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The Insurance Industry Has Lots Of Money To Hire People To Represent Their Interests
In Small Claims Court The Consumer Can Represent Themselves
Instead of spending years and tens of thousands of dollars if not more...
Mr Obden reports that a doctor denied disability and medical benefits by his insurance company following a traffic accident came up with a better solution than a law suit to reinstate his benefits. Instead of spending years and tens of thousands of dollars if not more, he sued the company in Small Claims Court for each check that he didn't receive.
Faced with ... a kind of 'Chinese Water Torture'
the insurance company quickly settled on fair terms.
The doctor converted one large claim to a number of small claims which he could financially handle because of the money saved in representing himself. By going to Small Claims Court he converted one big battle into a number of small ones, vastly increased the cost to the insurance company and at the same time reduced the cost to himself. Rather than appealing to the company to act ethically he got their attention by taking small bites out of their profit. Faced with the accumulating costs of these multiple flea bites, a kind of 'Chinese Water Torture' the insurance company quickly settled on fair terms.
Consumers fighting a number of small battles...
is preferable to one consumer fighting one 'David and Goliath' battle.
Most places in the world have some low cost way of settling disputes over relatively small amounts of money. The details and procedures will differ depending on where you live. Given the vast resources controlled by insurance companies, the principle of fighting a number of small battles using the resources available to the average consumer is a sound one. Consumers fighting a number of small battles that they can afford and that they can win is preferable to one consumer fighting one 'David and Goliath' battle.
... you could sue separately for the living room, the kitchen, etc.
This way of pursuing a claim has obvious benefits for disability and medical claims. It could possibly work for other claims. If you have had a house fire and the insurance company is refusing to pay your claim you could sue separately for the living room, the kitchen, etc. Or if they aren't paying your additional living expenses you could sue for each week's or month's expenses as they occur.
I wonder if anyone would listen if the courts started to fill with tens or hundreds of thousands of claims ...
There appear to be a large number of unhappy insurance consumers in the world. The CU (CGNU Group) Consumers' Forum hears from frustrated and despairing people, many of whom are going over the same barren ground consumers have crossed year after year. They appeal to the same companies, insurance regulators, government representatives and courts for fair, ethical treatment. I wonder if anyone would listen if the courts started to fill with tens or hundreds of thousands of claims and companies started to bear the rightful cost of their business practices instead of consumers and taxpayers?
Help others to make an informed decision
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