now, because this person has had to involve an attorney in order to get paid on the claim, that attorney will have to be paid for his or her time. When an insurance company comes out and decides to pay only after the policyholder hires a lawyer, it does not make the policyholder "whole." At that point, the policyholder is entitled to "extra contractual damages," or, damages beyond what was owed contractually under the policy. For one thing, that policyholder now has attorney fees to pay (if not paid out of pocket already). Also, that policyholder may be entitled to additional damages based on the delays and other conduct involved in the mishandling of the claim. It happens very frequently that an insurance company delays or denies a claim, then coincidentally decides to pay it once the policyholder hires a lawyer. What I try to do as an insurance lawyer is help people understand these issues, and analyze the appropriateness of their claim and the likelihood of recovering damges beyond those owed on the insurance policy itself. I think it is good advice to say that policyholders/claimants should make absolutely sure they are doing everything possible to comply with the policy requirements and cooperate with the insurance company. The worst thing that can happen is that you will get paid.Labels:
Insurance Law: $8.5M Verdict Against State Farm Upheld
A Missouri court of appeals recently upheld a verdict worth nearly $8.5 million against State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. The court held that State Farm Insurance Company denied a stolen-car insurance claim filed by a Kansas City policyholder. State Farm accused the policyholder of stealing the car, and later ushed to have county prosecutors file criminal charges against the customer and an acquaintance. From reading this decision, it seems pretty clear that the insurance company did not give this claimant the benefit of the doubt. Actually, the record in the case reflects that State Farms went out of its way to ignore evidence that tended to show that the insurance claimant was not guilty. This is an interesting case for insurance lawyers, particularly those handling insurance unfair claims practices or insurance bad faith cases. There is more to the story. The story was reported by Portfolio.com on 1-8-08, and can be read at:
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/local-news/&&&&kansascity/
2008/01/08/appeals-court-upholds-85m-verdict-against-state-farm
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Insurance Law: Allstate Would Rather Pay $25,000 PER DAY than Release McKinsey Documents
The AAJ News digest recently reported that Florida has banned Allstate from even writing any new business in that state, due to Allstates defiant refusal to turn over the infamous "McKinsey Documents" that tend to show institutional insurance bad faith at Allstate. These are the documents that show how McKinsey, hired as consultants to improve Allstate's financial performance, showed Allstate how to save money by systematically and improperly, in the opinion of many, by cutting insurance claim payouts and treating claimants unfairly. Clearly, Allstate realizes that North Carolina insurance lawyers (and other insurance lawyers throughout the country) will benefit dramatically from having these documents in insurance unfair claims practice and insurance bad faith cases. These documents show the "why" behind the unfair insurance claims practices in many cases, and are apparently explosive enough to justify to Allstate (financially) not only paying a huge daily fine; but also to lose the revenue and profits from selling new policies in Florida. If these documents are available to insurance lawyers in other insurance claims cases, jurors may be more likely to punish Allstate for what can be perceived as corporate greed at the expense of its policyholders.
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Insurance Companies Act in Bad Faith When They Set Goals for Cancellations or Pay Bonuses Based on Cutting Claims
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the State of California fined Health Net Inc. over $1 million for setting goals for its adjusters based on the cancellation of benefits. Apparently, Health Net also paid bonuses at least partly based on how many policy holders were dropped and the money saved as a result. In the insurance law realm, doing this sort of thing is not acceptable, and in most cases, in my opinion, likely constitutes insurance bad faith and may also violate the applicable unfair insurance claims practices laws (in North Carolina and other states). Insurance companies are certainly entitled to make money, but on the claims side, claims adjusters and those with the power to cut benefits cannot be given incentives to stop benefits, reduce coverages, or deny claims. These kinds of incentive programs are not new: California also fined disability insurance giant UNUM Provident several years ago (somewhere around $15 million), in part, I believe, for engaging in some of the same types of activities. This Health Net scandal appears to be more of the same in the way of insurance bad faith and insurance unfair claims practices.
