Ten Worst Insurance Companies ranked by AAJ (part 1 of 5)

Do any of these sound familiar?  "You are in Good Hands with Allstate",  "Like a Good Neighbor State Farm is there", "Better Benefits at work - Unum", "Helping people live healthier lives - United Health. The above mentioned slogans are all from top insurance companies that were listed in the publication Top Ten Worst Insurance companies - How they raise premiums, deny claims, and refuse insurance to those who need it most,  ranked by the American Association for Justice (AAJ).

As a Florida law firm, LaBovick & LaBovick, PA handles personal injury claims from accidents.  We have worked with most insurance, if not all insurance companies, when working on behalf of our injured clients. This post does not mean to bash insurance companies or suggest not purchase insurance. There have been several instances where a client's Uninsured Motorist policy had to kick in, because the person responsible for the automobile accident, had no coverage or insufficient coverage.  It is wise, to have a good insurance agent that you trust and respect, to write an insurance policy. Personally, I have been with my Insurance Agent for 20 years.

Proper coverage is so critical to a driver on Florida's roadways. If you are involved in an accident, and the other party responsible does not have coverage, you will wish that you would have taken out the Uninsured motorist coverage for the extra few hundred a year.  It can save you lots of headaches in the future, if you are injured in an automobile accident. Talk to your agent about proper coverage for your vehicle.

All insurance carriers are not equal.  Some are better than others and some are worse. The AAJ took a look at several insurance carriers and came up with a list of the top ten worst insurance companies. They investigated court documents, records from the FBI and the SEC, Complaints and investigations from State Insurance departments, testimony and deposition from former agents and adjusters, and new accounts from around the country.  The final comprehensive list of the top ten worst include automobile insurers, homeowners insurers, health insurers, life insurers and disability insurers.

There are a few well know advertising insurance companies are absent from the AAJ list they are AFLAC, GEICO, and Progressive.  They must be doing something right, if they managed to avoid the list.

Did you know that the insurance industry takes over $1 trillion annually in insurance premiums? The insurance industry also, has more than $3.8 trillion in assets, according to the Insurance Information Institute. One would think that with all of this money, why on earth would the insurance industry have to deny benefits to clients that were entitled to them.  There is only one thing that comes to mind and that is corporate greed.

In this five part series, we will look at the insurance industry, discuss companies on the ten worst insurance company list and give readers a fresh perspective as to what the companies are doing to improve public opinion and to service customers.

According to the AAJ, the following companies ranked as the top ten worst insurance companies:

  1. Allstate
  2. Unum
  3. AIG
  4. State Farm
  5. Conseco
  6. WellPoint
  7. Farmers
  8. United Health
  9. Torchmark
  10. Liberty Mutual

Stay tuned for part two of the series on "he worst ten insurance companies" and what every consumer needs to know when choosing an insurance provider.

Read the PDF of the AAJ's "Ten Worst Insurance Companies"

Deny, Delay, Defend - How Insurance Companies handle claims

Have you paid your Insurance premium lately?  If so, your premiums are helping the Insurance Industry account for over $1 trillion in annual premiums and amass over $3.8 trillion in assets, which happens to be more than the GDPs of all but two countries in the world, the United States and Japan. Despite this overwhelming success, the Insurance still try and do anything to avoid paying claims for their clients.

The consumer rights organization, American Association of Justice, released the comprehensive report, The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America: How They Raise Premiums, Deny Claims, and Refuse Insurance to Those Who Need It Most." This report highlights 10 of the worst insurance companies for consumers based criteria such as, SEC and FBI records, testimony from former insurance agents and adjusters, court documents and more. 

The report ends with making a call for "Pro-Consumer Insurance Reforms" and making a suggestion for the following three points:

1. Require Insurers to Work in Good Faith

2. Require Prior Approval of Rate Increases 

3. Establish an Insurance Consumer Advocate

The remainder of the top 10 list of worst insurance companies for consumers is rounded out by the following:

  1. UNUM, - Disability Insurance, Life insurance, supplemental and accident insurance
  2. AIG,  - Auto insurance, life insurance, accident and health insurance,  property and casualty
  3. State Farm, - Auto, life, health, home owners insurance and health insurance
  4. Conseco, - Health Insurance, Life Insurance and Annuities
  5. WellPoint, - Health benefits Company
  6. Farmers Insurance  - Auto, Life and Homeowners Insurance
  7. UnitedHealth, - Health care Insurance
  8. Torchmark, - Holding Company offering life and supplemental health insurance
  9. Liberty Mutual - Auto, Life, Homeowners and Commercial Insurance.

Over the past 16 years, I have handled thousands of Personal Injury cases against several of the companies on this list and a host of others.  I can attest firsthand that some companies are better than others at handling claims for their Insured and helping the needs of the injured.

I find it no surprise that Allstate made the top of the list, nor am I not surprised by the findings of the report: The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America". I do find it strange however, that the insurance companies are so quick to harm and work against the interest of their own insured clients.

A few comments from bloggers around the country on this AAJ report include:

Randy David, blogger for Gotcha Covered, wrote the post Is Allstate the Worst Insurer in America? He added to the discussion that "the designation is not surprising, given the ongoing war between the insurer and trial lawyers over auto insurance accident claims." 

David Gottlieb, blogger for No Fault Paradise, wrote the post, Top Ten Insurance worst Insurance Companies for Consumers.  He has some pretty interesting comments on his blog regarding the post.  Great discussions on the subject of the insurance industry and how premiums are increasing at an alarming rate faster than the incurred losses for the Insurance carriers.

John Day, blogger for Day on Torts, wrote the post, Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America and listed the top 10 Insurance companies that were in the AAJ report.

I look forward to see how the Insurance Companies and the public respond to this AAJ report on their industry that outlines how consistently they put profits over their policyholders.

 After reading the AAJ report, I would love to hear from consumers on how they feel their insurance company is treating them.  Has the report made you think differently about your provider?

I welcome comments...