Posts Tagged ‘unfair claims practices’

By Montes Law Group, LLP on Monday, November 7, 2011

Maybe Farmers needs to send its staff and its lawyers back to Farmers University to learn how to be fair.  A new report is very telling about how Farmers treats its insureds.  Insurance companies are paid huge amounts of money in premiums to protect us.  Insurance giants like Farmers advertise and spend millions, if not bilions, of dollars getting hard working people to buy their product, promising good service, and fair treatment.  In fact, insurance companies like Farmers Insurance have certain duties to their own insureds to treat them fairly, and pay claims that are made by and against policy holders.  A new study has established that Farmers Insurance, the state’s 3rd largest insurer, has received more complaints about its handling of homeowner claims than any other insurer in Texas.

What does this translate to?  Well, Farmers Insurance received 207 complaints from Oct. 1, 2010, to Sept. 30, 2011, according to Austin-based Texas Watch, which obtained complaint data from state regulators.  How does this compare with other big insurance companies?  State Farm, which has the largest market share in Texas, had 198 complaints, and Allstate, another of the “big 3” had 159.  Allstate is the second-largest home insurance company in the state.

This data unmistakably measures companies stack up against each other.  Of note, the data do not include complaints about coverage or premium issues, but those dealing with payment delays, underpayments, denials and other matters pertaining to how claims are handled.  This amounts to the basic element of fairness.  A hard working person sends their premium money in to Farmers, Farmers cashes the check, and these people contend Farmers never held up their end of the bargain.

If you have been treated unfairly by Farmers Insurance or any other insurance company, hire a lawyer to fight for what you paid premiums for, fairness and respect.  At the Montes Law Group, we help people.

Rachel E. Montes, named Texas Superlawyer, D Magazine Best Lawyers, graduate of the Trial Lawyers College