Scott Walden wrote an excellent article, The Squeeze, in Cleaning & Restoration Magazine. While I encourage those to read the full article, he stated in part how managed care has morphed into a win situation for only the insurance carriers and third-party administrators:
Continue Reading The Managed Repair and Third Party Administrator Problem
Public adjuster Corey Locke followed up on yesterday’s post, All Insurance Companies Have Written Claims Processes, with the following question:
If a TPA program demand the vendor(s) cut their reasonable and necessary estimated costs, in order to participate in insurance carrier referral programs, then how is the insured fully compensated for their loss under California Code 2051.5?
Continue Reading Do Managed Repair Programs Violate The Unfair Claims Practice Act?
A preferred insurance contractor network or third-party administrator (TPA) is not the friend of the property insurance policyholder. As indicated in yesterday’s post, Policyholders, Restoration Contractors and Public Adjusters Should Be Concerned About Managed Repair and Third Party Administrators Working in Preferred Contractor Networks, Kevin Jones’ book, The Insurance Gods: How the Insurance and Restoration Industries Have Failed the Consumer, is a must-read for those wanting to more fully understand how TPAs work against policyholder interests.
Continue Reading Kevin Jones Explains Why TPAs and Managed Contractor Repair Networks Are Scams Against Policyholders
Rene Sigman gave what must have been a humdinger of a speech about an alleged “ethical preferred contractor network.” She called out other co-presenters at the conference who are part of this network for selling out to the insurance industry. An audience member later said that other speakers affiliated with this allegedly new way of “preferred contractor networking” said nothing to rebut Rene or left after she made her remarks. While there is more to that story and new network that is ripe for a blog, Rene properly understands that these preferred contractor systems still leave the insurance company in charge. Worse, there is a new intermediary, usually the Third-Party Administrator (TPA), whose owners only want to make profits by helping the insurance company cut costs.
Continue Reading Policyholders, Restoration Contractors, and Public Adjusters Should Be Concerned About Managed Repair and Third-Party Administrators Working in Preferred Contractor Networks
Steve Badger claimed that many more insurance companies will be placing managed repair options into insurance policies. During our debate at the Lloyd’s Property Insurance Claims Group Conference last week, Badger seemed confident that managed repair is coming to many states. Since I have had private discussions with insurance industry insiders telling me that insurers in “hail states” are planning to follow Florida’s lead and seek approval for forms allowing insurers to designate “preferred vendors” to make repairs, Badger’s comments and prediction should be taken seriously.
Continue Reading Will Managed Repair Be Found in Most Property Insurance Policies?
A recent Florida appellate case upheld an endorsement, which I call a “managed repair” endorsement.1 Here is the endorsement at issue:
Continue Reading Managed Repair Endorsement Approved by Court in Florida
The world of managed repair is being argued about and fought over in Florida. While most property insurance policies have traditionally allowed insurance companies to elect the option to repair or replace damaged property, few insurance companies elected the option when it comes to real property damage. This is no longer the case in Florida.
Continue Reading Preferred Contractor vs. AOB Contractor—Who Wins When the Policy Allows Insurer Repair Option and Selection of Contractor?