Insurance Agent Forum

[somarco]

You need something called "a case" or good luck finding an attorney who won't demand payment in full.

You miss the point.

Clients will sue over anything, or nothing at all.

Attorneys will take a case for a few hundred bucks up front if they think a contingency fee will net them a percentage on a $100,000+ claim.

I have been shot at many times over the years over nothing I have done. So far, no one has hit me but I am not feeling lucky at all.

We deal in a business where literally hundreds of thousands of dollars are at stake. There are quite a few lawyers, and judges, that will sign off on a suit simply because someone claims they were wronged.

This is not the used car business or aluminum siding. This is serious business where a denied claim can throw someone into bankruptcy. Carriers are easy targets because of deep pockets and agents just happen to get in the line of fire. If a carrier can throw you under the bus to save a few thousand from their pocket they will.

You can bank on that one.

[healthagent]

True - a denied claim can indeed BK someone and if they want to chase after the insurance company more power to 'em.

I've been threatened also. The client of mine who got balanced billed for $8,000 said he'd sue me and the company. It's mainly hot air.

I'm not saying there's never a case where an agent's been sued and I'm not saying there's never a time where I'd be sued. I'm just saying the likelihood is extremely small. Although I've only been in the biz 4 years I've written a fairly decent amount of business and only God know how many claims have been filed. I've had 3 pissed clients so far, and two of their problems got fixed easily.

And if you really want to see lawsuits, then check out the car biz. Dealerships live in court. The salesmen, however, can't be touched nor would any attorney go after a car salesman probably making $35,000 a year. I'm not sure an attorney would be going after that health insurance agent who's likely waiting for his next check to put gas in his car, nor would I think his apartment could be attached. Lol. No lawyer's going after some broke-dick agent on contingency!!! But that's funny to think about.

You think health insurance is more serious than the car biz? Really? How many people were killed by Firestone tires? How many people were killed by the faulty gas tanks? Remember Pintos? How many people are killed each year do to factory defects. The car biz is far more serious then this line of work will ever be.

Go get a job at an unethical used car lot that's faking state inspections. You sell a bad health policy you could BK someone. You sell a bad car and you could kill someone - and maybe someone else's family.

[somarco]

No lawyer's going after some broke-dick agent on contingency

I never suggested that.

Try again.

I really don't care about what happens in the used car business. That is not where I earn my living.

[healthagent]

Can you point to a case where an agent was sued by their client for the insurance company denying a claim where the agent didn't commit a fraudulent act or is this just all theory on your part. I'd love to read up on that case. I can point to hundreds of cases by doing a Google news search where Mega was sued. Not in a single case was the agent a co-defendant or sued separately.

I'd assume with the countless thousands upon thousands of cases where claims where denied I'd be able to pull up a fair amount of lawsuits where the client is suing the agent directly. I have not found one.

[James]

For the most part, the Insurance Agent is fairly well insulated from lawsuits in general. That is comparing it to most other independent type of ways to make a living.

[healthagent]

Well, anything "could" happen. I could go outside to get the mail today and get killed by part of a wing that tore off an airplane. Maybe I should stay inside.

[arnguy]

Rick, watch out for those hoosiers. SAI might steal your name!

[salpro22]

Originally Posted by healthagent

Well, anything "could" happen. I could go outside to get the mail today and get killed by part of a wing that tore off an airplane. Maybe I should stay inside.

I about cried from laughing so hard after seeing this comment.

[GreenSky]

Originally Posted by arnguy

Rick, watch out for those hoosiers. SAI might steal your name!

I didn't want to mention names of anyone that might not be trustworthy.

Rick

[slushhhpuppie]

(In Pennsylvania at least...)

There is an exemption to the DBA rule. If you use your full name + "and Associates" or "and Company" you don't have to register a ficticious business entity.

John Doe & Co.
John Doe & Associates.

[somarco]

I gather none of you have been sued before in connection with this line of work.

[healthagent]

No. But I can't spend my time worrying about something that's completely out of my control either. I cannot stop someone from suing me and if it's gonna be a case where a client lies, decides to get amnesia or the carrier throws me under the bus then I guess it sucks to be me.

I especially like Assurant since it's an online app, client must go to Verifyhealth.com where they have to review the medical info on their own, then they have to sign the offer to accept/attest. I think that's pretty good protection for noting pre-ex conditions.

Regarding being sued over claims - 100% out of my control. All I can do is be diligent.

[arnguy]

I personally knew an agent some years ago who wrote a life policy on a lady. About a month after the policy was issued the insured died. I don't recall whether the insurer requested an autopsy but the lady had cancer which was the cause of death. The insurer refused to pay the death benefit, but they rescinded the policy and refunded the premiums paid. The surviving spouse sued the agent claiming that his wife had disclosed to the agent that she had terminal cancer. The agent alleged that the wife lied to him and did not answer the question truthfully regarding this health problem. I don't know how she got past a paramed (if there was one), but this agent spent over $5,000 in legal fees to defend himself. I don't know what the final outcome was because I left that agency while the case was still pending. The insurance company washed their hands of the whole deal and left the agent twisting in the wind. BTW he had no E&O.

[senior-advisor-indiana]

Nice story Arnguy. You couldn't make a better one up than that? Atleast John's was funny.

[Sir Ringo]

FWIW,this is second hand info from my broker, who stated that a year after he sold his share in a P&C company, his ex partner wrote a policy for a soldier that was stationed at camp shelby out of hattiesburg, ms for a new or newer pick-up. The agent finalized the deal on that weekend, took payment etc etc, now I am not a p&c agent and only know about it from [paying my own vehicle insurance). Anyway, that evening, the soldier wrecked his truck, in short, the ins. company (don't know who it was, but maybe? I can find out) denied his claims, the soldier asked this particular agent what he should do, and the agent said sue'em for it, because everything is legit, well, to make this long story short, he did and the ins. company filed a counter suit against the soldier AND the agent for fraud. The outcome?

Well, according to my broker, instead of the ins company paying about 30K and be on their way, they lost the suit, the agent countered and received over a $1 mil settlement, don't know what the soldier got out of it.

Could this really happen? Don't know, but my broker wasn't one to just spin off a tale, if you know what I mean.

[Winter]

Originally Posted by arnguy

I personally knew an agent some years ago who wrote a life policy on a lady. About a month after the policy was issued the insured died. I don't recall whether the insurer requested an autopsy but the lady had cancer which was the cause of death. The insurer refused to pay the death benefit, but they rescinded the policy and refunded the premiums paid. The surviving spouse sued the agent claiming that his wife had disclosed to the agent that she had terminal cancer. The agent alleged that the wife lied to him and did not answer the question truthfully regarding this health problem. I don't know how she got past a paramed (if there was one), but this agent spent over $5,000 in legal fees to defend himself. I don't know what the final outcome was because I left that agency while the case was still pending. The insurance company washed their hands of the whole deal and left the agent twisting in the wind. BTW he had no E&O.

Paramed or no paramed, there would have been a question on the app. Presumably the client signed the app attesting to the truthfulness of the answers.

Winter

[arnguy]

SAI, that is a true story! If you want the deatils, PM me and I will see if I can locate the guy and give you...the rest of the story. Kudos to Paul Harvey.