When it comes to legitimate claims being denied, even the biggest and most well-known insurance companies will use blatant misleading tactics and unethical behavior to protect their quarterly profits… profits that range in the billions.
It’s become common practice for insurance companies to deny claims, delay payments, confuse policyholders with “insurance-speak”, sometimes even retroactively refusing claims that may cost them money.
The following are some of the most common tricks and tactics we’ve seen insurance companies have used to make it as difficult as possible to receive your payment and recover your loss.
1. Deny
The top of mind attitude for most insurance companies is deny anything and everything to avoid keeping their end of the policy. Banking on confusing language, insurers will deny your claim because it’s “excluded” or “partially excluded” under your current policy. Another tactic is to deny a coverage even exists, creating a scenario where only a part of your claim is denied.
2. Delay
The longer they can hold out paying, the better in their eyes. Unreasonable delays due to processing of your forms, adjustments to your policy, or payment of your claim are ways your insurance company can use in hopes your frustration, anxiety, and external factors cause you to give up or feel like you’ve done all you can to advocate for yourself.
3. Mislead
Agents are trained with a toolbox of confusing verbiage that can be interpreted in the completely wrong way, misguiding their customers on deadlines, what to do, or sometimes outright lying to them by using false or blanket statements about the policies and coverage they offer. One of the most common instances of this behavior is a request of a written release of any supplemental claim as a condition of settlement or payment on your claim. Another simple trick they’ll use to mislead is to place terms such as “FINAL” or “FULL PAYMENT” on the letter or check even when you have a supplemental or further claim for the loss.
4. Refuse
Some insurance companies will refuse payment under one coverage and pass it to another policy coverage with a lower threshold of value in an attempt to force their customers to settle. This is offered as a way to assist the policyholder, giving them the sense that they are making an informed decision by claiming the odds of recovery of loss would otherwise be completely denied. It’s a way to low ball unsuspecting customers with undervalued estimates and payments.
Experiencing these kind of ploys, or other tricks insurance companies may attempt, can be time consuming and difficult to maneuver alone. Do not hesitate to contact us for a free claims evaluation today. In these scenarios, insurance companies will go out of their way to tell you that you don’t need a lawyer to resolve the claim. Our attorneys are experts in disputing claim denials and recovering payment for your loss with zero fees paid unless you win and recover.
