Business Development Program

How do home insurance providers deal with claims?

When facing an insurance case, people often find it frustrating to wait for the insurance company to settle their case and ask how long it takes to process a claim. Many customers look for legal support of their anticipation, asking if there are any laws regulating the duration of insurance procedures.

Every state has its own regulations and legislation concerning insurance activities to which the insurance companies have to abide. In some states you may also find things like “Unfair Insurance Practices Act” or “Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act”, which are more specific and targeted at insurance activities in contrast with broader laws and regulations presented in other states. The nuances and specifics of such regulations have their own peculiarities across different states, however there are certain common points that they all share in regard to insurance companies, imposing them to: a) accept your insurance claim within a specific period of time (usually 15 days); b) conduct a prompt investigation on your claim a) make everything possible to process and settle the claim with a clear liability. Besides, the insurance company has no right to refuse your claim a payment without delivering a valid and clear reason.

In case you feel that your insurance agent or company representative did something without correspondence to state legislation, you might want to speak to the person’s supervisor first. In case the attempt wasn’t satisfactory, it’s time for you to file a report in your state’s insurance regulation department. If the department has other similar claims concerning the same company it will conduct an investigation and is likely to impose a fine or even revoke the company’s license if the case is quite severe.

In some states you are even allowed to take legal actions against an insurance company individually, if you feel to do so. In case you choose to pursue in a lawsuit against your insurer, there are certain regulations that might help you: a) broader interpretation of coverage provisions, b) limited interpretation of exclusion provisions c) favorable interpretation of any ambiguities contained in the policy. However, take into account that in certain states, in case you’re successful with your legal action you will only get the claim amount, while in other states you may also be reimbursed with court fees and punitive damages. Read the rest of this entry »

Bariatric surgery unsafe – Phentermine safe!

By some standards, there is a disturbing social trend where people choose the easy way to achieve the desired results. At one end of the spectrum are the people who, when they disagree with the tax authorities, crash their light airplanes into the tax offices – there is no quicker and easier way to register your unhappiness. And then there are the rapidly increasing number of people who opt for bariatric surgery to lose weight. In fact, the number of operations performed in the US has doubled over the last six years. No more struggle to keep to a diet and exercising. Just a quick and easy operation to solve all your weight problems. So how safe is it? Well, such evidence as exists suggests the operation is a success in up to 44% of all cases. With just one surgical intervention, your body mass index (BMI) falls rapidly and there are no complications. But, in up to 56% of cases, the surgeons feel they have to recommend what is delicately called revisional surgery, usually because you have not lost enough weight, but also because some experience “complications” – another delicate term suggesting there is a chance of death unless the surgeon goes back inside to do repairs. And this is where the statistics get exciting. The death rate during or following revisional surgery used to be 50%. But, the death rate has been dropping as surgeons gain more experience and technology improves. Read the rest of this entry »