Insurance companies, especially the big ones like Allstate, State Farm, and AIG, spend millions every year cultivating a carefully crafted image. They would have you believe that they are 100 percent on your side, rushing to provide you with the financial support you need if you suffer a devastating illness, accident, or property damage.
Sadly, the real story is not so pretty. It turns out that the insurance companies really aren’t looking out for your best interests. In fact, their main goal is to make serious profits, and they’re doing just that. The insurance industry averages profits of over $30 billion a year and is working hard to generate even bigger numbers, usually at your expense.
In its eye-opening report, “Tricks of the Trade: How Insurance Companies Deny, Delay, Confuse, and Refuse,” the American Association for Justice (AAJ) exposes many of the insurance industry’s dirty tactics, including:
- Denying valid claims and rewarding employees who successfully deny claims.
- Delaying claims until policy holders give up or pass away (this is especially bad among the long-term care insurers.)
- Confusing consumers with dense and incomprehensible contracts.
- Using credit scores to dictate what premiums people pay or whether they can even receive insurance in the first place.
- Canceling retroactively, or rescinding, the policies of people who become expensive to treat, even cancer patients in the midst of chemotherapy.
- Refusing to renew a policy after a person calls to inquire about the possibility of a claim.
The full report of insurance company dirty tricks can be viewed for free on the AAJ website at www.justice.org. If you feel like you are not being treated fairly by an insurance company, call a lawyer for a free consultation. Studies have shown that you get much better results on your cases when you hire a lawyer to represent you against an insurance company.
