If The Insurance Company is in Bad Faith -Think you're In Good Hands? Think Again. Not long ago, CNN investigative reporters uncovered damning evidence against major insurance companies such as State Farm and Allstate, which are profiting immensely by underpaying injured car accident victims, many of whom were unrepresented by a personal injury lawyer. The money the insurers were denying car accident victims would otherwise pay for the victims' doctor visits, lost wages and rehabilitation. However, new strategies adopted by the insurers include making take-it-or-leave-it offers that often don't even cover a fraction of the victim's expenses. CNN reported that when a vehicle driven by Roxanne Martinez was hit by a large SUV, she suffered damaging spine injuries. Her medical bills quickly accumulated, and she thought Allstate, the insurer of the other driver, would pay for her injuries. Three years later, after expensive doctor visits, CT scans, x-rays and a host of medical problems, Roxanne was still fighting with Allstate. The company finally offered her $15,000, a sum that did not even cover her medical expenses, much less her pain, mental anguish of not knowing whether she would be able to afford her treatment, and loss of enjoyment of life. She fought Allstate and convinced a judge to find that Allstate violated New Mexico's unfair claims practices act by offering substantially less than the amounts later awarded by a jury; by not attempting to make a prompt, fair and equitable settlement of a claim in which fault was clear. The court further found Allstate liable for malicious abuse of process in an attempt to delay or extort Martinez into accepting less than the full value of what was owed. The court awarded punitive (punishment) damages to deter Allstate from abusive claims practices in the future. Allstate's delay and wear down the victim tactic is a typical insurance company strategy used to increase profits. CNN's year-and-a-half investigation into the insurance industry found that if you are injured in a minor accident, major insurance companies will often challenge your claim, drag you into court and take years before making a reasonable offer. Often, they will not make a reasonable offer at all, instead only offering an amount significantly less than your claim is worth. Industry insiders say this results in 80-90% of injured accident victims accepting what the insurance company offers instead of fighting. Why would an insurance company, especially one that you trust and have paid significant amounts of money in premium over the years, act with such reckless disregard toward you in the event you are injured? Simple. Insurance companies profit more if they pay you less (multiplied by thousands of injury claims). Neither Allstate nor State Farm would discuss the investigation's results with CNN. However, Jim Mathis, a former insurance company insider, told CNN: "As long as the public allows this to occur, insurance companies will get richer, and people will not get a fair and reasonable settlement. Period." The math behind the insurance company's strategy is simple. Take $1,000 off of one thousand claims and you've essentially made one million dollars. Do this with every claim over a number of years, and you've made billions of dollars. Insurance companies achieve this cost-cutting through a process known as the "Three Ds":
- Deny the claim.
- Delay the claim.
- Defend their denial of the claim.
J. Price McNamara
Attorney
Losing my own brother, then my father and sister after long, disabling illnesses just a few months apart drove a career change for me. Before that experience, I never truly understood the place you’re in. I never understood the dramatic impact that receiving (or not receiving) the disability and life insurance benefits you paid for and counted on can have on your life especially when you need to focus on family and healing. What I experienced with my own family now drives the way I view my clients and my work, and I will never forget it!
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