Thursday, January 24, 2008

Pink Pig: How Insurance Crooks View You the Customer/Claimant

Folks this Cowboy has been educatin' the public for almost a year now on how these fancy insurance crooks masqueradin' as honest businessmen screw the public. Welp folks, nothing says how these miscreants view their own customers better than their own words. In today's installment of "As the Pink Pig Turns" we hear how a insurance company was actually proud of screwin' their customers, including a man so badly injured in a car accident he couldn't work for a year yet these crooks wouldn't give him anything. He had to sue and the rest is history. For Nick Peressini Pink Pigs do fly. But what about the countless untold others - the 80-90% that just take their screwin' from Big Insurance unable to fight back?

Here is some deposition quotes from one of them crooks. Though he admits he done wrong he is still ain't sorry for what he done.

In the deposition video, it is clear that Scott is not sorry for how Peressini's claim was handled.

Livingston: "For each one of those months, April through October, you violated the regulation, correct?"
Scott: "Yes."
Livingston: "And that wasn't fair to Mr. Peressini, was it?"
Scott: "No."
Livingston: "So you think she's lying under oath about what she did, or do you think maybe you ought to accept what she said under oath and apologize to this guy?"
Scott: "I'm not going to apologize."
Livingston: "Why not?"
Scott: "'Cause I'm not going to."
Livingston: "Why not?"
Scott: "'Cause I'm not going to.

So there you have it folks, these insurance claims adjustin' crooks think you are a rube, a conquest, another notch on their belt buckle on their way to collectin' their big fat Christmas bonus and they don't care if they cheat you. It makes this Cowboy sick to his stomach! Pull up a chair and watch the news story embedded on the web page courtesy of 7news Denver.

We're all supposed to have insurance and at one time we will all likely need to file a claim. Ever wonder how the companies decide what to pay and when to pay?


7NEWS looked into a company's practice that the state's insurance commissioner calls "inappropriate and unprofessional conduct."


The company, American Family Insurance, said it's done nothing wrong

But a Boulder jury said there was something wrong and handed down a $3 million verdict against American Family Insurance.

2 comments:

russell1200 said...

I don't have a great linkable source. But the story goes something like this:

Sometime in the 90s a bunch of consultant types (Wharton types) go around to the various insurance execs, and show them mathematically how they are being ridiculous to fight over who is the quickest and fairest provider. They show them that they can make consistent money by always offering a low ball offer on the first go around, because most people don't know any better (and probably can't afford the lawyer) and take it.

So the industry follows suit using these consultants carefully crafted algorithms. And they make lots more money.

Of course as with all actions that border on being psychopathic, there is very little restraint to see how much more you can get away with. So the industry keeps pushing the envelope and keeps making more and more money. It has some parallels in the sub-prime/no-doc securitization default situation we see with the lending industry, and maybe even the Tort Lawyers asbestos claims earlier.

The Katrina situation (with the Engineers) is simply a subset of this larger trend. There are some stories that this went on after Hurricane Floyd in NC. But it was small scale and didn't get on the radar screens of the regulators.

And what eventually happens to psychopaths (because they lack in-built restraint) is that they eventually get caught and that ends their party.

A number of groups within the financial industry have been pushing for more Federal (versus States) over site. They might just get it just in time for some very regulatory Dems to come in and clean their clock.

I won't be shedding any tears.

Sop811 said...

Good points Russell. It was McKinsey and Company that sold the concept that abusing claimants for profit was a good idea. Certain companies like Allstate and Nationwide have raised it to an art form.

One of the first scoundels we ran across down here was a gentleman by the name of Timothy Marshall. If I remember right he was run out of the Carolinas on a rail because his "professional" opinion was easily rented by insurance companies. A quick google should tell you what you need to know about him. (and not his self authored wiki entry which I will sign up and challenge)

Here are some links:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20060528/ai_n16434999

http://michaelhoman.blogspot.com/2006/08/haag-engineering-insurers-best-friend.html