Games The Insurance Companies Play #1
So I did an interview not that long ago with Kara Sundlun of WFSB which you can find here about a tactic I found distasteful. A major insurance company is making you front the costs, then they will reimburse you after.
Example: You get rear-ended and it is not your fault. You talk to the at fault party’s insurance company and they tell you to get a rental car and they will pay you back. The body shop tells you it is going to take about 3 weeks to fix your car. Your rental car is costing your $40/day. So you break out your credit card and start to pay. The body shop calls to tell you they haven’t received a part yet and it will take another week.
Finally you get your car back. You call the adjuster to try to get reimbursed, but no answer. You call the next day and the next day. No answer. They finally get back to you and tell you to mail them the receipts to their P.O. Box in Texas.
This is 2021…you won’t accept my scanned/digital receipts? No. They have to be mailed. Then they will get scanned at our facility and once they get emailed to me, I will review them and call you to discuss.
Discuss what? These are my receipts. And why wont you accept my scanned receipts when they are going to be scanned to you eventually? That is company policy, they say.
The Hedge
Sound familiar?
Personal Injury Lawyers have been given a bad rap for years. We’ve been labeled some pretty nasty things. But, the insurance company’s have cute commercials and give out free tuition on the profits they make betting against hard working people. So they get a pass.
This particular insurance company wants to save a TON of money betting against you. They hope that you can’t afford a rental car.
Look at it from their perspective as a BUSINESS. Why volunteer to pay someone’s rental car even though they are responsible to? How about instead, require the innocent driver pay upfront and reimburse them later? If they can’t afford a rental car then the company wins! They’ve now saved hundreds of dollars on your claim. Spread that over tens of thousands of claims and your are talking HUGE money saved.
And if you can afford a rental car? Then now you have to jump through more hoops. They hope you will be lazy or better yet forget it. Admit or not, many people procrastinate or are simply lazy. Besides, who in 2021 wants to stand in line at a U.S. Post office? Also, what happens if the original receipts get lost in the mail? More delay and more opportunity to save.
The Take Away
As you can see from the above, insurance companies may create cute commercials, but they are businesses out to make a profit.
If you feel like you’re getting the run around give us a call to discuss your options.
