I was injured on 405 when a vehicle tried to cut off another from getting in front of her. She then lost control of her car and swivered across the hwy (let go of the steering wheel) and t-boned me @ 60 mph, almost forcing me head on into the concrete barrier. I have two bulging disks in my neck, one herniated and one bulging disk in my upper back, and carpultunnle in my wrists. It's been three years and my insurance company (Allstate) has offered me $5,000 for damages. I have no health insurance and have been left to suffer and can no longer do marine electrical work. My life has been turned upside down and I can only pray that a jury sees past the insurance company’s lies, my life is in the jury's hands, not Allstate's (February 19, 2008).

In Feb-March '07, we discovered that a broken water pipe under our house had eroded our foundation, and cracked our garage floor, driveway, and caused our foundation to "settle" by about 2 inches downward. Farmers insurance has completely DENIED any coverage of the damage stating an exclusion for damage that is not "sudden and accidental". We are currently undergoing $55,000.00 in repairs to fixe the foundation, garage floor, and driveway. We are forced to sue Farmers in an attempt to collect for damages. Beware of the wording included in the pages and pages of "exclusions" attached to your policy!!!!!! That's where they get you.....things that appear to be covered, like water damage, may be excluded later depending on the how fast or slowly the damage occurred.
Beware!

If you would like to get a FREE copy of Mr. Davis' book visit WashingtonAccidentBook.com

I am watching Up Front right now. I absolutely do not trust insurance companies, I think they are for the profit of the company with incentives to not pay. Insurance companies, both medical and personal property insurers are the biggest crooks out there right now. I was so horrified after Katrina, I made sure we are insured for as much as possible. We are lucky and can afford that much insurance. But the reality is I do not know if we are covered. We have alstate and they are one of the worst companies out there. I will be looking into changing on our anniversary date, this time when I compare insurance companies the cost will not be the primary consideration for changing companies. We need the trial lawyers to hold these crooks in check.

This story is one of the most poorly-researched investigations I have seen. A true investigation, should be unbiased (which this obviously was not), well researched (with this was not- go look at the insurance laws, the contracts, ask the insurance companies the actual process that is gone through in making a payment, etc.), and reported showing both sides of the story (true, unbiased sides). One of the biggest problems in this country is that people believe they deserve to be compensated (and over compensated) for whatever happens to them. In fact, insurance is a contractual agreement between the insurance company and the insured- the limits of the contract are well documented for the insured to read- and sign. You get what you pay for- you can pay for extra coverage if you want the coverage. An insurance company is not a not-for-profit industry- it is a business, just like Microsoft, Boeing, Doctor's offices, etc. There are some years when insurance companies have a loss (no profit in that year).

King 5 investigators have an ethical requirement to do thorough research so as to not show an incorrect and biased story. The news is the avenue for individuals to gain correct information, and it is apalling when information is shared in this way. Also, while your poll was interesting, I am guessing this poll was not done in a blinded, scientific manner, like a true poll that has statistical significance should be conducted. I also find it funny that the trial lawyers (individuals we usually dont trust) are being touted as the heroes in this story, those who are looking out for the best for their clients. In truth, they are looking out for themselves- the more claims they adjudicate, the more money they make.

I hope in the future, King 5 investigators do a better job to show the true unbiased story.

MY issue wasn't a claim.My issue was when Farmers doubled our insurance rates because we went from a 3 car family to 1. The rate was higher than what we paid for all three cars combined.Because we had 3 drivers in our family they wanted to charge us for each driver, not for the vehicle, even though only one person was going to be the 98% main driver. Our agent told us this was Washington law that because we only had one car they could charge us per driver because any of us could driver the vehicle. So they were insuring the drivers not the vehicle? I asked her how this worked for a college student in the dorms, if there are hundreds of people maybe available to drive that students car, how do they charge the student? She couldn't answer, I changed company's and after seeing the show may call the state.

