How to Make Your Insurance Company Pay

By Raymond Cross

Insurance savvy could save you a bundle, not only when you make a claim, but through the premium paying years as well. Discover ...
11 suggestions for purchasing fire insurance
10 mistakes rob you of insurance protection
7 issues foundational to insurance provisions
11 steps in an insurance claim
9 issues essential to insurance claim management
17 factors in the psychology of an insurance claim
24 issues related to fire insurance coverage
15 problem areas in an insurance claim
10 progressive personal pressure tactics
6 issues related to two types of professional help
7 attitudes and actions in the vicious cycle of insurance abuse

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raymond Cross
• Release date: Mar 30, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452338699

Raymond Cross

Ray Cross describes himself as an "improvementist" – "Good, better, best never let it rest, until your good is better and your better, best." Ray always looks for ways of breathing new life, creativity and healing into all of his relationships and activities – a life drive that uncovers improvements and solutions to perplexing inefficiencies and weakness. Ray applies this drive to all he experiences. His books, therefore, touch on a variety of challenges that have crossed his path, both conceptual and practical.Ray was born in Toronto, studied for ministry at Ontario Bible College, where he earned a Bachelor of Theology. While pastoring in Peterborough, from Trent University he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.Ray pastored Baptist churches in Peterborough, Trenton, Port Hope, Oshawa and Scarborough for 32 years before retiring from pastoral service. Pastoral ministry, of course, involved all aspects of personal and family care. While pastoring, Ray took many practical ministry and counselling courses to enhance his skills as well a travelling province-wide teaching insightful seminars.Since retiring from pastoring, Ray has served as an Officiant, primarily for weddings. His wedding website,brideschoiceofficiant.com, provides matchless wedding ceremony resources couples love.Ray has been happily married since 1971 to Diane, a nutrition expert and public school teacher (retired). They have two grown children and three grandchildren. Ray shares that the incredible professional acting skills of his daughter, Andrea, inspire his quest for dynamic presentation in ceremonies.If you see Ray and Diane about town you will find them walking hand in hand. They also ice skate several times a week. They love to travel and delight in white sand beaches. A natural extension of their love of travel is Ray’s periodic service as guest minister on cruises ships.Ray is a thorough researcher, and his experience in sermon planning, public speaking, and service planning and coordination is evident in all he does.Ray is sensitive and responsive to the needs of those he serves, whether in weddings, public speaking or on the printed page.

Book preview

How To Make Your Insurance Company Pay

Raymond J. Cross

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2010 Raymond J. Cross

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Limit of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty

Much of this publication is based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence. Although the author and publisher have made every reasonable attempt to achieve complete accuracy of the content in this book, the information provided herein is provided as is and you should use this information as you see fit, and at your own risk. The author makes no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if we use one of these terms.

Finally, use your head. Nothing in this book is intended to replace common sense, legal, medical or other professional advice, and is meant to inform and entertain the reader. Your particular situation may not be exactly suited to the examples illustrated here; in fact, it's likely that they won't be the same, and you should adjust your use of the information and recommendations accordingly.

Copyright 2010 Raymond J. Cross. All rights reserved worldwide.

Acknowledgements

Going beyond the study of insurance company policies (double meaning) and insurance law, this book is a compendium of the experiences and opinions of many trained professionals and troubled consumers, as well as views developed during our family’s struggles with insurance negotiations. To each I express my appreciation. You helped me to see deeper into the methods insurance companies use against consumers. I hope what I have brought together from what you shared, will assist many to protect their insurance coverage from being plundered.

A special thanks to Bob Watson, a true crusader for the rights of policyholders, and managing adjuster for the public adjusting firm, National Fire Adjustment Co., Inc., in Toronto, Ontario. His tireless efforts enabled us to survive very difficult insurance negotiations. For us, his honourable methods of defence stood in stark contrast to the treatment we received at the hands of our insurance company. In answering the almost endless questions from my inquisitive mind, he was unwaveringly patient and always informative.

