An Excerpt from The Claims Game: by David Skipton

9781483437019_COVER.indd

What we often hear from potential clients is, “Why would I need my own

adjuster? Doesn’t the insurance company provide me with an adjuster?” The

answer to this question is both yes and no. Yes, they do provide an adjuster

to investigate and settle your claim; but no, that adjuster does not represent

your interests. Instead, that adjuster is there to represent the insurance

company’s interests.

The business of insurance has undergone significant changes in America

throughout the last twenty years. Gone are the days when an insurance

company viewed its job as a true fiduciary responsibility of collecting

premiums from a large group of people and paying out fairly to customers

who experience a loss, thus fulfilling the promise to protect its customers

in their time of need. Have you noticed how all the old commercials and

slogans that used to run constantly on television and radio have all changed

in their messaging? Gone are all the timeless slogans telling you how much

you can depend upon your insurance company to protect you in the event

of a loss and what great partners in the community they are—slogans like:

“You’re in Good Hands;” “Like a Good Neighbor;” and, of course, “Fast,

Fair, and Friendly.”

Today, insurance companies’ commercials are designed to send a

completely different message. It seems that they intentionally downplay

how much of a partner they will be during a time of loss and instead have

 

adopted more generic themes, such as that losses can happen and you

need to insure yourself from them. This is apparent in ads like

“Mayhem” commercials, where Mayhem is causing all sorts of destruction,

and “Humans: imperfect people living in an imperfect world. Responsibility; what’s your

policy?”

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