May 04, I was Ins. through Allstate, was T-boned, flipped, ended up in the ditch with a light pole on top of me, I had to be cut out of the Toyota truck I was in and taken to the E.R., by Ambulance. The lady who hit me was also insured through Allstate, so they had a hard time paying for my injuries. I had to hire an attorney to make them keep the policies seperate.? ha it took 3 years for them to pay me $3,000 for my $15.000. truck (all up grades Roll bars,(which saved my life)lights ect)I am still hurting and the Dr. says because of my age I always will, but the ins. co. payed my med bills and that was good for them. I dropped Allstate right when they started messing with me, which was with in a month of the accident. Delaine (360)708-8663

I watched the show today with Robert Mak as it's one of the best shows and explained so well, simple and thoroughly.

I believe that the insurance companies do their best to make a profit and train their employees to do so and I believe that there are people who pay the price for that, as the ones shown on today's show.

I was a little disappointed though to not see the other side of things. I've personally known people in my past that have scammed insurance companies for medical reasons to stay out of work and get paid, they get addicted to pain pills and find doctors that will continue to say they can't work etc.

I feel there's room for imporovement on both sides but I only heard one side. The insurane companies I'm sure have to be careful not to talk about people trying to scam them but we all know they are out there.

I think it's important to have the insurance companies be fair and the people or their customer's too.

I just saw your upfront episode about "will the insurance pay". Last November 15th we had two trees fall on our home. It took 25 days for our insurance company to even come and look at our house.
It has been hell since then. It is now been over a year and our home is still not fixed. We our currently living in a 24' camping trailer and our garage.I thought if you payed your insurance every month you would be taken care of if something like this ever happened. I guess this is what happens when you think.

Sincerely
Jenifer Brigham

Almost three years ago a 100 ft. Douglas Fir fell across our house and demolished it. Our insurance company put us in a local motel found us a rental house, arranged to have it furnished down to the dish towels in the kitchen. Our house was rebuilt and our furnishiungs replaced without any trouble/argument. We lost things (old family stuff) they could never replace, but we are back home and have nothing but good to say about the insurance company who provides our homeowners coverage. Maybe it depends on where the policy is purchased. Years ago (many of them) we had an issue with Allstate and switched - we are not sorry.

My question is what is the State Insurance Commission's duty in protecting our states residents from unethical business practices? How many times must a insurance company be taken to court before they are no longer allowed to operate in our state? We are forced to have insurance under the law or by financial requirements to qualify for a loan or operate an automobile, why can't insurers be forced to pay claims first and make any adjustments after the claim is settled? In the wake of Hurricane Katarina and other natural disasters perhaps our governmental resources should be used to reign in abusive insurance companies their agents and make them serve the purpose that we have hired them for, that is to help in a time of emergency.

Jim Wilker

Insurance for profit is Insurance denied. this is the reason we need national auto and medical insurance. You cannot pay out claims and make profit. you could be a non profit and break even. Allstate is topping the list on the worst insurance companies out there. just Google worst insurance companies. They leave YOU open to lawsuit if you injure someone or damage property and they deny your claim. You could loose your home and your paycheck for life.

My father, 85 yrs old, has Allstate homeowners. During the big storm last year he lost all of the food in his freezer. We both live in double wide mobile homes on the same property. Our loss was paid by Uniguard within the week. We argued with Allstate repeatedly and they finally denied the claim because they don't cover freezer loss when in a mobile home! I did not fight it any further due to his age and the fear of being cancelled. Pretty sad after paying high premiums for so many years.
Have you reviewed their use of "Colossus"?

Are insurance companies dishonest?
You betcha! Insurance coverage is manditory for home loans, and require the homeowner to meet very high standards to comply. Miss any one of the many policy conditions and you are denied coverage. Lose any official documents, proof of compliance, certifications, have one signature smudged or misplaced and you are denied coverage.

Ever play 'Monkey in the Middle'? Thats a insurance trick where the insurance companies deny coverage until after another insurance company, eg. credit card, appliance maker, even another division of the same company, pays up first. And guess what that other insurance company will do?

The insurance company will make you run around like you never will beleive!

I agree with Heather -

"I hope in the future, King 5 investigators do a better job to show the true unbiased story."

I think the media in general likes to focus on the victims - it makes a better story. In this case there is another side tho.

