Auto Accident? State Farm is not a "Good Neighbor"
Here's what the Utah Supreme Court has said about State Farm and its actions in a recent Utah case:
" We summarize here three examples from those findings of State Farm's most egregious and malicious behavior. First, State Farm repeatedly and deliberately deceived and cheated its customers . . . For over two decades, State Farm set monthly payment caps and individually rewarded those insurance adjusters who paid less than the market value for claims. Agents changed the contents of files, lied to customers, and committed other dishonest and fraudulent acts in order to meet financial goals. For example, a State Farm official in the underlying lawsuit in Logan instructed the claim adjuster to change the report in State Farm's file by writing that Ospital was "speeding to visit his pregnant girlfriend." There was no evidence at all to support that assertion. Ospital was not speeding, nor did he have a pregnant girlfriend. The only purpose for the change was to distort the assessment of the value of Ospital's claims against State Farm's insured. As the trial court found, State Farm's fraudulent practices were consistently directed to persons--poor racial or ethnic minorities, women, and elderly individuals--who State Farm believed would be less likely to object or take legal action." Campbell v. State Farm Automobile Insurance Company, 2001 UT 89,Para. 89. Click here to read the entire opinion http://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/campbell.htm
There you have it. Pretty damning evidence regarding State Farm's treatment of its own customers. If it treats its own insureds this way, imagine how it reacts to claimants seeking compensation for their injuries. Sometimes, the only way for truly injured people to get the money they both need and deserve, is through litigation. The fact remains that unrepresented parties are often treated unfairly by large insurers.
" We summarize here three examples from those findings of State Farm's most egregious and malicious behavior. First, State Farm repeatedly and deliberately deceived and cheated its customers . . . For over two decades, State Farm set monthly payment caps and individually rewarded those insurance adjusters who paid less than the market value for claims. Agents changed the contents of files, lied to customers, and committed other dishonest and fraudulent acts in order to meet financial goals. For example, a State Farm official in the underlying lawsuit in Logan instructed the claim adjuster to change the report in State Farm's file by writing that Ospital was "speeding to visit his pregnant girlfriend." There was no evidence at all to support that assertion. Ospital was not speeding, nor did he have a pregnant girlfriend. The only purpose for the change was to distort the assessment of the value of Ospital's claims against State Farm's insured. As the trial court found, State Farm's fraudulent practices were consistently directed to persons--poor racial or ethnic minorities, women, and elderly individuals--who State Farm believed would be less likely to object or take legal action." Campbell v. State Farm Automobile Insurance Company, 2001 UT 89,Para. 89. Click here to read the entire opinion http://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/campbell.htm
There you have it. Pretty damning evidence regarding State Farm's treatment of its own customers. If it treats its own insureds this way, imagine how it reacts to claimants seeking compensation for their injuries. Sometimes, the only way for truly injured people to get the money they both need and deserve, is through litigation. The fact remains that unrepresented parties are often treated unfairly by large insurers.
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