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Don’t trust insurance companies – a true story

August 24, 2016 by Jonathan Stein

Let me relate a real story about why you should never trust an insurance company. This is for a case I am currently working on. As background, my client was rear ended in a car accident by an unlicensed, uninsured driver. 

A client of mine was involved in a car crash. He went to the ER. His health insurance paid $4,000 of a $10,000 bill. His own insurance company, GEICO, offered to settle the case with him and told him it was based on $4,000 in medical bills. 

The problem? The client is still on the hook for the other $6,000. This is called balance billing and it is legal in California. In other words, you may get stuck with a balance for emergency room treatment even after your insurance company pays the bill. 

The adjuster knew this, admitted to me that he knew it, and had no problem with the fact that he lied to my client/their insured. Yes, their own customer they lied to and had no issue with it. The client called me for a consultation. I helped him through this mess and we will get his case resolved. 

The moral of the story: do not trust insurance companies. I don’t care if it is a “small crash” or a large crash, you need to at least consult with an attorney about your car crash.

Categories: Auto Insurance, Claims, Consumer Issues, Current Affairs, Hiring an attorney, Insurance Operations, Law, Personal Injury Tags: car accident, car crash, car rental, cell phone, collision, contingency fee, drive and text, extra insurance, fair market value, government tort claim, insurance company, insurance coverage, insurance privacy, loss of use, Minimum Impact, Minimum Impact Soft Tissue, MIST, motor vehicle accident, motor vehicle crash, MVA, MVC, policy limits, privacy, property damage, rental, rental car, rental coverage, rental reimbursement, repairs, statute of limitations, text and drive, total loss, UMBI, UMPD, uninsured motorist, uninsured motorist bodily injury, uninsured motorist property damage

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