I was hit and hurt driving in Oregon a few years back.
After visiting the local hospital I called my auto and travel/health insurance companies.

Both companies said because the other driver was responsible that they didnt have to do anything for me - I would have to deal/fight with the other insurance company on my own!

This is how the Insurance companies protect themselves.

But dont miss a payment, sucker!

My wife was hit head on by a driver heading north in Lynnwood on 44th at 204th SW. She was sitting at a red light turning left waiting for her light. Driver moved to the left and hit her. The problem is both ours and their insurance company is the same one. They delayed getting her a rental, they gave a low ball value when they issued the payment for the salvaged vehicle (94 Chev Lumina with just 44K on the clock.) Van was family owned so we know where it has been. Van was in excellent condition. For example they had to come back to auto body shop and try to find faults with it and go over every square inch when we said NO WAY to the 1st low ball. Even with the 2nd offer they still came back lower than estimate to fix it.

In April of 2006, my son stopped to make a left turn across 35 mph traffic and was rear-ended by a motorist covered by State Farm Insurance. His older car was totaled by a State Farm adjustor within days of the accident, yet State Farm denied his medical claims of neck and back injuries or pain and suffering.
In the later part of this year (2007), State Farm considered reimbursement to DSHS for the medical care my son sought for injuries as a result of the accident. The amount they are offering for settlement regarding his medical claims is a mere $276.67.
I am very pleased Washington has this new law regarding stiffer penalties for insurance companies who deny claims on behalf of their stockholders.

I had a former insuance company cancell me when they (claim) I did'nt make a payment after a not at fault accident claim (hit by a drunk driver) The insurance company even went as far as to call the insuarce guy and say DON'T CALL CUSTOMER IF THIS POLICY LAPSES. I was left with no insuance and not even aware of this fact. When I found out it shows that I was canceled and there for my insuance was REALLY HIGH for the next 3 years. Don't you just love the insuance company NOT!

The problem with this report was that they keep referring to the rate payers as customers, when the fact is they are the revenue source and the customers are THE COMPANY SHAREHOLDERS. It amazes me that with that much money at stake, why doesn't the state sell insurance as a revenue source

In 2003 I was injured when I was hit by a large pickup truck while legally in a crosswalk on my bicycle. At the time, I did nearly everything that has been suggested. I talked to attorneys and did research. I decided to go it alone, without an attorney. The insurance company followed the same practice as car dealerships: At first they give you someone nice and reassuring to talk to. This person says "don't worry, we'll take care of everything, we'll settle your claim, etc etc." Then when it comes time to actually negotiate a settlement amount (months later, when it's too late to get an attorney interested in your case), they bring in a hardball person to do the negotiation. It was an absolutely grueling process over a period of a couple of hours. Near the end, we had a reached an amount that I thought was fair. Then the negotiator reneged, essentially saying "I'm not allowed to go that high." The final amount was $6000 less than I negotiated for. I feel the company did not negotiate in good faith. And unfortunately my whiplash injury lingers. I'll probably have to see a chiropractor for the rest of my life. I don't know how any amount of money can compensate me for what I've been through. And I am not altogether sure I would have received more if I'd hired an attorney, since they take 1/3 of the settlement. In addition the police officer on the scene was taken in by the lies of the driver of the vehicle, weakening my case. Instead of trying to the best for an injured party, these types of situations become a war of experts. The whole system is in need of a serious overhaul.

I also agree with HEATHER.

The December 2006 storm laid 3 trees on our home. Farmers Insurance took very good care of our claim, and just as they said the claim would remain open until the repairs were done. Their "local response representatives", were quick to respond and paid our intial claim amount within weeks. Once we found a general contractor, it was determined the roof repair would be higher, we met again with Farmers, and they agreed to more money, and paid it very quickly. During the tear down of our home,(basically it was gutted down to the studs), again the general contractor found additional problems caused by the tree impact and water damage, again Farmers agreed to more money and paid very quickly.

We have had FARMERS for 28 years, for homeowners on two properties, auto insurance and life insurance for a family of five. The few times we have had claims, we have been completely satisified.

