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From Car Accidents To Emergency Room Visits: Here's Ben's Tips For Winning The Insurance Claim Game
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One of the by-products from all this wintry weather we've endured the last few days has to be an unfortunate refresher course in our insurance coverage. Whether it's filing an insurance claim resulting from a car accident, to covering medical bills for an unexpected trip to the emergency room, consumers have to understand how squeeze every dollar they can out of their insurance policies.
Q1: "You've got some rules posted on your website...and these rules apply to the insurance game, no matter if you're filing a property claim, like for a car accident, or a health insurance claim, right?
A1: "Absolutely! In fact Rule #1 is this: It's imperative to fully understand that insurance is seriously different than any other product or service. To be able to "win" a settlement, you must first lose! What's worse is that when you have lost, you have lost the use of your car, your home, or your business. Under these circumstances, you also lose your ability to think and function as a normal person, which gives you a larger handicap - in addition to not knowing the claim game, the rules or how it is played."
In fact they have a lot more experience than all of us do! Insurance sellers have been practicing their game for 257 years and (collectively) invested billions of worker-hours honing their skills. They're the ones who have created the policies they sell, and they're the ones who have controlled most of your knowledge about the insurance game. Remember, they're the ones that sold you on trusting them to give you the rules. They also pre-sold you on the idea of calling them for help and quality advice when after you are already several points behind in the game."
Q2: "So then what's Rule #2?"
A2: "If you don't manage your insurance, your insurance will manage you. Take time to understand your policy and how to file on it when the time finally arrives. Simply buying an insurance policy without understanding how to collect the money from the company is not in your best interest. The time you invest to learn, will make you as smart as the sellers, which is what you need to be if you want to be on a level playing field. Take the time to know every rule.
Q3: "But this next rule is one I've heard you say over and over again for years...and that's paper your trail, right?"
A3: "Always paper your trail and document your claim...AHEAD of time! Got a camera? Got a videocamera? Use them! Take a walk through your home and photograph or videotape your home at least once a year and focus on those big ticket items. Stuff like electronic equipment (TVs/VCRs/computers/etc.), collectibles, guns, furs, crystal/silver/china, etc. Take the pictures or videotape and copies of any important documentation--seal it in an envelope and give it to a trusted friend or place in a safe deposit box.
And in this case at least if you're filing an automobile accident claim, it's always a good idea to occassionally burn the last exposure you've got remaining on that roll of film left over from the holidays or a vacation on documenting the condition of your rolling assets...your cars. [And if you've gotta digital camera, there's NEVER an excuse for not having current photos of all of your property that's insured...and especially your cars!]
But you've really gotta keep copious notes and paper your trail whenever you're filing health insurance claims. Especially since it's still relatively early in the calendar year and many of us haven't come close to reaching our "co-pay" and "out of pocket" share of the expense, consumers have to really work overtime to keep track of all of their receipts and all of their expenditures, reimbursable or not!
By the way: As a survivor of a pretty bad motorcycle accident, I can tell you there's a direct correlation between the severity of the accident and the stack of paperwork to follow. The more serious it is, the better you'd better paper your trail...not only to keep the health insurance folks straight but also unfortunately, for any possible trips to the courthouse, no matter what side of the lawsuit you end up on!"
Q4: "One of the rules on your website refers to "the dirty little secrets of insurance." What do you mean?
A4: "Their only business is cash flow management...not helping you to recover. To be profitable, every insurance company has its own dirty little secrets that they use to maximize their profits. This includes giving you "FREE" advice, denying paying your claim whenever possible, minimizing your losses by allowing them to tell you how much your loss is, or sending you to substandard repair companies who pander to insurance adjusters by using imitation parts and giving them low, low prices to fix houses, cars...and even people!
Remember: Insurance is NOT a friendly game or business! In spite of the illusions of friendship, comfort, security and joy between agents and consumers, the facts are that the insurance industry is the largest user of legal services (lawyers) in the world. Restated another way...insurance agents and lawyers are the true beneficiaries of your insurance policies."
Wanna read more about how to win the insurance claim game? Here you go.....
Wanna know how to complain and get results? Check out Ben's Six Steps To Effective Complaining section [it delivers results in your favor 90+% of the time!].
By the way: Have you signed up for your weekly Dose of Dover yet? It's a free weekly shot of un-common sense...Dover-style. Think of it as Consumer Reports meets Maxim Magazine [only without the hot chicks pics], delivered to your e-mail every Tuesday morning. Be the first on your block to gain the edge-the attitude-the insights that have become the hallmark of this award-winning website by signing up right here, Big Shot!
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