Ink on paper hardly appears threatening so many voters in the State of Washington may pass over the point of R67 when they vote by ballot on determination day Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007.
Referendum 67 asks Washington State voters to approve or reject a law passed earlier in the year by the state legislature that authorizes filing suit against an insurer for unreasonably denying a claim for coverage or payment of benefits.
Attorney Washington
The plaintiff in the suit could recover up to three times the amount of damages sustained, plus attorney fees and litigation costs.
The guarnatee fellowships doing business in Washington have gone ballistic over R67, launching a major campaign to reject the referendum. In a fit of rage, the guarnatee industry has raised + million to reject R67 and the personal injury attorneys have been able to come up with 0,000 to accept R67. The 10-to-1 spending ratio is probably nothing unusual.
If you have never been in an auto accident, or been a victim in an auto accident, it is difficult to fantasize how traumatic it is to file an guarnatee claim and deal with the guarnatee business employees who settle your claim.
Based on my experience, it would be easier to brush the teeth of an angry alligator while sucking dirty pond water in the bayous of Louisiana. Let me share my story and perhaps you can begin to understand my frustration.
On the last day of May in 2006 myself and another driver stopped in a two-lane roundabout to allow a child on a bike to cross the street. A young woman entered the roundabout too fast and slammed into the rear of my vehicle, driving me transmit a indispensable distance.
Fortunately, the child on the bike had not yet progressed across the street and into the pathway of my vehicle when the driver crashed into my vehicle and pushed me transmit with force and without warning.
As luck would have it, a police officer arrived at the roundabout from another street at approximately the same time. He was speedily able to direct both of us to a gather area and assess the situation and damage.
After exiting my vehicle the officer could see that I was visibly upset and perhaps injured. He asked me if I wanted him to call an ambulance. I could not rejoinder him as I had lost my potential to speak for some minutes. I think I was about to go into shock but ended up later breaking down and sobbing uncontrollably.
When I was back in operate of myself, I told him not to call an ambulance. I was sore but did not think I had broken any bones.
The woman who drove the vehicle that hit me was ticketed on the spot for failing to have her vehicle under control. I plan it strange that she was from the area but was driving a rental car. Turns out she had totaled her own vehicle a week earlier.
I was able to drive my vehicle home and did. I figured I would feel great in a few days.
I was not ready for what happened next. Because I am not used to being in accidents, I did not perceive how speedily the guarnatee employees pop into action. To begin with, I had a Pip (personal injury protection) rider on my auto guarnatee policy. Pip sets aside ,000 to pay for any personal injuries in the accident. I pay for this coverage.
Turns out that when you have Pip, it is Your guarnatee business that pays any medical claims costs up front and later recovers those payments straight through subrogation with the irresponsible driver's guarnatee carrier. The woman who did hit me had guarnatee and said she was sorry for hitting me.
When I did not feel great after a few days, I went to my internist and osteoarthritis scholar and was diagnosed with injuries that required treatment plans. I filed a medical claim after filing a claim for my vehicle damage.
In short order, I was dealing with some guarnatee adjusters from the two companies, none of whom cared whether I dropped dead or lived.
For example, I got three independent repair estimates for my vehicle damage, they ranged from ,428 to ,750. The adjuster for the irresponsible driver's business estimated my vehicle damage at 6, and told me "This is all you are getting. If you don't like it, that's too bad."
I was upset but not nearly as upset as I was about to become. After filing my medical claim, the irresponsible driver's guarnatee business wrote me with this observation: "It is our windup that a mechanism for extensive injury is not gift in this accident."
This windup apparently caused my guarnatee carrier to write me saying, " . . . It is our comprehension that your vehicle sustained minimal damages in the amount of 6," and notified me that "we (my guarnatee company) will be requesting that you attend an Independent medical estimate (Ime) to settle if your treatment and any prolonged care is reasonable, indispensable and emergency related."
A few days later I received a call from another adjuster from my own guarnatee business informing me that I was being investigated for medical guarnatee fraud. I was not only appalled but livid with this vicious accusation.
I was told over the phone that given the extent of the damage to the vehicle, there is no way I could have suffered any injuries requiring medical attention.
At this point I figured there was no way I could deal reasonably with unreasonable guarnatee adjusters, regardless of whose interests they represented. The next morning I hired a personal injury attorney and then refused to talk to any guarnatee reps from any business involved.
