Sadly, as the country’s economy sinks further into chaos, the cases of insurance fraud escalate on both the company/agent side and the consumer side. As an independent agent, I see all manner of this behavior all the time. These people always get caught, but they all seem to think they can get away with it.
I am glad there is an organization that are combatting fraud, we need to support orgnization like this. While pointing out these slimes may or may not be good, what about the heros who report these snakes as well as those who ivestigate. My experience with this organization is they do little if anything in this area nor have any kind of a program to encourage turning in the frauds. I hope they change it as it will encourage more people to report incidents, especially agents & brokers.
InsureExec, you are right on the economy leading people to act even more unethically. The problem is that with the declining economy, there are not as many resources available to investigate and catch these fraudsters, so unfortunately, not all will be caught. And, some repeat offenders find that life is better behind bars: 3 square meals, shelter, exercise rooms, and book deals.
well, the one about the stepdaughter being drowned in a pool, does not deserve to live. that is horrible, that you have to treat a child and then the mother because of your need for money! then if you look at the history of his treating children, YUCK! DESPICBLE, and not me!
We also find that many times the Insurance Claims adjustors are asleep at the switch and pay claims they shouldn’t. When we report a claim and it smells funny, we ask the company to investigate thoroughly. Independents are notorius for just doing the basics and the claims examiners are so overloaded and understaffed, they just try to get the claims off their desk. They also don’t do a wonderful job at subrogation when it is warranted. Amazing to me because I would think they would be aggressive to get the money back for the company. I have also had adjustors deny a claim that was covered and I had to give them chapter and verse about the policy coverage. Many of them do not impress on knowledge of the coverage form.
I’m on the company side of things. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had improperly denied claims but glad to hear that you take the time to fight for your client. While some denials are due to a lack of knowledge, I’m sure many others happen due to a simple mistake. Either way, good for you for working to get it corrected.
Yet another reason why people should have an agent. They may perceive that they will save a bit of money if they do it all themselves but even if that’s true (which it’s often not!), this is exactly the kind of situation that can unfortunately result in a greater cost in the long run.
Holly, if an insured has a good independent agent, they will periodically shop the market for them to make sure they get a good deal. The agent also knows the company’s reputation for claims handling and treating the customer fairly. Shopping for insurance every 6 months is totally unnecessary and only lowers the credit score with all the hits on it. As an agent, I build trust with my clients and I don’t want the ones who shop their business all the time. It is too much trouble dealing with them all the time.
“Shopping for insurance every 6 months is totally unnecessary and only lowers the credit score with all the hits on it.”
is not true! your credit is not lowered unless looking for mortage, credit cards and loans. insurance hits do not affect the beacon score… secondly, shopping every 6 months is not allowing you the advantage of being with an insurance for a long time, because the longer you are there the better risk you become with that company. if you keep looking, you’ll keep wanting to pay same rates. now if you have had bad driving record, and you know things have cleared, then shop!
Holly, not to mention price should not be the only factor in purchasing insurance. Sometimes the cheapest company has a below average claims department. Cheap is great if you never have a claim but if you do, you want a company that will be around and capable of paying your claim in a timely manner. The phrase “you get what you pay for” is certainly true in insurance, so be careful.
You are absolutely correct Consumer. There are many companies out there selling a price who don’t provide service. The GEICO’s of the world are order takers and they will leave out needed coverages, do low limits and not advise a buyer on dangers of omitting needed coverages. I have seen some leave off U/M coverage, PIP or Med Pay, have low limits of liability to sell a price. Progressive advertises you can pick your price. If a customer does that to get a low price, coverage is missing or reduced substantially. In this economy, people are bottom lining insurance and often they end up with poor coverage when a claim occurs.
Holly was a spammer. A comment about saving money on car insurance and shopping it every six months, along with a link to some web site, was posted as a comment to numerous articles. It looks like they’ve mostly been deleted.
But who stands on the side of an Agent of a closed non-standard market location, when the data they are required to maintain for the OIC is stolen, without knowledge, and they are in turn charged with numerous felonies…how can one protect their duties,ethics while being a target of malicious prosecution…does E&O cover taht type of situation?
Over the years, history has demonstrated that during an economic recession people under severe financial pressure rationalize the decision to commit insurance fraud. It is imperative that every insurer be educated on fraud trends, have a solid investigation plan, a knowledgable SIU and the ability to share the information with ALL claim personnel.
Also, educating the public about insurance fraud, stiffen the prosecution for offenders and make the fines steeper would make a person think twice BEFORE they decide to commit fraud.
Sadly, as the country’s economy sinks further into chaos, the cases of insurance fraud escalate on both the company/agent side and the consumer side. As an independent agent, I see all manner of this behavior all the time. These people always get caught, but they all seem to think they can get away with it.
