Long Island Personal Injury Lawyer - Insurance Companies

More Drivers Are Uninsured As Recession Grows Deeper

Michael Levine — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 17:49:05 GMT

Chances are increasing that the next fender bender you are involved
in could be with someone without car insurance. As the recession
leaves millions of workers unemployed and pressures family budgets,
one place many are cutting is their insurance coverage.

The Insurance Research Council (IRC) estimates that by next year
nearly one in six motorists may be driving without insurance. That’s 3
million more uninsured drivers than just five years ago.

For every 1 percent increase in unemployment nationwide, the
percentage of uninsured motorists increases three-quarters of a
percentage point, IRC Vice President David Corum said. That could
result in a total of 16.1 percent by next year, an all-time high. The
rate was 13.8 percent in 2007. Based on current unemployment rate
projections, the percentage of uninsured motorists is expected to rise
to 16.1 percent in 2010.

The group examined data collected from nine insurance companies,
representing approximately 50 percent of the U.S. private passenger
auto insurance market. According to the IRC, the estimates for
uninsured motorist activity were based on a ratio of insurance claims
made by individuals who were injured by uninsured drivers to claims
made by individuals who were injured by insured drivers. The study
contains recent statistics by state on uninsured motorists claim
frequency, bodily injury liability claim frequency, and the ratio of
uninsured motorists to bodily injury claim frequencies.

New York is not in as dire shape when it comes to car insurance as it
is with the economy. The Empire State is tied for the third lowest
uninsured motorist rate at 5 percent, 4 percent behind Massachusetts. New Mexico led all states with a 29 percent uninsured motorist rate.

Travelers Cos. Inc. reports that there has recently been a mild
increase in uninsured claims and warns against dropping insurance as a
way to save money. William Pearse, the St. Paul, Minnesota company’s
vice president of product strategy and design notes that it’s equally
important to carry liability insurance that covers people in the other
car and to have uninsured motorist coverage on your policy, which
protects you if the other car is not insured. The average cost for
liability insurance in the United States is about $40 to $50 a month.
Although costs can vary, uninsured motorist coverage typically adds
from 7 percent to 10 percent to an insurance premium. Drivers without
at least liability insurance are breaking the law in all but two
states.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Levine

More Drivers Driving Without Car Insurance

Michael Levine — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:07:00 GMT

Americans have been seeking ways to cut their spending in these tumultuous economic times. One of the biggest cost casualties has been car insurance. The number of uninsured motorists nationwide has doubled in the past year from 10% to 20%, according to the online agency Insurance.com.

"Money is a little tight with people, and they decide if they need to skip on something, they'll let their insurance lapse," said Sam Belden, Vice President of Insurance.com. "It's directly attributable to the economy," he added. "And it's exacerbated by premiums also rising over the past year. When people are squeezed the most, the insurance rates are also going up."

Belden said insurance premiums have increased by 6 or 7 percent this year.

The Insurance Research Council, a group funded by the insurance industry, is expected to release a study next month showing that several hundred thousand drivers dropped their insurance in 2008, partly because of the economy and jobless rate. About 40 percent of callers who followed up on online applications this year let their policies lapse, up from 10 percent a couple of years ago.

David Corum, vice president of the council, said the study shows that a single percentage point increase in unemployment is associated with a half-point increase in uninsured drivers. Despite the hike in rates and the stumbling economy, Belden said policyholders should never let their coverage lapse. Drivers who let their policies lapse usually must pay up to a 50 percent surcharge for a new policy.

Belden said drivers should talk to their agents about various payment options suited for their income. "If you pay once every three months, the amount may look absurd," Belden said. "You can move to monthly payments to even it out. If it gets too desperate, some insurance companies take partial payments at a time. If all else fails, maybe you're with the wrong company. There's a lot of rate variation between the insurance companies out there."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Levine

5 Simple Steps To Deal With Your Insurance Carrier

Michael Levine — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:26:00 GMT

Here are some tips you can use in dealing with insurance companies:

READ YOUR POLICY CAREFULLY: You should know exactly what is covered and how to appeal a denial by your insurance company.

BE VERY CAREFUL FILLING OUT FORMS: Even if you make an honest mistake your insurance company may seize on that as a reason to retroactively deny your coverage.

DO NOT CASH A PREMIUM REFUND CHECK: If your insurance company rescinds your insurance they may send you a refund for the premiums you paid. Cashing it may be interpreted as accepting their decision.

PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING: Calling your insurance company is likely to be a frustrating experience, and you will not be able to prove anything that a company representative tells you over the phone. Keep records of all bills and correspondence.

CONTACT YOUR STATE INSURANCE DEPARTMENT: They may be able to help you. But they will not represent you in a private matter, so if all else fails you may need to consult with an attorney.