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Insurance Unfair Claims Legal Victory Versus Fireman's Fund Insurance
This story should give wronged insurance policyholders some encouragement; and insurance companies pause. After a long fight, a Montana jury saw through this insurance company's tactics, and used its power to right the wrong. Sadly, this kind of story is not uncommon in the realm of insurance claims. Insurance lawyers and their clients must sometimes endure substantial delay in getting fair treatment on an insurance claim. Fortunately, this insurance bad faith lawyer was able to stick it out. This kind of conduct is not limited to other states, of course; insurance companies sometimes adjust insurance claims in a similar manner in North Carolina.Unfairly Delayed Insurance Claim Payments Can Result in Large Insurance Damages Award
This link leads to a story about Montana's largest insurance "bad faith" or unfair claims practices verdict. When an insurance company is denying or delaying insurance money unfairly, that conduct can lead to this sort of result: a $5.3 million verdict for the insured policyholder. In this case, the delayed payment resulted in the policyholder's inability to get medical treatment for personal injuries sustained in a car accident. These kinds of problems have a real impact on people who have been hurt in accidents. If you are having a problem with an insurance company, contact my office. I am a North Carolina insurance attorney, and can help.Allstate, Unum, AIG, State Farm, Conseco, Wellpoint, Farmers, United Health, Torchmark, and Liberty Mutual Top Ten Worst Insurance Companies List
The link embedded in the title to this blog will take you to a recently compiled report concerning what AAJ (The American Association for Justice) has entitled "The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America." Not suprisingly, Allstate, Unum, and State Farm are on the list, as are AIG, Conseco, Wellpoint, Farmers, United Health, Torchmark, and Liberty Mutual. If you have had a bad insurance claims experience with any of these companies, you might need an unfair claims practices attorney. If you are in North Carolina, I can help. If you are in another state, I can possibly still help via the association of out-of-state counsel. Call my office toll free at 888-435-7156 to see if we can assist you with your unfair insurance claims practices case.Labels: Insurance Claims Lawyer
Unum Provident Defrauded the Government, Jury Finds
By North Carolina Insurance lawyer Thomas Pleasant. Here's a different twist on insurance company misconduct: Unum Provident was just found to have threatened its policyholders into filing for government disability benefits. Unum, the largest disability insurance company in the United States, evidently threatened to cut benefits if certain disability insurance policyholders refused to seek these government disability benefits. The article can be read at http://www.examiner.com/p-248458~Jury_Finds_Insurance_Giant_Unum_Defrauded_the_U_S_.html. This is a twist on traditiona unfair insurance claims practices, or insurance bad faith, but it's unfair and bad nonetheless. For more information on insurance bad faith, go to http://www.pleasantlaw.com/practice_areas/insurance-unfair-insurance-claim-practices.cfm. Contact me, a North Carolina insurance attorney, at www.PleasantLaw.com.Labels: Insurance Claims Lawyer UnumProvident
Insurance Claim Tactics Exposed Again by AAJ - Read "Tricks of the trade: How Insurance Companies Deny, Delay, Confuse and Refuse"
By North Carolina insurance attorney Thomas W. Pleasant. This report can be read online by clicking the link in the title. This report is a follow up on the report done previously by the American Association for Justice (AAJ), "The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America." The report details why so many people are hurt by their insurance companies, and why they often eventually have to hire insurance lawyers to help them get paid on their insurance claims. Legitimate claims are, in fact, often subjected to this delay, denial tactic. If you have an insurance issue, whether a disability insurance issue, a homeowner insurance issue, a fire insurance issue, or any other kind of insurance claim problem, you can contact my office for a free consultation and/or case review. In many of these insurance cases, there is a chance that your insurance company has denied your insurance claim in bad faith, and may have committed unfair insurance claims practices. For more information, you can check out the practice areas at the homepage of my website, www.pleasantlaw.com. My office can be reached Toll Free at 888-435-7156, and we are available to help with these cases in most places in North Carolina, including Raleigh, Wilmington and Fayetteville. We can come to meet you if you are in need of help with an insurance claim or dispute.Labels: Insurance Bad Faith
Court Confirms Serious Disability Insurance Unfair Claims Practices of Unum and Paul Revere
By North Carolina Insurance Claim Attorney Thomas W. Pleasant. Clinton Merrick sued Paul Revere Life Insurance Company, Unumprovident Corporation (doing business as Unum Life Insurance Company of America and Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company) over disability insurance benefits. The case has a long history, but recently came to fruition through a United States District Court decision (in NV), whereby the judge affirmed a recent verdict in favor of Mr. Merrick, and apparently actually increased the verdict to the constitutional 9:1 ratio (between compensatory and punitive damages), up to a total of $26,394,765. The case was handled by Friedman Rubin & White, excellent insurance lawyers who handle insurance bad faith and unfair claims practices cases accross the country. I have had the pleasure of working with these folks, and can attest to their skill. If you have had trouble with Unum or any other insurance company (whether for a disability insurance claim, a homeowner or fire insurance claim, or any other kind of insurance claim), and you think the insurance company has acted unfairly, contact my office for a free case review. I will consider cases in any area of North Carolina, and we will do our best to make the process easy for you (coming to you if necessary). We also have offices in Raleigh, Fayetteville, and Wilmington North Carolina. Call Toll Free 888.435.7156. For more information on insurance unfair claims practices, see my resources page on my website at http://www.pleasantlaw.com/resources.cfm.Labels: UnumProvident
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Insurance: Unfair Insurance Claim Practices
- What if my insurance company says that my claim is not covered due to the specific provision?
- I am not sure as to the extent of my coverage, have not read my policy and not sure if my claim is covered. Does this mean I cannot file my claim?
- My insurance company has offered an unfair settlement. What can I do?