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Bad faith insurance companies

Fight Bad-faith Insurance Companies (FBIC) is an excellent site on getting the low-down on your insurance company. In previous posts it has been mentioned that there are no Federal or State laws that specifically regulate insurance policies. Sure, there are rules and regulations on how insurance companies conduct business, but when it comes to how policies should be written or enforced there are NO LAWS.

The worst insurance policy to have is a long-term disability (LTD) policy that falls under the guidelines of Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). If you make a claim on an ERISA covered LTD policy and have been denied benefits, you will be unlikely to find an attorney to pursue the matter. The major obstacles to finding an attorney to handle your lawsuit are that you must sue in Federal court, you are unable to collect attorney fees if you do prevail, and punitive damages cannot be awarded.

You will not have much luck with your state’s Department of Insurance (DOI) either. Of all the state DOI’s, California is probably the most effective one, and even it is powerless when it comes to a LTD policy covered by ERISA. In fact, no state regulates ERISA insurance policies. The state DOI’s only regulate how the insurance company conducts business in the state—not the policy itself.

What surprises most people is that no state will sue an insurance company on behalf of a policy holder. A state DOI will levy fines against an insurance company for fraud and criminal behavior, but even those fines are relatively rare.

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Kwikstart August 22, 2007, 6:53 pm

    I received information today that there is a new Hollywood documentary on the Bad Faith aspects of disability insurance. It opens first on 8/24/07 in Los Angeles at the Laemelle Theaters. See the new website for reviews and information. http://www.badfaithdoc.com

    Tthis is a professional production by an award winning Hollywood producer. The name of the film is “BAD FAITH”.

  • Denny January 23, 2012, 6:22 am

    I would like to start a petition calling for regulation and access to justice. We have nobody advocating for those of us who have been wrongfully denied, no recourse aside from expensive attorneys most of which wouldn’t even consider one of these cases. Can anyone help me determine who would be the best organization, government branch or department(s) to direct this petition to? DOL? or DOI? Any input, advice or info pertaining to this subject would be appreciated – I’ve included the link to the petition which I just started, I haven’t been getting signatures yet as I say the specifics still need to be sorted out – but any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!