Insurance Company Tactics Add to Americans' Financial Hardships

Washington, DC—Insurers are increasingly using tough tactics against cash-strapped consumers to boost profits, according to a new report that investigates claims data, policies, and news accounts.
The report details tactics that target policyholders, insurance companies that are engaging in these practices, and what consumers can do to prevent abuses and fight back.

The current economic turmoil, which is greatly affecting the insurance sector, will likely spark insurers to use these tactics to maximize their bottom lines.

“Insurance companies are preying on cash-strapped consumers with tough tactics to increase profits,” said American Association for Justice CEO Jon Haber. “The current challenges facing American families are only compounded when their insurance company plays hardball in their greatest time of need.”

The tactics insurance companies use against consumers include:

Denying Claims: Some of the nation’s biggest insurance companies – Allstate, AIG, and State Farm among others – have systematically denied valid claims in an attempt to boost their bottom lines. These companies have rewarded employees who successfully denied claims, replaced employees who would not, and when all else failed, engaged in outright fraud to avoid paying claims.

Delaying until Death: Many insurance companies routinely delay claims, even going as far as to lock paperwork in safes, knowing full well that many policyholders will simply give up. In the words of one regulator, “the bottom line is that insurance companies make money when they don’t pay claims… They’ll do anything to avoid paying, because if they wait long enough, they know the policyholders will die.”

Confusing Consumers: Insurance contracts are some of the densest and incomprehensible contracts a consumer is ever likely to see. More than half of all states have enacted “plain English” laws for consumer contracts, yet many Americans still do not fully understand the risks they are subject to.

Discriminating By Credit Score: Insurance companies are increasingly using credit reports to dictate the premiums you pay, or whether you can even get insurance in the first place. The practice penalizes senior citizens with little credit, those who responsibly pay bills every month with cash or check, or those who have suffered financial crisis through no fault of their own.

Abandoning the Sick: Health insurers looking to cut costs have taken to retroactively canceling, or rescinding, the policies of people whose conditions have become expensive to treat. Some insurance companies have even offered bonuses to employees who meet “cancellation goals” – cancer patients in the middle of chemotherapy have even been targeted.

Canceling for a Call: Many people are rightly reluctant to make small claims on their home insurance for fear their insurance company will raise their premiums. But few realize that insurance companies often refuse to renew a policy just for making a phone call. Often an insurance company will count an inquiry over the phone as the same as a claim, and then they will do everything in their power to drop you.

(This source of this article is www.justice.org).

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David E. Schreiber
Mayerson Schreiber McDevitt, P.C.
www.mayerson.com
Since 1963
Serving: Pottstown, Phoenixville, Royersford, Limerick, Boyertown, Spring City, Gilbertsville, Birdsboro

What the insurance company knows that you don't

The insurance company gets to work immediately to try reduce the amount they will have to pay you for your injury. While you are in pain and dealing with the injury their negligent driver caused, they have adjusters that are busy preserving the evidence that will help them. For example, they will get witness statements.

The insurance company knows that the odds are that they will pay you much less if you do not have a lawyer. (Statistics kept by the insurance industry indicate that they pay 2 to 3 times MORE if you have a lawyer). Worse, they will delay paying you because the longer they hold the money, the more they can get in interest on the money they haven't paid you.

At Mayerson Schreiber McDevitt, P.C., we specialize in injury law. Our results, see them listed at www.mayerson.com, show we know how to overcome the insurance company's tactics to get you the most fair result-- what the insurance company doesn't want to have to pay. Our reputation in the community is excellent. For five decades we have fought to get our clients what they deserve from the insurance company.

David E. Schreiber
Mayerson Schreiber McDevitt, P.C.
www.mayerson.com
610-948-4800
Since 1963

Serving Pottstown, Boyertown, Spring City, Birdsboro, Phoenixville, Gilbertsville, Royersford, Limerick

Most common mistakes when trying to settle your injury case with the insurance company

- Giving the insurance company too much information

- Not getting the right medical treatment

- Not promptly gathering the critical or necessary information

- Failing to collect from all available sources

- Settling your case too soon

David Schreiber
Mayerson Schreiber McDevitt, P.C.
www.mayerson.com
610-948-4800
Serving: Pottstown, Boyertown, Spring City, Limerick, Phoenixville, Birdsboro, Gilbertsville, Douglassville

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For 46 years, we have fought to make the Pottstown, Phoenixville, Limerick, Royersford, Birdsboro area communities safer for you. We have volunteered our time for local charities.

We have consulted on cases in many other states, but we are committed locally.

Why drive 40 or 50 miles each way in traffic and waste money on gas and parking to see the 'big city' lawyer? The Specialists at Mayerson Schreiber McDevitt, P.C. are right down the street.

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