The only way to get these guys out of the insurance well syndrome is to get no fault insurance, any problems just contact your own insurance company nobody is at fault, but the way they turn out lawyers from law school they have got to find a way to eat and always it’s on the insurance policy. I have always wondered if they have a class in law school on this. oh yeah the mean old insurance company that doesn’t pay claims is just BS
I was not surprised to see that Florida had the highest rate in attorney usage. You should listen to commercial radio, or watch television, each commercial break has at least one attorney commercial, or an attorney referral service commercial. We had so much fraud that it was nearly impossible to sell insurance to anyone, most of the insurance companies had placed multiple restrictions on new business. It’s absolutely ridiculous the attorney commercials and the attorney referral commercials, that tell people that they should hire an attorney, to file PIP claims, and eliminating attorneys was the reason PIP was instituted.
Given the ineptitude of most insurers to kindly, politely and effectively adjust claims – mostly of a personal insurance nature, it should not be a surprise that there is and will likely be a greater involvement of lawyers involved.
It is no wonder that we refer to adjusters as, “claim’s repudiators!”
Insurers train (they fail to educate) their adjusters it seems to go out of their way to deny the claim and make the entire experience no more than a horrid and negative event. Is it any wonder that insurance companies are generally detested?
the disturbing part of this story is the lack of qualified adjusters and the tremedous load the existing adjusters have on them. as an agent selling mainly commercial trucking i can tell you that we sell a piece of paper and a promise. the promise is simple , we will provide first class service and be here when you need us 24/7 . unfortunately today we cannot make good on this promise due to the poor claim service major insurance companies are providing. dp
Its all about the money! You don’t need to be injured, just have your lawyer write a letter and you get to cash a check because its cheaper to pay a settlement than to go to court and fight it. And if it gets in the hands of a jury, it could easily exceed the very small BI limits people here in Florida carry and the insurer would be on the hook for all of it if they could have settled within policy limits, so it is absolutely cheaper to settle.
Here is another twist to ponder…Did you ever consider that the rise in the masses being “sold” personal auto insurance on line or over the phone (without benefit of an agent) might contribute to the perceived need for “someone” to represent/assist them? Most of the public doesn’t understand that they are better off in giving the insurance companies an opportunity to pay or not pay before they go running to an attorney. In cases where an agent is present in the claim, I would wager that attorney involvement is reduced. Any thoughts on this?
Absolutely. I had a client today mention hiring a Public Adjuster for his roof claim before the claim had even been reported to the carrier! I discouraged him from doing that and he has already been contacted by the carrier. If you have a good agent, they should be your advocate. Not an attorney or Public Adjuster who delays claim settlement and jacks up claim costs because they get paid a percentage of the claim.
Eagirl, good point. A knowledgeable agent can facilitate the claims process but so many carriers today don’t want the agent involved. When’s the last time a carrier came to you with specific information on how to best assist the insured and the carrier with claims procedures. Your company field sales representative usually knows nothing about claims. If fact, if an insured reports a claim directly, the majority of carriers do not have a smooth or timely way to notify the agent.
As a settlement negotiator for a law firm I find that the insurance company’s questionable tactic of trying to settle a BI claim immediately for a low amount of money before adequate diagnosis and treatment has been established is the #1 overwhelming reason claimants call our firm. Only 20%, or less, of our calls are from claimants who have not called the insurance company yet. 65%-70% of our auto accident intake calls come from claimants who have tried to deal with the insurance carrier already and are feeling bullied and intimidated into accepting low offers before they are even sure of what the extent of the injuries are. If insurance carriers and adjusters would slow down and give claimants the opportunity to treat, more claimants would be willing to handle the process themselves. Another 5% of our calls come from people who are getting no response from the insurance adjusters at all. The fact is: as long as insurance companies continue to conduct claims with the mind set of resolving them for the least amount of money possible, personal injury attorneys will always be needed. Once the insurance company stops “licking their chops” when they hear that a person is handling their own claim and begins assessing and offering settlements commensurate to the damage caused directly to the claimant, we will be out of jobs. You may view personal injury lawyers as greedy and uncaring, and in many cases you would be right. But keep in mind, that they would not need to exist if insurance companies weren’t just as greedy and uncaring.