Why didn't KING 5 profile satisfied insurance customers?

Cathy Green

I also agree with HEATHER.

The December 2006 storm laid 3 trees on our home. FARMERS INSURANCE took very good care of our claim, and just as they said the claim would remain open until the repairs were done. Their "local response representatives", were quick to respond and paid our intial claim amount within weeks. Once we found a general contractor, it was determined the roof repair would be higher, we met again with Farmers, and they agreed to more money, and paid it very quickly. During the tear down of our home,(basically it was gutted down to the studs), again the general contractor found additional problems caused by the tree impact and water damage, again Farmers agreed to more money and paid very quickly.

We have had FARMERS for 28 years, for homeowners on two properties, auto insurance and life insurance for a family of five. The few times we have had claims, we have been completely satisified.

Why didn't KING 5 profile satisfied insurance customers?

Cathy Green

Like any business, insurance companies operate to make a profit. It makes little business sense to puposefully deny a claim. The insurance industry is one of the most heavily regulated, not only in the country, but in this state, meaning it's very difficult to low-ball customers even if companies wanted to. People simply need to understand how insurance works. You get what you pay for. Water damage is almost always excluded. It's right there in black and white in your policy. You can't expect your company to pay for coverage you didn't pay for. You certainly wouldn't expect your cable company to provide you with HBO if you weren't paying for it. There are literally millions of claims filed every year from car accidents to natural disasters. Insurance companies help millions of people every year get back on their feet and recover from life-changing events.

Thank You, Heather and D. Most of the comments I've read so far have been compalints from customers who have had a bad experience with a claim they made with their insurance company.
For one thing, every insurance company is under completely separate and independent management - not all companies make it their objective to low-ball their customers. In addition, if there is a group of companies out there who are making a concious effort to low-ball their customers on loss payments, they should be individually singled out and investigated rather than grouping all "Insurance Companies" together like they are all cohorts. So like any business, even in the case of a perfectly fair insurance company there will occasionally be a customer that slips through the cracks and does not get the level of service that they deserve. This does not mean that the company has not made an effort to try to offer fair settlements to every customer. Before you judge an industry, it would be good to consider differences in the rates of customer complaints with different companies, rather than picking on the industry as a whole.
People tend to want to be put in a better position than they were before their loss, but the whole purpose of insurance is to get you back to where you were before your loss, no more and no less.
I have had two claims in my lifetime, one with Unigard and the other with Progressive. I was 100% compensated for my loss in a matter of days in both cases. By my experience, both of these companies have excellent customer service policies and strive to make their insureds happy with their settlement. Maybe there are other companies out there that aren't as good.
Anyway, I would like to see King5 run a special that depicts the other side of the picture - the side of the insurance companies and their satisfied customers, and not the lawyers and the minority of unhappy customers.

I do not agree with heather. I believe the stories were to make people aware of what your insurance companies could do to you if you file a claim. I pay for a service when I pay my insurance every month and I expect them to handle it quickly and nicely. Remember we are the ones paying so they can have a paycheck. Its like if you go to a restaurant, you want quick friendly service. I believe people have the coverage they need the companies just dont want to pay. If this was to happen to any of these people who do not agree with the story I think they would think differently about insurance companies. It is not fair what they have done to me and numerous other people.