I did not ask to be hit by another vehicle and suffer injuries documented by board-certified licensed physicians. I went ahead with the treatment plans my physicians recommended.
From that point forward, my guarnatee business refused to pay any medical bills for my treatment. I believe that they were purposely trying to ruin my reputation rating by not paying timely my medical bills from the accident.
My medical providers were upset with me and my guarnatee business for not getting timely payment for their services. They had a point. The nonpayment of bills by my guarnatee business went on for months.
Eventually, after many months, I was ordered to feel an Independent medical Evaluation. I passed my Ime with flying colors, all the irresponsible guarnatee fellowships did not want to read and hear about my medical condition, they begrudgingly were forced to accept at last.
The guarnatee fellowships reluctantly and resentfully had to shut up and pay a legitimate claim because I refused to cave into their intimidation, threats, accusations and ugly, rude, mean and inappropriate comments.
In the meantime, the irresponsible driver's guarnatee business had given me a take-it-or-leave-it final offer of 0 for all of my medical expenses.
When the claim was finally settled in March of 2007-more than 10 months Later-my guarnatee company, the one responsible for paying my medical expenses under my Pip coverage, recovered ,398 in subrogation.
If you ask me how I am voting on R67 in the State of Washington, I am voting to accept the law as passed by the state legislature to hold the guarnatee fellowships responsible for timely payment of all "reasonable, indispensable and emergency related" claims.
It is appealing to me that the guarnatee industry television advertising in this campaign stresses that accepting R67 will drive up guarnatee costs 0 million in the State of Washington, or approximately 5 per household annually. This is done to scare consumers into mental their guarnatee premiums will increase dramatically.
This apparently is the amount that guarnatee fellowships will pass on to consumers in increased premiums should R67 be standard as passed by the legislature. It will, of course, not cost the guarnatee industry squat.
I believe that the guarnatee fellowships will continue to line their pockets at their policyholders price if R67 is rejected and not accepted. I will vote to accept R67.
One television ad by the opposition features an guarnatee adjuster who quit his job because his guarnatee business manager apparently no longer used real citizen to handle obvious claims procedures.
A computer program apparently determines what the real claim recompense should be and then automatically reduces that amount by 20% before they even deal with the policyholder's claim.
When I put the phrase "insurance business fines by federal prosecutors" into my Google hunt engine, this is what I found:
According to a story in the New York Times (7-9-99), one of the nation's largest, best known and most advertised guarnatee fellowships was fined million by the National association of Securities Dealers for misleading customers by committing "serious violations of securities law and our rules."
The same business had already paid more than million in fines to state guarnatee regulators for extensive deception of customers. Earlier, the same business paid .5 billion (billion, not million) in a village over improper sales of diminutive partnerships straight through one of its subsidiaries.
It was noted in the story that a class performance suit against the business might cost the business as much as another .6 billion payout. It would appear that the petty cash fund of this guarnatee business could keep paying these kinds of fines and escort their business as usual.
Is there any imagine why I could not get the impression that there are major guarnatee fellowships in America which lie, cheat and steal like a tasteless criminal?
The only disagreement is apparently they are not prosecuted like a tasteless criminal but are allowed to settle and pay huge fines, and then apparently continue on with what they are doing.
I seem to recall an guarnatee business menagerial who quit and received a million severance container while walking out the door.
Not to outdo itself, the same business apparently felt a need to also give him a million bonus for all of the great work he had done for the company. Such is life in the fast lane when you are among the favored few.
Is there any imagine why I should not ask upon whose backs that million bonus happened? perhaps from policyholders whose thousands of claims were not paid timely and fairly?
I used to have a modicum of respect for guarnatee fellowships and wondered why personal injury attorneys were able to get court settlements that seemed sizable.
Now I have no respect for guarnatee fellowships whatsoever, and see a real need for personal injury attorneys to record policyholders who have to deal with guarnatee fellowships when placing a claim for injuries.
Just as we do not miss the water until the well runs dry, so you will find out who and what you are nothing else but dealing with when you place your first guarnatee claim. It would not matter a lick whether it was your own guarnatee business or someone else's guarnatee company.
I believe that guarnatee fellowships work in concert with each other, whether intentionally or unintentionally, recognizing that each wants to pay the least amount possible on any claim.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Washington's Hottest Political Issue Pits Pi Attorneys and the assurance industry
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