I have worked for a few different insurance companies over the last 28 years, most of them large household names. Never have I heard a Claims Adjuster informed to settle the claim for the lowest amount possible. At each company where I have worked, the instructions are “pay how much we owe, no more or no less.” I tire of hearing people accuse the industry of the “pay as low as you can” tactic without evidence being provided. Perhaps some companies use that tactic, but I have never seen it in action.
Sorry Texas this doesn’t fly, your firm is not working these cases probono. I also assume your firm has your own crew of medical people to decide treatment yes? Insurance companies want to pay all just claims promptly and reject all unjust claims firmly, now what they settle for xx dollars and oh that is not enough claimant wants more now what then in comes the attorney firm and they start pumping the money out of the policy well, so a small claim is now a big one, the ones licking their chops is the law firm, they relish in pumping out the money from the bad old insurance company.
When it is all said and done once your firm sucks off their percentage the claimants get the same or less than what the insurance company was offering. You want to sue for anything you pay for your lawyer I pay for mine everybody pays up front, no contingency fees.
common Texas get real!!!
There was a study done about 10 years on auto claims specifically and they found that the claimants who got attorneys had a lower net payment to them than claimants who handled the claim themselves. If the insurance company pays the attorney- represented claimant 115% of what the claimant would have gotten without a lawyer, the claimant still loses, since most lawyers take 25-30% of the settlement.
Why would you “settle” a BI claim? Aren’t those just medical bills? Oh, wait, you’re talking about people who want to get rich from an accident. This isn’t the lottery, honey; move along.
Hey Lawyer Guy – do you expect insurance companies to pay as MUCH as possible on a claim? Of course they are going to pay the least amount possible. What a stupid comment!
And since you’re getting a percentage of the amount paid, it is in your interest to prolong “treatment”, jack up specials, and be an overall pain in the adjuster’s ass.
@Texas,so if the client comes to you because they were offered bottom dollar by the insurance company explain to me how you guys help. Because the study showed that the client ie the “injured” person normally gets less than if they went at it alone.
Here is another thing to consider…overpaying for claims increases the amount of money the insurance companies need to collect. Consumers complain about the cost of insurance, but who do they think pays the inflated claim value and attorney’s fees? In the end, we all do.
The only way to get these guys out of the insurance well syndrome is to get no fault insurance, any problems just contact your own insurance company nobody is at fault, but the way they turn out lawyers from law school they have got to find a way to eat and always it’s on the insurance policy. I have always wondered if they have a class in law school on this. oh yeah the mean old insurance company that doesn’t pay claims is just BS
No fault doesn’t help. There is at least one attorney here who advertises relentlessly on television who just gets you a check for your PIP limit.
I was not surprised to see that Florida had the highest rate in attorney usage. You should listen to commercial radio, or watch television, each commercial break has at least one attorney commercial, or an attorney referral service commercial. We had so much fraud that it was nearly impossible to sell insurance to anyone, most of the insurance companies had placed multiple restrictions on new business. It’s absolutely ridiculous the attorney commercials and the attorney referral commercials, that tell people that they should hire an attorney, to file PIP claims, and eliminating attorneys was the reason PIP was instituted.
Given the ineptitude of most insurers to kindly, politely and effectively adjust claims – mostly of a personal insurance nature, it should not be a surprise that there is and will likely be a greater involvement of lawyers involved.
It is no wonder that we refer to adjusters as, “claim’s repudiators!”
Insurers train (they fail to educate) their adjusters it seems to go out of their way to deny the claim and make the entire experience no more than a horrid and negative event. Is it any wonder that insurance companies are generally detested?
You need to find a new insurer. I’ve not had ANY problems getting claims paid.
the disturbing part of this story is the lack of qualified adjusters and the tremedous load the existing adjusters have on them. as an agent selling mainly commercial trucking i can tell you that we sell a piece of paper and a promise. the promise is simple , we will provide first class service and be here when you need us 24/7 . unfortunately today we cannot make good on this promise due to the poor claim service major insurance companies are providing. dp
Its all about the money! You don’t need to be injured, just have your lawyer write a letter and you get to cash a check because its cheaper to pay a settlement than to go to court and fight it. And if it gets in the hands of a jury, it could easily exceed the very small BI limits people here in Florida carry and the insurer would be on the hook for all of it if they could have settled within policy limits, so it is absolutely cheaper to settle.
