In recent years, it has become more difficult for policyholders to get paid after submitting a claim to their insurance company. In fact, research done by the Los Angeles Times shows that the amount of money that insurance companies failed to pay on claims more than doubled in the past decade to $372 million.
This increase comes, in part, from insurance companies using aggressive tactics to avoid paying money to deserving people. These tactics include denying payment or cancelling coverage after people make claims, confusing customers until they give up trying to collect on their policies, and delaying payment on valid claims. For many consumers, the best option to protect their rights in the face of these insurance actions is to seek out an attorney experienced in handling unfair insurance claim denials.
Insurance Company Tactics
One of the most common tricks that insurance companies use to avoid paying for valid claims involves denying their validity, or canceling coverage after the policyholder makes a claim. Insurers often do this by claiming that the policyholder failed to inform them of some piece of information, even if that information had no effect on the reason for filing the claim in the first place. Some companies dealing in health insurance go so far as to examine the medical records of claimants in an attempt to dig up some pre-existing conditions that they can use to cancel the coverage or deny the claim. There have even been cases of insurance companies revoking coverage based on conditions that the company never asked about, or that doctors never diagnosed.
Insurance companies also actively attempt to confuse customers about the extent of their coverage in order to escape paying on claims. The companies’ best tool for this is often their contract. Insurance companies write their contracts with an eye towards keeping them difficult to understand, that way they can fool customers into believing that their policy covers more than it actually does until they file a claim.
Another strategy insurers use involves simply delaying payment of the claim until they give up, or in some cases even pass away. Insurers have many tools to prolong the process of trying to collect on a claim. Some tricks amount to nothing more than a bureaucratic runaround, like sending the wrong paperwork for the policyholder to fill out, but others are more aggressive--like simply waiting to mail the payment until the beneficiary complains. Some insurers delay payments so severely that customers resorted to lawsuits just to get the money the company owed them.
Legal Help for Unpaid Insurance Claims in Illinois
If you have questions about an insurance dispute, contact an Illinois insurance attorney today. Call 847-934-6000 to speak with a member of our team. We work with residents in many communities on these issues, including Chicago, Crystal Lake, Schaumburg, Des Plaines, and more.