Jeni brigham

Jeni Brigham,
I was not intending to discount the stories of those, like yourself, who have for various reasons run into difficulties when trying to get what they deserve from their insurance company. In fact, I am curious about the details behind why your insurance company claims that they do not owe you money. Jeni, I'm not saying you are one of them, but I think many people may not be aware of the policy coverages, limits, and conditions whose purpose is to keep your premiums down to a manageable level for the general public. If insurance company had to pay any claim from any customer, just because that customer feels like they "deserve" coverage for the loss, premiums would have to be so high that most ordinary people could not afford coverage.
So I do feel for you that you have been getting the run-around by your company and I would expect and hope that you would go shopping for another insurance company b/c yours has left you with a sour taste. But let me just indulge in one more analogy. Remember that insurance companies are businesses just like all other businesses in our country. They have to strive for efficiency like any other private enterprise and simply do not have the resources to be 100% perfect 100% of the time. Think of the airlines. when you pay for your ticket, you expect to be delivered to your destination in a relatively timely fashion, without any drama, and with your belongings in tact. Think about how often people you know have lost luggage or been "bumped" to a later flight. This is a great inconvenience to the customer at the time and may even cause them to refuse to use that airline again. However, these types of inconveniences are inevitable b/c they just can't hire enough employees to watch over each and every passenger's personal well-being throughout the entire trip. Not to mention weather-related issues that the airline has no control over. In the same way, insurance companies have to deal with helping as many people as they can the best that they can manage with the resources they have to work with.
Many of the complaints today were related to the windstorm last winter. Well, it makes sense that when there is a catastrophic event, and claim some in by the truckload all at once, the systems just get clogged up and there just aren't enough employees to make sure that every customer is getting the treatment they would deserve in an ordinary circumstance. However, any company that has not at least been responsive to your requests a year later is not worth staying with. Just my two-cents.

As a retired general adjuster (property) and a regional claims manager of a major insurance company (you may think is pro-insurance, but I think not), I would like to say that, yes there are companies that try to "cheap out". I worked for a major company headquartered in Boston who published a paper called the "32 Points" which was basically a paper on how to 'screw' insureds. My claims manager told me to do what it said or I could lose my job, but when I told him some of the points were in violation of policy conditions. He told me most don't read their policies. I quit two weeks after my one 1 year contract was up.

When I was a regional claims manager of another company, the State of New Jersey (one of the toughest on insurers) did a compliance audit on our office. No complaints after they reviewed two years of closed claims, property, auto physical damage and automobile bodily injury. All claims adjusters, examiners and supervisors were strictly accountable for upholding the State's insurance laws.

The injured party must understand that when they seek an attorney, the attorney is usually (but not always) interested in their fee, which ranges from 33% to 50% plus expenses of any settlement; so the injured party must look at their 'net' to the injured party.

When Chris Ingalls did his outline, I dropped a note to him outlining that his description of "loss ratio" was not technically correct. Secondly, companies were beholding to their stockholders, well, State Farm has none, it's a privately held company (also the largest insurer).

I did offer my thoughts to Mr. Ingalls and he did call me, but I got the feeling that he blew me off although I told him I retired as an officer of major insurer.

Yes, there are still companies that try to 'dump' claims without listening to their clients, but the majority of insurers are reputable and settle claims fairly and promptly. Don't forget those insureds or claimants that think that an insurance settlement is going to be like 'manna from heaven', it is not and as a speaker stated, an insurance policy is a CONTRACT and buyers must understand it. They have a agent, broker or salesperson who collects a commission, thus is under a fiduciary responsibility to answer questions and explain what is covered and what is not. Should they fail to do this, then they could be held partially responsible for their errors or omissions.

If I were doing a story, I would like the facts and would have listened and then reviewed the insurers' required annual filings with each state -- specifically page 14 of the filing. But, unfortunately we live in a time of 10 second sound bites and want to 'top sheet' (reading only the bullet points) and no looking at both sides of the story.

Respectfully submitted,

R. Callard, Retired insurance executive

Clearly, Heather, Pat and Cathy Green are all employees of the insurance companies. I know of no one other than employees that have not had bad experiences with the industry. I had luggage lost on a trip to the east coast. The airlines had no idea where it had been misplaced and were not very willing to provide compensation. As a precaution I filed a claim against my renter's insurance. It ended up that the luggage was found after 2 weeks, sooner than my claim had even been processed. So the claim to Allstate ended up being $0.00. But when it came time to renew, they held the one claim against me and would not renew. Now I have to wait for a year for any other company to provide the same insurance. The industry is really just a racket where you pay for something you never get. The same is true for every person and relative I know with claims from the wind storms, car accidents, etc.

Four years ago our 40 sailboat was damaged in a wind storm. We filed a claim with our then yacht insurance, MARKEL, and they promptly denied it.

