03 Apr Insurance Companies Fight Paying Billions in Claims
An older CNN Article by Anderson Cooper titled “Insurance Companies Fight Paying Billions in Claims” is making its way back around because of the tactics employed by insurance companies is still heavily utilized today, over ten years after the article was originally published. In essence, insurance companies rely on tactics of delay, deny and defend to save billions in dollars.
This tactic is commonly employed in automobile crash cases involving fender benders, or what the insurance company will label as a MIST (Minor Impact Soft Tissue) case. Typically, there is little visible damage and the occupant of the vehicle feels fine at the scene or may report minor injuries. Later, once the adrenaline comes down, the person involved in the wreck starts feeling neck (whiplash) and/or back pain. The injured party may seek medical treatment by going to an emergency room or an urgent care, followed by some sort of therapy, either through a physical therapist or a chiropractor. Sometimes, the injured person misses time from work.
In these cases, the insurance company is going to use delay, deny and defend tactics.
Delay by dragging out the case through various tactics.
Deny you were injured, deny the full value of medical bills and deny wage loss.
Defend in litigation if there is any push back.
Insurance companies rely on people not seeking fair compensation in the above MIST scenario because it easier. The article references a woman, Roxanne Martinez, who had a $25,000 claim but was offered $15,000. Most people would get worn out by the delay, deny and defend strategy because “it just is not worth it” and end up settling their case. For an insurance company, a savings of $10,000 on one claim, multiplied by the hundreds of thousands of claims made in a period and it equals a savings of over a billion dollars. A penny saved is still a penny earned, and in this case, it is a billion dollars earned of profits for the insurance company. It is easy to see why insurance companies fight paying valid claims because they stand to make billions.
While Ms. Martinez fought the insurance company and received full and fair compensation, unfortunately, that is not the case with most people. The delay, deny and defend tactics wears people out and many settle their claim prematurely because they either do not want to dig in for the war or they must accept the reduced settlement because of financial obligations.
At The Rana Law Group, if you are involved in a fender bender or MIST collision, trust that we will fight hard to protect your rights and ensure that you receive full and fair compensation for your claim. Contact us today to review your case.
Tarun B. Rana, Esq.
Address: 655 Craig Rd, Ste 252, St. Louis, MO 63141
Phone: 314-329-7690
Facsimile: 314-735-4097
Email: tarun@ranalawgroup.com
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