It would be fair to say that most residents of Grand Prairie, Arlington, Mansfield, Coppell, De Soto, Duncanville, Fort Worth, Weatherford, and all other places in Texas, are responsible and conduct themselves in fair and proper ways in their dealings with others. Unfortunately that is not the way insurance companies always conduct their affairs.
The Dallas Morning News recently ran an article showing misconduct by two insurance companies doing business in Texas. The article is titled, “2 Texas auto insurers top complaints list, face investigation.” This article ran on June 5, 2010, and was authored by Terrence Stutz. Almost any experienced Insurance Law Attorney could tell you the names of the insurance companies that treat people right most of the time and the ones that treat people wrong most of the time. Further, even the “good” companies will do people wrong too many times.
In the article, Terrence Stutz gives some examples that are typical problems with the two companies named. The insurance companies are Loya Insurance and Old American County Mutual. These two companies were at the top of the list after an analysis of the Texas Department of Insurance figures showed that 10 of the 25 largest auto insurers in the state had worse than average customer service records. The above companies were at the top of the list.
One example cites where a driver, Larry Randal, was in an accident that was not his fault. His vehicle was sideswiped and forced off the road. The driver at fault had tried to flee the scene. Randal’s damages were $1,700, but the insurance company, Loya Insurance, offered to pay only $270.
Another example cited in the article involved a hospital administrator who was offered a low ball figure for damages to her car that was more than a $1,000 less than was what was needed to fix her car even though the other driver admitted fault.
A third example showed a Loya insured driver running a stop sign and broadsiding a lady named Arlene Gillespie and her three year old daughter. The driver was suspected of drinking and ran from the scene, but dropped his wallet and cell phone allowing the police to determine his identity. She got the run-around from Loya who eventually compensated her for her car but still had not taken care of the leg injuries that were sustained in this broadside collision.
Other examples are cited in the article. All the examples are situations where the insurance company should just take care of the claim and allow the not at fault drivers to get on with their lives.
Complaints to the Texas Department of Insurance should not be discouraged but rarely will anything be done. The Texas Department of Insurance cannot make or force a company to pay a disputed claim if there is no violation of the law nor can they decide who is at fault. The only positive outcome to filing a complaint is that records are kept and this information is then available to other prople and sometimes can be used in litigation against these companies.
It is companies like this, conducting their business with total disregard of the consequences to those who are harmed by their conduct, that force victims to seek legal help in situations that should be worked out without the need of seeking an attorney.
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