I am glad there is an organization that are combatting fraud, we need to support orgnization like this. While pointing out these slimes may or may not be good, what about the heros who report these snakes as well as those who ivestigate. My experience with this organization is they do little if anything in this area nor have any kind of a program to encourage turning in the frauds. I hope they change it as it will encourage more people to report incidents, especially agents & brokers.
InsureExec, you are right on the economy leading people to act even more unethically. The problem is that with the declining economy, there are not as many resources available to investigate and catch these fraudsters, so unfortunately, not all will be caught. And, some repeat offenders find that life is better behind bars: 3 square meals, shelter, exercise rooms, and book deals.
well, the one about the stepdaughter being drowned in a pool, does not deserve to live. that is horrible, that you have to treat a child and then the mother because of your need for money! then if you look at the history of his treating children, YUCK! DESPICBLE, and not me!
We also find that many times the Insurance Claims adjustors are asleep at the switch and pay claims they shouldn’t. When we report a claim and it smells funny, we ask the company to investigate thoroughly. Independents are notorius for just doing the basics and the claims examiners are so overloaded and understaffed, they just try to get the claims off their desk. They also don’t do a wonderful job at subrogation when it is warranted. Amazing to me because I would think they would be aggressive to get the money back for the company. I have also had adjustors deny a claim that was covered and I had to give them chapter and verse about the policy coverage. Many of them do not impress on knowledge of the coverage form.
@Not Surprised:
I’m on the company side of things. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had improperly denied claims but glad to hear that you take the time to fight for your client. While some denials are due to a lack of knowledge, I’m sure many others happen due to a simple mistake. Either way, good for you for working to get it corrected.
Yet another reason why people should have an agent. They may perceive that they will save a bit of money if they do it all themselves but even if that’s true (which it’s often not!), this is exactly the kind of situation that can unfortunately result in a greater cost in the long run.
Holly, if an insured has a good independent agent, they will periodically shop the market for them to make sure they get a good deal. The agent also knows the company’s reputation for claims handling and treating the customer fairly. Shopping for insurance every 6 months is totally unnecessary and only lowers the credit score with all the hits on it. As an agent, I build trust with my clients and I don’t want the ones who shop their business all the time. It is too much trouble dealing with them all the time.
Holly, stop posting your sales pitches on these boards.
IJ: maybe you can control this.
Thank you for the heads up. I believe we have taken steps to stop the spam posts from “Holly”.
first of all:
“Shopping for insurance every 6 months is totally unnecessary and only lowers the credit score with all the hits on it.”
is not true! your credit is not lowered unless looking for mortage, credit cards and loans. insurance hits do not affect the beacon score… secondly, shopping every 6 months is not allowing you the advantage of being with an insurance for a long time, because the longer you are there the better risk you become with that company. if you keep looking, you’ll keep wanting to pay same rates. now if you have had bad driving record, and you know things have cleared, then shop!
Holly, not to mention price should not be the only factor in purchasing insurance. Sometimes the cheapest company has a below average claims department. Cheap is great if you never have a claim but if you do, you want a company that will be around and capable of paying your claim in a timely manner. The phrase “you get what you pay for” is certainly true in insurance, so be careful.
You are absolutely correct Consumer. There are many companies out there selling a price who don’t provide service. The GEICO’s of the world are order takers and they will leave out needed coverages, do low limits and not advise a buyer on dangers of omitting needed coverages. I have seen some leave off U/M coverage, PIP or Med Pay, have low limits of liability to sell a price. Progressive advertises you can pick your price. If a customer does that to get a low price, coverage is missing or reduced substantially. In this economy, people are bottom lining insurance and often they end up with poor coverage when a claim occurs.
Who’s Holly? Maybe that comment was deleted? I’m confused. :-)
Holly was a spammer. A comment about saving money on car insurance and shopping it every six months, along with a link to some web site, was posted as a comment to numerous articles. It looks like they’ve mostly been deleted.
But who stands on the side of an Agent of a closed non-standard market location, when the data they are required to maintain for the OIC is stolen, without knowledge, and they are in turn charged with numerous felonies…how can one protect their duties,ethics while being a target of malicious prosecution…does E&O cover taht type of situation?
It’s a shame that States spend more money processing and collecting Surplus Lines Taxes than fighting insurance fraud.
Over the years, history has demonstrated that during an economic recession people under severe financial pressure rationalize the decision to commit insurance fraud. It is imperative that every insurer be educated on fraud trends, have a solid investigation plan, a knowledgable SIU and the ability to share the information with ALL claim personnel.
Also, educating the public about insurance fraud, stiffen the prosecution for offenders and make the fines steeper would make a person think twice BEFORE they decide to commit fraud.
I will refrain from making any comment.