We got estimates for getting our boat fixed for around $30,000 and again tried to re-file the claim, submitting a marine survey from a well known and excellent surveyor. Again Markel denied our claim, so we were forced to hire a maritime attorney, because we KNEW (as did our attorney) that the damage WAS included in our all perils policy.

Long story short, after 18 months of legal battles, Markel was forced to pay over $120,000 including all of our attorney’s fees, to repair our boat. As soon as they cut the check, they dropped our policy for life.

The whole situation was SO frustrating for us, because not only did we waist 18-months time fighting the insurance company, and not being able to use our boat, they also ended up paying 4-times what it would have cost if they had paid the claim up front, which only serves to increase EVERYONE’S insurance rates.

During our 18-month ordeal, we heard from many other boaters who had also had claims denied by Markel, and most of them did not go to the lengths that we did to fight them, even though their claims were just as valid as ours.

Insurance companies count on people rolling over and not wanting to go through the hassle that we did, so ultimately they only pay out a very small percentage of claims, and do not fulfill their obligation to their policy holders.

In another unrelated incident, the agent we delt with was trained to automatically deny all claims. There needs to be legislation againt this!!

I accidentally stumbled on Mr. Robert Mak's show on Will Your Insurance Pay and became increasingly glued to the set. I am currently struggling with Allstate on a home owners insurance claim that involved and accidental fire. The problem I have is that because the home was just purchased in Aug 07 and the home "accidently" according to the fire investigation caught fire one month later. Allstate is putting me through the ringer. I didn't realize that Allstate would be so complicated. I am asked for personal information down to my marital lifestyle to back taxes information for 4 years to depositions and recorded conversations with Allstate representatives. Allstate has mislead me to believe that I was in good hands only to cancel my policy and fire the adjuster shortly after the fire. I am now asked to attend a court recorded deposition along with my husband and other person whom was doing some minor repairs on the home. I have contacted a lawyer for legal consultation but I am sure Allstate is not willing to pay this claim based on the fact there was hardly any premiums made to this policy. Aside from me being extremely cooperative with all of Allstate demands and request I see this leading down the hill of NO THEY WON'T PAY, its as if they are looking for some kind of loop hole or inconsistency in my story...and believe me there isn't any. I'm a very angry person when it comes to insurance companies and can't understand why they market their product as willing and caring people when in actuality its thier profit that matters.

Some good comments here.

I was totally screwed over by my own PIP insurance by Allstate and currently suing them. 3 years later, same thing with Liberty Mutual.Allstates adjuster said in depositions when asked why they cut off my medical benefits after 6 months that it was standard procedure. When asked if he knew what fiduciary duty was he answered no.When my lawyer explained they had a duty to investigate validity of claims he told my lawyer it was his duty to minimize claims. I think that says it all. My recommendation is stay away from heavily advertised insurance cuz they are not spending money on claims they are spending on lawyers , adjusters, and commercials. Check the Ins. Commissioners web site for complaints. My big question is how do they find so many employees with no conscience?
What kind of a world are they leaving to their children.

When we were with Famers insurance and had a claim it was always the same answer. Your policy does not cover that even though the policy clearly staed it did. When we pressed our agent she said that they would probably pay but that our rates would rise as a result. The answer for us was to cancel all of our Farmers policys and go with Ameriprise. i have to tell you the first claim they listened to us and paid out a fair amount to solve our claim. No run around no threats. just good service. So my advice is if you dont like the way your company or agent trats you . Shop around and vote with your premiums.

Having worked for many insurance companies as an adjuster, I always treated the insured fairly, on one occasion asking an insured to file an insurance commissioner complaint because she was being treated unfairly. Only one carrier required me to "cheat" a customer, and I promptly quit working for them. I won't mention that company name because I may be a Traveler again. One point that is probably not realistic was when an adjuster for Farmers wanted to pay $40,000 for a claim, and the "insured's adjuster" felt damages were $200,000. You wouldn't believe the number of claims that have gone to appraisal, the adjuster was at $5,000 and the public adjuster was at $150,000, and the independent umpire sided with the insurance company. When public adjusters make outrageous demands, it should not reflect poorly on the insurance company adjuster.

