The American Association for Justice (AAJ) conducted an extensive investigation to determine the worst insurance companies in America.  These include homeowners and auto insurers, health insurers, life insurers, and disability insurers. 

            According to AAJ, Allstate is placed at the top of the worst insurance provider list; this is largely due to the fact that their primary mission is to “earn a return for the shareholders.”  As a senior executive at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) said, “The bottom line is that insurance companies make money when they don’t pay claims.”  Allstate even goes so far as to distribute corporate training manuals explaining how to avoid payments, and portable refrigerators are awarded to the adjusters who deny the most claims.  Former employees have called Allstate’s approach to claims the “three D’s”: deny, delay, and defend. 

            The top 10 list produced by AAJ, includes the following insurance companies:

                        Profits                          Assets

Allstate            $4.6 billion                   $156.4 billion

Unum               $679 million                  $52.4 billion

AIG                 $6.2 billion                   $1.06 trillion

State Farm       $5.5 billion                   $181.4 billion

Conseco           $179.9 million               $33.5 billion

WellPoint         $3.2 billion                   $51.6 billion

Farmers            $5.6 billion                   $387.7 billion

UnitedHealth    $4.7 billion                   $53.5 billion

Torchmark       $527.5 million               $15.2 billion

Liberty Mutual  $1.5 billion                   $94.7 billion

            It seems that the insurance industry has lost sight of the policyholders, and as Allstate’s CEO said, they have “begun to think and act more like a consumer products company.”  However, pro-consumer insurance reforms are being pushed, among these are: requiring insurers to work in good faith with consumers, requiring prior approval of rate increases, and establishing an insurance consumer advocate.

            Do not assume that because you are purchasing insurance you will always be protected, and keep these names in mind the next time you purchase insurance.  For more information on AAJ’s findings, and more specific information regarding individual companies, read the full report at http://www.justice.org/docs/TenWorstInsuranceCompanies.pdf

Model-year 1995-2003 Ford Windstar minivans are currently under investigation after 130 consumer reports of vehicle fires. It is suspected that faulty cruise control switches might have caused the fires. You may remember a fairly recent Ford Motor Co. recall of more than 10 million vehicles for this same reason. If this current investigation leads to a recall, it will involve approximately 1.7 million vehicles. Though most of the fires occurred while the Windstars were parked, some occurred while the minivan was still running, and at least 2 reports mentioned damage to houses.

          Just a reminder, we are in the time of year when everything is really busy, getting ready for graduation, graduation parties, end of year school functions, moving in and out of college housing, planning for vacations, etc.  It always seems that this time of year brings along with it tragedies because of people being killed or seriously hurt in car wrecks.

          Don’t forget the need for buckling up, paying attention while driving, and the importance of not drinking and driving. 

          If you or a loved one is involved in a wreck, call the attorneys at Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP at 1-800-460-0606.