If insurance companies in the U.S. decide not to pay out benefits, that’s when all hell will break loose.
A rare exception to this practice is a life insurance policy -- for two reasons:
1. It's terrible P.R. to deny a life insurance claim. Widows and orphans make for highly sympathetic victims in these cases.
2. An insurance company that denies a life insurance claim would probably never be able to sell another insurance policy again. If you can't trust an insurer to pay out on THAT kind of claim, then you can't trust the insurer under any circumstances.
If insurance companies in the U.S. decide not to pay out benefits, that’s when all hell will break loose.