There is absolutely no denying that there is a problem here. When 50% of your polled audience suggest that they being treated unfairly by insurance companies the only other explanation for it is conspiracy; highly unlikely.

Jeni- You may be one that has not been teated well by your insurance company. I do ask if you knew exactly what was covered in your policy and what all the conditions were? It is your responsibility as a signer of a contract to know what you signed. Also, yes, when you go to a restaurant you expect quick and friendly service- but you do not always get it. Does that make you hate all restaurants? No. You may not want to go to that restaurant again, or be served by the same person, but you would not boycott all restaurants. In the same manner, you should not hate all insurance companies because you felt treated poorly by one.

Brian- I do not work for an insurance company (however, if I did, that should not discount my opinion- in order to prove someone wrong or better your side of the argument, you must know the other side (rule #1 of debate). I work at a pharmaceutical company and have had extensive training in proper investigations as well as ethics. The majority of my post dealt with the incomplete investigation done by King 5 investigators. Are there individuals who do not get treated properly by their insurance companies? Sure, but they are not in the majority (look at the actual numbers of complaints- they are in the extreme minority). It seems that way on this message board because those who feel like they were "screwed" by their insurance company are the ones who will get on the message board to complain. Have I had a claim with an insurance company in the past? Yes- and it was handled very well, with great compensation.

Wes- in answer to your comment about the poll, in order to get an accurate reading of who feels like they are treated fairly or unfairly by their insurance company, you would have to do a randomized poll that is not biased. Unfortunately, when you place a poll on a website that is mostly viewed by those who are already biased to one way, you will inevitabley get a skewed sample, and therefore a misrepresentation of what everyone in WA actually thinks. I am not saying that the results would positively be different, just that you cannot trust polls placed on websites to be accurate, especially when one individual can usually vote more than once.

Once again, I think people also have to remember that we do not live in a socialist country. The government does not pay for our insurance (which would greatly increase our taxes). Insurance is a private industry and will remain one. Therefore, there will always be differences in contracts, a need to make money, and a need to run a business.

You also should not equate one bad experience with an entire industry. I have had a bad experience with one cable company, however, I do not blame every cable company that exists for that one bad experience.

We also need to remember that none of the problems that bring us to need insurance companies are their fault. These problems ar weather related or people related (vandalism, theft, car accidents). Many times, people are angry at what happened to them, and the insurance company can become the scapegoat because they are placed in the forefront of the situation.

My number one piece of advice is to know your insurance contract- know what is covered and if you want more coverage- purchase the extra insurance- it is available (and I know this as an insured individual, not as someone who works in the industry as others have stated).

All I ask is to do your research, know both sides of the story so you can determine what you agree with in an informed manner, and for those who really do feel that they were mistreated- you can always switch insurance companies, agents, etc. Not every agent or company is evil as this story and many individuals posting here are trying to claim.

I saw the story on the Dec Storm of 2006 and I have still to get all my damage fixed. The under amount for the damage the insurance company gave us was about $15,000. I can not get a contractor to even look for the amount the insurance company gave us. I have done a number of temporary repairs and finished some. but others remain undone because of the price. I have until the 11th of DEC. to get a solid bid and get the insurance company to do something or file a notice of suit or a suit I don't quite know which. I have tried until I am about to give up. What should we do?

