CNN Investigates Insurance
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You have to give some credit to CNN's Anderson Cooper and his producer. They have dared to go where reporters seldom do -- inside the insurance industry to highlight the real-life problems with insurance payouts.
Take the case of Roxanne Martinez of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Cooper and producer followed her claims with Allstate after her car was hit by another. Medical bills, damage to her car and lost work eventually cost her $25,000.
Allstate offered $15,000 to settle and Martinez didn't know what to do. Really, very few lawyers are interested in going up against an insurance giant for $10,000 and Allstate knows that.
What Cooper and his producer found is all too typical.
Martinez's case represents what 10 of the top 12 auto insurance companies are doing to save money. And if you are in a minor impact crash and get hurt, former insurance industry insiders say, insurance companies will most likely try doing the same thing to you: delay handling your claim, deny you were hurt and defend their decision in drawn-out court battles. It's the three Ds: delay, deny and defend.
Allstate wouldn't comment for the report, which they didn't think would be "fair."
But Martinez didn't think Allstate would be fair. She sued and collected $167,000 for her trouble.
Unfortunately Martinez is in the minority according to the CNN report.
Allstate is betting you won't wait, you won't sue and you'll take what you get and walk-away. And that, say our experts, has been a good bet for Allstate and others. Accident victims have been walking away from billions of dollars that insurers now keep for themselves.
Congratulations to CNN's Cooper and his producer, Kathleen Johnston for shedding light on the shady side of the insurance industry.