Posted on 08/26/2006 2:40:15 PM PDT by khnyny
Who are the moles? The question was like a parlor game for employees of State Farm Insurance Co. after Hurricane Katrina, one they nervously played during coffee breaks or in the parking lot after work.
Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, a prominent lawyer of tobacco litigation fame, created a stir by announcing in March that two "insiders" were helping him build cases against insurers for denying claims for Hurricane Katrina losses. Their identities remained a mystery until the day in early June when Cori and Kerri Rigsby — employees of a company that contracted with State Farm — told a supervisor they were cooperating with Scruggs.
That startling admission — and their subsequent resignations — ended a risky charade. The Rigsbys say they spent months collecting reams of internal State Farm reports, memos, e-mails and claims records before they gave them to Scruggs and state and federal authorities.
The sisters, who managed teams of State Farm adjusters, say the documents show that the insurer defrauded policyholders by manipulating engineers' reports so that claims could be denied.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
If a crime was involved and the documents were provided to the FBI to prove this, how is this stealing?
I'm sorry but if someone is commiting a crime it is your duty as a citizen to report it. Employer be damned.
My wife and I were at a dinner with some other couples. One man just came back from a several month stay in the NO area working as an insurance adjuster. He proudly told me how he worked with property owners to inflate their insurance claims and then in his next breath asked, "so are we gonna impeach Bush this fall".
AXCELLENT.
The new lending company founded by Axcel Rose.
That's sure true! I lived in CA during a few nasty earthquakes. Some of the claims I know about are to fix a swimming pool that had a crack for at least two years; professional cleaning and replacement of a kitchen floor and counters because bottles had broken and spilled (the owner had wanted a kitchen re-do for years); replacement of a tv that fell and broke (the tv hadn't worked in quite awhile); etc. All paid.
A natural disaster is viewed by many as a way to get home improvements they've wanted for years.
I too have been pleased with State Farm's handling of and payouts for my hurricane claims. I could certainly get cheaper auto rates but refuse to do so because of the outstanding service over the years I have received from my local agent. However, when it comes to bodily injury claims where damages are not so black and white and otherwise as measurable, State Farm becomes the scum of the earth.
This is a case where two wrongs will make a right!
That's the exact excuse the NYT used when they disclosed classified "leaked" information...it was for the "common good", don't ya know?
Myself, I would hope the illegal acts of the insurance companies could be proved LEGALLY, without illegal seizure of internal documents, but the cockroaches (aka, trial lawyers), will stoop to any level, legal or illegal, to make a few million dollars.
Nice......that's my homeowners as well as my auto insurance company! Between the two, insurance is costing me arount 9,500 a year. Well when the kids move out, it's time to switch!
Hopefully, the truth will come out and maybe these insurance companies will sue Mr. Moneybags and his two "whistle blowers."
When Primetime and 60 Minutes cover something, I know I'm only getting one side of the story. Their side.
I'm four hours inland by car from the Atlantic, and my insurer (Nationwide) sent out letters, and even did a followup telephone call, explaining that they did not cover flood damage. I made a point of asking just what their legal definition of "flood" was, because I perceived the whole thing as a preemptory attempt at abating any claims for water damage. Their legal definition was encroachment upon a structure due to naturally occurring, rising water. We can, on rare occasion, get hurricane force winds and very heavy rain this far in, but I am not in an area that could conceivably flood. If my house is ever under water, a fair amount of the whole county will be.
IMHO that adjuster is a SOB!
This past year State Farm Ins., sent us a letter advising us that earthquake insurance is no longer included on our home owners policy. Living in NW New Jersey, hopefully we don't have to worry about that! (crossing fingers) :)
I'll have to check my homeowner's policy for earthquake coverage; that really never even dawned on me. NC is actually considered a "moderate risk" state, due to the faults at Charleston, SC.
Good idea! Which insurance company do you have? I'm guessing that this is the new trend for insurers.
We have State Farm,even had to collect because of an auto accident were very pleased with them!!
where does it say they are now on the payroll of a trial lawyer? What *I* read said they turned the documents over to Scruggs, STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS. Fraud is fraud. Obviously you've never been victim of the biggest con artists in the world .. insurance companies.
I'm with Nationwide. I imagine their actuarial tables were blown out of the water in the past few years, so they're looking to limit their potential exposure going forward.
I have no complaints with their claims dept. it's their rates that are killing our budget, now this.
The attorney for SF on that show was useless - really makes one think they are covering up something.
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