The American Association of Justice (the new name for the Trial Lawyers Association of America) has released its report on insurance company behavior. Researchers studied SEC and FBI records, state complaints and investigations, news reports, and thousands of court documents. They came up with ten insurance companies who won the distinction of being the worst in the nation for service to their policy holders.

Starting with the worst first, they are:

  1. Allstate — whose mission was quoted by its CEO as being “… to earn a return for our shareholders.” It advertises its “good hands” but quietly trains its agents to use a “boxing glove” strategy with policy holders.
  2. Unum — a leading disability insurer which consistently denies and delays claims.
  3. >AIG — the world’s largest insurer, which has now been labeled “the New Enron” because of the multi-billion dollar charges of corporate fraud.
  4. State Farm — America’s largest property casualty insurance company, notorious for behavior such as forging policy holder signatures on earthquake waivers after the Northridge earthquake, and changing engineering reports after hurricane Katrina.
  5. Conseco – which sells long-term care policies and uses delay tactics with its elderly policyholders, knowing that they will die before payment will have to be made.
  6. WellPoint — the nation’s biggest health insurer, which routinely cancels the policies of those who are chronically ill or pregnant.
  7. Farmers — typically at the bottom of homeowner satisfaction surveys, it developed an incentive program awarding pizza parties for adjusters who made the lowest payments.
  8. United Health — Notorious for late and low reimbursements, it has used AARP data to raise premiums on seniors.
  9. Torchmark — the holding company of subsidiaries which overcharge the poor for burial, cancer, and life insurance, and charge minorities more than whites.
  10. Liberty Mutual — which (like Allstate and State Farm) hired the consulting company McKinsey & Co. to strengthen its “deny, delay and defend” procedures – and is considered by regulators to be engaging in systematic bid-rigging.

Insurance bad faith is one of the areas of law that we offer at Robert W. Kerpsack Co. If you feel you have been deceived or given a runaround by your insurance company, please call or email us. We will be glad to give you a free case evaluation.