WATCHED YOUR SPECIAL ON SUNDAY 12/2/2007 IN REGARDS TO INSURANCE CO.S AND CLAIMS.BEEING A REPAIR SHOP AND DEALING WITH CLAIMS FROM INSURANCE CO.S I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT THE INSURANCE CO.S DO WAIT AS LONG AS THEY CAN TO PAY CLAIMS.I HAVE WAITED AS LONG AS 90 DAYS TO GET PAID FROM WORK DONE ON CUSTOMERS CARS.THIS INDUSTRY HAS AND IS RUNNING THE BODY SHOPS TO THE LOWEST COSTS AND DICTATING COSTS UNREASONABLY.INSURANCE CO.S DON'T WORK FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS THEY WORK FOR THEIR PROFITS.
WHEN INSURANCE CO.S CAN TELL CUSTOMERS TO GO TO SPECIFIC REPAIR SHOPS THAT OFFER THEM(INSURANCE CO.S)DISCOUNTS ON PARTS AND LABOR.HOW WOULD THE PUBLIC FEEL IF THEY KNEW OF THIS (AND ALOT DOESN'T)AND THEY CAN'T GET THE SAME DEAL FOR THEMSELVES.FOR SOME PEOPLE THE SAVINGS COULD GO TOWARDS THEIR DEDUCTABLES THAT IS SOMETIMES HARD TO COME UP WITH.
I HAVE THOUGHT ALOT ABOUT SUBMITTING A LETTER TO THE NEWS PAPERS TELLING OF MY EXPERIANCES BUT WAS TOLD IT WOULD COME BACK TO HURT ME.
THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS ON SUNDAY HOPEFULLY ALOT OF PEOPLE WATCHED IT.HOWEVER THERE IS ALOT MORE THEY COULD LEARN.
THANKS
THOMAS BRAMHALL

Insurance is a SCAM
Just another way to Mandate that
citizens Fork over their money.

Brian - I am not now or ever have been employed by an insurance agency or any other part of the industry! There obviously is a problem, but painting them all with the same brush is wrong. And KING presenting just one side of the issue is wrong as well. But the way it was told made for a good story.

I will start out by saying that I used to work for an insurance company, but do not anymore.

Insurance companies are a business, and most of them are ethical, pay their claims, rated policies fairly. Those that do not are in the tiny minority, and do not tend to stay in business.

The absolute best thing you can do is actually read and know what you are buying. Surprisingly, few people do this - they say, oh, I have full coverage. Without ever knowing what "full coverage" actually means. It's like someone buying a tv that they are told "will do everything" - then feeling cheated because it doesn't play DVD's. It's not a DVD player - it's a tv.

Insurance companies do not and will not compensate you for every bad thing that happens. Or even for every financial loss that you suffer for covered property. They don't personally care about you - they aren't your mom, your best friend, or your kindly neighbor. They are ONE party in a financial contract. And you are the other party.

Sometimes, it doesn't make sense to file a claim. Especially if it's a fairly "small" (meaning, less than a years premium) claim. It WILL usually raise your rates. You're better off absorbing the cost yourself, no matter who is at fault.

The other thing people don't really realize is, insurance companies HAVE to have a profit. They need to hold reserves of cash to pay potential claims, by law. In order to do that, they estimate how much they need to charge you (and all the other customers) in order to cover not only those claims that occur, but those that might occur. If they do not charge enough, they could very well be wiped out with one catastrophe (like the windstorm of last year) and no one would get their claims paid.

One more thing that not everyone is aware of is that you are not required to take the first - or any - offer that an insurance company gives you. Many times they WILL lowball a figure for an "immediate settlement", and if you need the money bad enough, you may take it. If you can hold out - do so. But don't try to hold out for "more" - insurance companies aren't there to make your financial situation better.

As far as what is wrong with insurance companies in WA - they aren't off the hook in my opinion either. The big problem is an appointed insurance commissioner. This should be an elected position. By making it an appointed one, it's like the foxes deciding which one of them will guard the henhouse.

My suggestion is this. Read the fine print ahead of time. Compare companies and agents. It will take time, and it takes work, but is well worth it. If you need extra insurance - buy it. Don't expect them to solve all your financial problems. And get to actually KNOW your insurance agent. Buying insurance off the internet has done a lot of damage to companies reputations, because you can simply buy what's there, without ever having talked with a professional about what you actually need.

What good is this? The insurarnce companies have had free reign since at least 2001. Everyone is sposed to feel sorry for them because they suffered such big losses. This seems to entitle them to raise deductibles and premiums and lower or refuse to pay or delay benefits. If it is the law they are sposed to pay in a timely manner, then why arent they? Who is sposed to enforce it? Is it the state? or federal government? Why do we always have to have a lawyer or an election to get what is due?