The Insurance System is Rigged

Homeowners Insurance Claim? The System Is Rigged.

Consider this. Your good neighbor owes you $100. You call your good neighbor and say “please give me the $100 you owe me.” They respond, “Let me think about it.” Then the neighbor calls the police and tells them you are trying to commit fraud. The police open an investigation and, while flashing their badge at you, tell you that you should take $50 instead of the $100 you are owed. All the while, your local Texas legislator is writing a law that will help your good neighbor avoid having to pay you the $100 you are owed.

Would that be fair? Absolutely not.

Would it seem that the system is rigged against you? Absolutely, yes!

And yet, this is what happens every day to Texans who make an insurance claim.

The insurance system is rigged against you.

Insurance companies spend millions of dollars in advertising to make you feel comfortable and safe buying their products. State Farm tells you they are a “good neighbor.” Allstate tells you that you are in “good hands.” And sometimes they will pay you the money they owe you.

But what happens if someone fights back? What happens when someone stands up to the “good neighbor” and screams “Give me my money!”

One thing that is occurring more frequently is that insurance companies are invoking the appraisal process.  Appraisal is a process that is included in your insurance policy that, in theory, establishes the total cost of a given loss. So, if everyone disagrees about how much it will cost to fix a house, appraisal is supposed to help establish the cost of the loss. But, in truth, insurance companies use the appraisal process as a “get out of jail free” card– this is how they avoid paying late fees, penalties, and even attorney’s fees.

And how do they avoid paying these amounts when the Texas Insurance Code says they must pay? With the help of Texas Courts and the Texas Legislature.

You see, whereas everyday Texans like us hope to elect judges and representatives that will protect our interests, what we actually have gotten are a bunch of politicians who know that going against the rich insurance companies will be bad for their personal political careers. For the past two legislative sessions, one particular Texas legislator (who also happens to be an insurance agent in his personal career) has made it his mission to punish Texans to help the insurance companies.

Stand Up To The Rigged System

So if you need to get your $100 back from you “good neighbor”, you have two choices. Roll over and take it, or fight the rigged system.