Posted On: April 19, 2006, 10:57 am CDT

Posted By: Underwriter

Interesting point, Roger. I've seen several posts where you've included the same bits of information (no slam on you, it's obvious you're passionate about this issue).

I'd offer a couple of things. I know that some companies (I can only speak knowledgably of my company of course) add in the "profit" component when adjusting claims. When I look at claims info, there's a line-item for "profit and overhead" for the person doing the repairs and/or work on the property. This info is more obvious on an auto claims adjustment, though, I will admit that.

I would add one more thing regarding the story of the Allstate claims rep who says he routinely screwed people for years. This is just one guy -- I would never agree that every single company does the right thing 100% of the time. Nor would I posit that all adjusters (or claims managers) are ethical. Likewise, not all agents are ethical, and (not) surprisingly, customers think nothing of padding their claims to "make up for their deductible." I am not so sure that we should offer a blanket painting of the insurance industry as crooks/thieves looking to cut a buck or two.

I would agree that companies are looking to limit expenses and exposures as much as possible (we do have to return a shareholder profit -- i.e. we aren't a NPO). What I am saying is I would like to see some specific examples where there has been wholesale defrauding of customers.