Claims Handling

Subscribe to Claims Handling

Lexington’s insurance company President & CEO is Lou Levinson. He must really have a big ego because what he allows his company to promise regarding claims practices has nothing to do with what is delivered. I invite him and his claims vice president to show up at a claims townhall meeting anywhere in the five largest states to listen to what their customers have to go through. They can invite whomever they want, and we will invite who we want.…
Continue Reading Lexington Slow-Pays Claims and Ignores Policyholders

The Citizens Property Insurance claims management provided a number of reports to the Citizens Board of Governors yesterday. For readers of this blog and policyholders who want to know what Citizens thinks of its claims handling, I suggest that you read the various reports which I have attached to this post.1…
Continue Reading Is Citizens Property Insurance Giving You a Hard Time with Your Insurance Claim? Here Is Why, Based on Statistics Provided by Citizens Claims Management

Below is a conversation I have all too often with insureds:

Insured: I just received a letter from the carrier that they are denying my claim.

Attorney: I am sorry to hear that. What was the basis for the denial?

Insured: The basis for the denial was _____. However, the insurance adjuster told me that this would be covered when he was at the property.

Attorney: Great. Did you document the representation in writing?

Insured: . . . . .

…
Continue Reading Documenting Your Claim: Preparing for Litigation During Claims Handling

There are numerous articles about why our younger and brighter people in the United States do not want to be insurance company claims adjusters. Most start like this:

The insurance industry has a lot of open positions, and it’s scrambling to fill them. It’s targeting millennials, but many simply don’t consider insurance as a potential career — or think it’s boring. A recent survey from The Hartford showed that just 4 percent of millennials interviewed were interested in insurance is a career.1…
Continue Reading Why Do Property Insurance Claims Handlers Do This Line of Work? Why You Should Switch To Public Adjusting and Help People – Today on Tuesday At 2 With Chip

If a picture is worth a thousand words, the above chart is exhibit one about how insurance claims executives feel about claims adjusters that pay more versus paying less to their policyholders. Policyholders often have their claims underpaid because insurance companies reward those claims adjusters who underpay claims. The rewards come from a view and promotion of “high performer” adjusters that pay policyholders less are better adjusters than those who pay policyholders larger and fuller amounts.…
Continue Reading Why is Your Insurance Claim Underpaid? Many Insurance Companies Reward Adjusters Who Pay Less on Claims

Should insurance brokers and executives running insurance companies stand up for their insurance customers? While the comments section is sometimes passed over, I noted that a premier insurance broker, Irene Ochoa, stood up for insurance customers when responding to an article in Claims Journal, Viewpoint: J.S. Held CEO Refutes ‘Claims Surrogate’ Label.…
Continue Reading Premier Insurance Broker Irene Ochoa Responds to Jon Held and Notes That Policyholders Need Protection

Similar to other states, Arizona has adopted unfair claims settlement practices statutes and regulations. While one cannot a bring a private cause of action under the Unfair Claim Settlement Practices Act1 and its companion regulations, they lay out specific standards for insurers to promptly investigate and process claims.…
Continue Reading Arizona Claims Handling Guidelines at a Glance

The “do as much as you can in the aggregate” incentive for adjuster profit maximization versus “estimate more on one claim and get paid more” was the debate in 2015 Congress following Superstorm Sandy flood insurance debacle. This blog followed the last two posts, Churn and Burn Adjusting—An Admission From An Independent Adjuster, and Is “Running and Gunning” Adjusting the Same As “Churn and Burn” Adjusting?.…
Continue Reading “Running and Gunning” Versus “Pay More Equals Greater Pay Incentive”