Philadelphia Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyer Has Axe to Grind: I Hate Insurance Companies
When I first started practicing law in 1979, it was easier to do business. Hand shakes meant something and you really were in good hands with your insurance company and like a good neighbor, they were, in fact, there. When you bought a policy from an insurance company or were involved in a catastrophic incident with somebody insured with an insurance company, the insurance company normally performed their due diligence and generally paid property damage, medical expenses, and compensatory damages on a fairly routine basis unless liability was clearly disputable or fraud was involved.
Unfortunately, this scenario is rare today. Today insurance claims are fought aggressively and many companies fail to honor the terms of the policy and promises of security through a strategy that insurance expert and Professor Jay M. Feinman calls “Delay, Deny, Defend” in his new and highly recommended book of the same title. Insurance companies now delay payment of claims, deny all or part of a valid claim, and/or aggressively defend the positions they take by forcing the policyholder to hire a lawyer to get what he is rightfully owed.
As an experienced Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer whose law firm has handled more than 20,000 claims since 1979, I am all too familiar with how many insurance companies dealing with cases with clear cut liability and permanent injuries will try to make the defendant sweat it out to increase their bargaining position in order to resolve the case at a lower settlement figure. I am all too familiar with the fact that many times arbitration panels and juries award multiples of the stated minimal insurance limits and I am sometimes puzzled or amazed to learn that insurance companies may spend more in litigation than the case is worth to prove their point and wear the defendant down. I tell my clients that when the facts are on your side and you have a good case, don’t be afraid to sue and win. Don’t be bullied!
In the old days, claims adjusters would insure the prompt, fair, and efficient delivery of the insurance company’s promise to pay under the policy. In a tightening economy, many major insurance companies seek to increase profits. Simply put, the insurance companies’ greatest expense is what it pays out in claims and if it pays out less in claims, it can keep more in profit.
If you are involved in a serious or catastrophic car accident or any other legal claim for that matter, never assume that the insurance company is your friend. Hire a lawyer who is greedy for justice and not afraid to fight back.