Thank you all.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

The Safety Net

Chapter 1

Eleven Suggestions For Purchasing Fire Insurance

Chapter 2

Ten Mistakes That May Rob You of Insurance Protection

Chapter 3

Seven Issues Foundational to Insurance Policy Provision

Chapter 4

Eleven Steps in an Insurance Claim

Chapter 5

Nine Issues Essential to Insurance Claim Management

Chapter 6

Seventeen Factors to Understand the Psychology of an Insurance Claim

Chapter 7

Twenty-Four Issues Related to Fire Insurance Coverage

Chapter 8

Fifteen Problem Areas in an Insurance Claim

Chapter 9

Ten Progressive Personal Pressure Tacticsc10c9

Chapter 10

Six Issues Related to Two Types of Professional Help

Chapter 11

Seven Attitudes and Actions Contributing to the Vicious Cycle of Insurance Abuse

Addendum

Foreword

It is often too late to learn how to manage an insurance claim when it explodes at your doorstep. You must arm yourself with knowledge in anticipation of the event, plan and purchase your insurance with wisdom, and keep the information concerning claim management on file for the time you or someone you care about needs it. In this way you may be prepared to defend yourself if or when your insurance company decides to attack.

What we need to win battles with insurance companies is not a book by generals for generals, i.e. by lawyers for lawyers. We need a strategy that is simple enough for you and I to understand. We need a book from the viewpoint of a foot soldier on the front lines, who has been in the trenches, knee-deep in the mud. We need a book that teaches the hand to hand combat strategies that we ourselves can implement without requiring professionals to do it all for us. We need a book to save us anguish and expense. We need this book — a practical book of step-by-step strategies for pushing insurance companies back when they draw their weapons.

The vision for this book grew out of my discouragement and disappointment with an insurance claim that went very wrong. As I describe in my book, And the Pink Snow Fell... (© 1995, Essence Publishing, ISBN: 1-896400-03-5) and in the Addendum of this book, a gas explosion on November 10, 1993 damaged our home. Though innocent of any wrong doing, our insurance company refused to treat us fairly. People we know who have been guilty of negligence or carelessness were treated better than we were. If we had been guilty of any indiscretion, we might have felt they had some right to be upset, but not in the presence of complete and evident innocence. No matter, every step of the way we had to fight for consideration, and every step of the way I journalled the things I learned.

In discussing our situation with professionals and others who had suffered loss, I realized how vulnerable consumers are to unjust treatment under the skilled maneuverings of insurance companies. We should not be such easy marks. So the personal concern that has driven me to write this book is a sense of injustice and hurt for those who are suffering, not merely because of a major physical loss, but because they may not be receiving the help and support for which they contracted with their insurance company. I just simply had to do something to level the playing field. So, I continued research from every available source to draw together this hands-on manual for survival in the bewildering world of fire insurance and claim management. I address my book, therefore, to the householder, the policyholder, the insured, the consumer. It is my prayer that God will help you to wisely use what you learn to the benefit of yourself and others.

The result is what I term a Murphy’s Law book. A mutant form of the law Edward A. Murphy, Jr. formulated in 1949 reads, If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong, and the thing that will go wrong is the thing that will cause the most damage. For the counsel of this book to be available to the consumer to apply to whatever needs arise in property insurance coverage and claim management it must anticipate anything that could go wrong. What I paint, therefore, is a worst-case scenario. Since it is impossible to consider all the variations among insurance companies and their staff, statements in this book may be validly criticized as generalizations. As with all generalizations, they do not take into account exceptions, of which there are many. For this reason, most of the generalizations will not be complimentary to the insurance industry. Many of them will express strong opinions. These are a composite of opinions expressed by professionals and consumers with first hand experience fighting insurance companies. These opinions are not shared with malicious intent; they merely represent some of the possible factors consumers may have to deal with in insurance negotiations. Generalizations are not intended to communicate that all insurance companies are characterized by all these attitudes and actions, only to condition consumers to cope with insurance company behaviours that endanger equitable settlement of their insurance claims.

The insured should not approach a claim expecting the worst-case scenario. To do so would be to initiate the relationship with a jaundiced perspective. This very attitude would inflame antagonism detrimental to all. When faced with an insurance claim, always seek to work with the insurance company. Only if you perceive some of the twists described, should you compensate on the basis of insights shared here. Then, beware not to over-react. Use only the knowledge and pressure necessary to keep proceedings moving toward equitable settlement. Keep the rest of what you have learned on reserve, to be used only if your insurance company demands a showdown at high noon.

The realm of property insurance has application to any policy put in place to protect any buildings and their contents: industrial, commercial and residential. For the sake of clarity and simplicity, I shall direct what follows to the needs of householders. The business community need only adjust nouns and pronouns to apply the principles discussed to their needs.

Fire insurance policies cover many more