Insurance Company Denies Claims "Until Pigs Fly"
Posted by
Staff WriterFebruary 14, 2006 8:38 AMA Denver jury awarded a University of Colorado professor $3 million against American Insurance Co. Professor Nick Peressini was severely injured in an auto accident in 2002. The insurance company refused payment. Peressini's lawyer uncovered the unethical practices and company culture promoted by supervisors which included reference to a small toy pink pig with wings, that the company would approve claims "when pink pigs fly." See the following excerpt:
A former American Family Insurance employee described the company culture promoted by a supervisor."It was pink pig ... She said it was meant to be that she would approve something when pink pigs fly," said the former employee...."They were happy about and would celebrate, in effect, when they would deny claims," said Livingston. "They'd push the button and make it flap its wings."
The jury in this case called the insurance company's practice of insurance claims denials regardless of merits of the insured's case "willful and wanton," prompting the state's insurance regulator to accuse the company of inappropriate and unprofessional conduct.
Don't think that American Family Insurance is the only one doing this - it happens at other insurance companies every day:
A business plan from 2003 and videotaped depositions raise other questions. They show that American Family Insurance intended to reduce payouts on claims based on competition and not the facts -- all in the name of running a tighter ship."Running a tighter ship means you will achieve a goal based on what the competition is achieving, versus what the needs of your clients are?" Livingston asked an American Family claims representative, Phil Scott, during a taped deposition.
"Well, yeah. You gotta be profitable. You gotta try to make money," Scott said in the videotaped deposition.
Making money is not the issue. However, the company's blueprint for reducing cost became a lightning rod in the case. The business plan urged employees to reduce payouts by 28 percent over four years.
If you think you have been a victim of insurance bad faith in an auto accident or any other denied insurance claim, contact an attorney at left and get some professional advice on hanndling these companies.