Here is another twist to ponder…Did you ever consider that the rise in the masses being “sold” personal auto insurance on line or over the phone (without benefit of an agent) might contribute to the perceived need for “someone” to represent/assist them? Most of the public doesn’t understand that they are better off in giving the insurance companies an opportunity to pay or not pay before they go running to an attorney. In cases where an agent is present in the claim, I would wager that attorney involvement is reduced. Any thoughts on this?
Actually, that makes sense.
Absolutely. I had a client today mention hiring a Public Adjuster for his roof claim before the claim had even been reported to the carrier! I discouraged him from doing that and he has already been contacted by the carrier. If you have a good agent, they should be your advocate. Not an attorney or Public Adjuster who delays claim settlement and jacks up claim costs because they get paid a percentage of the claim.
Eagirl, good point. A knowledgeable agent can facilitate the claims process but so many carriers today don’t want the agent involved. When’s the last time a carrier came to you with specific information on how to best assist the insured and the carrier with claims procedures. Your company field sales representative usually knows nothing about claims. If fact, if an insured reports a claim directly, the majority of carriers do not have a smooth or timely way to notify the agent.
As a settlement negotiator for a law firm I find that the insurance company’s questionable tactic of trying to settle a BI claim immediately for a low amount of money before adequate diagnosis and treatment has been established is the #1 overwhelming reason claimants call our firm. Only 20%, or less, of our calls are from claimants who have not called the insurance company yet. 65%-70% of our auto accident intake calls come from claimants who have tried to deal with the insurance carrier already and are feeling bullied and intimidated into accepting low offers before they are even sure of what the extent of the injuries are. If insurance carriers and adjusters would slow down and give claimants the opportunity to treat, more claimants would be willing to handle the process themselves. Another 5% of our calls come from people who are getting no response from the insurance adjusters at all. The fact is: as long as insurance companies continue to conduct claims with the mind set of resolving them for the least amount of money possible, personal injury attorneys will always be needed. Once the insurance company stops “licking their chops” when they hear that a person is handling their own claim and begins assessing and offering settlements commensurate to the damage caused directly to the claimant, we will be out of jobs. You may view personal injury lawyers as greedy and uncaring, and in many cases you would be right. But keep in mind, that they would not need to exist if insurance companies weren’t just as greedy and uncaring.
I have worked for a few different insurance companies over the last 28 years, most of them large household names. Never have I heard a Claims Adjuster informed to settle the claim for the lowest amount possible. At each company where I have worked, the instructions are “pay how much we owe, no more or no less.” I tire of hearing people accuse the industry of the “pay as low as you can” tactic without evidence being provided. Perhaps some companies use that tactic, but I have never seen it in action.
Sorry Texas this doesn’t fly, your firm is not working these cases probono. I also assume your firm has your own crew of medical people to decide treatment yes? Insurance companies want to pay all just claims promptly and reject all unjust claims firmly, now what they settle for xx dollars and oh that is not enough claimant wants more now what then in comes the attorney firm and they start pumping the money out of the policy well, so a small claim is now a big one, the ones licking their chops is the law firm, they relish in pumping out the money from the bad old insurance company.
When it is all said and done once your firm sucks off their percentage the claimants get the same or less than what the insurance company was offering. You want to sue for anything you pay for your lawyer I pay for mine everybody pays up front, no contingency fees.
common Texas get real!!!
There was a study done about 10 years on auto claims specifically and they found that the claimants who got attorneys had a lower net payment to them than claimants who handled the claim themselves. If the insurance company pays the attorney- represented claimant 115% of what the claimant would have gotten without a lawyer, the claimant still loses, since most lawyers take 25-30% of the settlement.
Why would you “settle” a BI claim? Aren’t those just medical bills? Oh, wait, you’re talking about people who want to get rich from an accident. This isn’t the lottery, honey; move along.
Hey Lawyer Guy – do you expect insurance companies to pay as MUCH as possible on a claim? Of course they are going to pay the least amount possible. What a stupid comment!
And since you’re getting a percentage of the amount paid, it is in your interest to prolong “treatment”, jack up specials, and be an overall pain in the adjuster’s ass.
You guys are leaches of the worst type.
@Texas,so if the client comes to you because they were offered bottom dollar by the insurance company explain to me how you guys help. Because the study showed that the client ie the “injured” person normally gets less than if they went at it alone.
Here is another thing to consider…overpaying for claims increases the amount of money the insurance companies need to collect. Consumers complain about the cost of insurance, but who do they think pays the inflated claim value and attorney’s fees? In the end, we all do.