AND MOST OF ALL, DO NOT GIVE UP: Insurance companies count on you giving up. Fight for your rights.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Levine

Insurance Companies Abandoning The Sick

Michael Levine — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:50:22 GMT

You receive the devastating news that you have cancer. It is operable, and with prompt care, you have a chance to survive. You make it through the surgery and begin chemotherapy treatments. Then the insurance company suddenly cancels your insurance retroactively. The reason? They allege you lied about something on your insurance application. Now you are left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills, unable to afford the rest of your chemotherapy schedule, and facing an uncertain prognosis.

This is the situation Patsy Bates, a 51-year-old hair stylist from Gardena, California, found herself in after her health insurance was "rescinded." Bates’ health insurance company, Health Net, Inc., rescinded her policy in the middle of her treatment for breast cancer, saying she provided inaccurate information on her insurance application.

Insurers such as Health Net and Anthem Blue Cross of California have been accused of illegally retroactively canceling, or rescinding, the policies of people whose conditions are expensive to treat. The cancellation usually happens when people are in the midst of treatment and at their most vulnerable. In April 2008, attorneys sued Anthem Blue Cross to try to stop the company from rescinding insurance policies. The attorneys claimed that "the company has engaged in an egregious scheme to not only delay or deny the payment of thousands of legitimate medical claims, but also to jeopardize the health of more than 6,000 customers by retroactively canceling their health insurance when they needed it most.

Documents disclosed at Bates’ arbitration hearing revealed that Health Net rewarded employees who rescinded coverage of sick policyholders. The company paid bonuses to employees who met cancellation goals and even commended one employee for having a "banner year" when she allowed the company to avoid "$6 million in unnecessary health care expenses." Retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Sam Cianchetti, who arbitrated Bates’ case, called Health Net’s behavior "egregious," saying the company "was primarily concerned with and considered its own financial interests and gave little, if any, considerations, and concern for the interests of the insured.

Anthem Blue Cross continued to rescind the policies of chronically ill patients. The company also sent letters to physicians demanding they inform the company of any pre-existing conditions they came across when evaluating patients. Physicians were outraged. The California Medical Association forwarded the letter to state regulators complaining that the insurance company was "asking doctors to violate the sacred trust of patients to rat them out for medical information that patients would expect their doctors to handle with the utmost secrecy and confidentiality."

Anthem Blue Cross eventually settled rescission accusations for $10 million in July 2008. The company denied any wrongdoing and offered to reinstate the policies of 1,770 customers. In the reinstatement mailings, Anthem offered customers $1,000 if they agreed to drop all legal claims against the company.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Levine

Insurance Company Drops Insured As The Result Of A Phone Call

Michael Levine — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:11:33 GMT

A storm causes a water leak in your roof. You decide to call your insurance company as a result of the water leak, however you are hesitant to make a claim on your homeowners insurance.. So you decide to pay all of the expenses on your own, figuring it will be worth it over the long run.

When it comes time to renew your policy, the insurance company catches you off guard and decides to drop your coverage. You never made a claim, however the insurance company kept track of your phone call and treated it as a claim. Now you must find a new insurance company, though now one will give you coverage. Marie Wagstaff found herself in this situation after she paid for her California house repairs in 2000.

Many people are hesitant to make small claims on home insurance because they are afraid the insurance company will refuse to renew their policy. Some might think the small repairs everyone has to make are exactly what insurance is supposed to be for. Few know of the consequences of calling your insurance company. Insurance companies treat a phone call and a claim as a mark on your record. The call may even go into the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange report on your house. This is the report that realtors and banks are allowed to check to see the history of a claim.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Levine

Delaying Until Death

Michael Levine — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 18:20:47 GMT

Imagine your mother falling Ill and needing home care. Many years earlier she purchased a long-term care insurance policy and faithfully paid the premium. She never wanted to put the burden of her health care costs on her children.

You put in a claim but the insurance company never makes any payments . You call the insurance company and send them document after document. They deny the claim on the reason of "the claim being filed was too late." The denials change each time, often citing provisions in the policy that do not exist, and often contradicting previous denials.

The case of Mary Rose Derks from Montana attracted congressional attention after the New York Times highlighted her plight at the hands of insurance company Conseco. Her family had to sell their business after Conseco denied Mary’s claim for more than four years. Insurance companies embrace delay tactics to avoid paying claims. According to Mary Beth Senkewicz, a former senior executive at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), "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."

Most people file for insurance claims when they are most vulnerable. Filing a claim with your insurance company usually follows an upset to everyday life, that could involve a car accident, a tree falling on your house, or hospitalization from a serious illness. For the insurance company it is business as usual. Many insurance companies routinely delay claims to try to avoid paying. By delaying as long as possible, the insurance company knows many of its claimants will eventually give up, or in some cases die.

At AIG, claim supervisors have locked checks in safes until claimants complained, delaying payments for a year, and disposing of important correspondence during routine "pizza parties."

Other long-term care insurers, such as Conseco, have had its employees testify to a variety of tricks used to deny claims. In the words of former agent Betty Hobel, the company "made it so hard to make a claim that people either died or gave up."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Levine