So you think your insurance company is going to be fair to you? After all, you have been paying them premiums for years and this is the first time you have asked them for anything? Think again. If there was ever evidence that insurance companies simply do not want to pay, no matter who you are, it is the fact that Wal-Mart – one of the biggest companies in the world, was forced to bring a lawsuit against its insurance companies alleging bad faith in their failure to pay portions of a settlement with comedian Tracey Morgan.
It was front page news when Tracey Morgan was severely injured in an early morning accident caused by a Wal-Mart truck on the New Jersey Turnpike in 2014. The accident killed one man and put Morgan in a coma. A settlement was reached between Morgan and Wal-Mart earlies this year, but now it seems that the insurance carriers are refusing to pay their portions of the settlement. This has caused Wal-Mart to file suit against Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc., The Ohio Casualty Insurance Company; QBE Insurance Corp., St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company, The Travelers Companies Inc. and XL Insurance America Inc.
Forbes lists Wal-Mart as the 20th most valuable brand in the world with over two million employees and annual sales in excess of $400 billion. That puts Wal-Mart in a unique bargaining position when it comes to negotiating and purchasing insurance. Without reading the policies, it is safe to assume that the policies purchased by Wal-Mart are more favorable than the policy the average insurance consumer can purchase for their home or business.
If insurance companies are going to treat one of the largest and most powerful companies in the world in this fashion, what chance does the little guy have to get a fair shake from their insurance company? This is why I urge anyone with a property insurance claim to contact a public adjuster or insurance attorney to help level the playing field.
