What good is short-term disability
insurance if you have to wait seven months to find out if you qualify or not?
The whirlwind of difficulties AIG's actions (see: chronology of
events) have caused Margaret, will send shock waves through-out the insurance industry
in Canada. Their bad faith actions will not go unnoticed. I will fight to get the
laws changed, so others will not be subjected to the same cruel and malice practices that
Margaret was put through.
Unbelievable as it may seem, there was nothing legally we
could to fight AIG until Margaret's claim, was either approved or denied. AIG with
the help of others did everything possible to delay that decision for seven months.
AIG also claimed that they were self-insured and not subjected to the Ontario Ombudsman's
office when we tried to file a complaint.
If you are a short-term disability policy holder and you
become ill or injured, you expect your benefits plan to kick in right away. You do
not want to apply for welfare, face eviction notices, and hassles from your creditors and
suffer from the stress of fighting your insurance company. One way or another, you
are paying for that policy. The onus is on the insurance companies
to act in good faith. There must be a reasonable time limit for Insurance Companies
to make their decision regarding cliams that is enforceable. This would stop legitimate
claim holders from being jerked around.
From my conversations with some very good insurance
lawyers, I am under the opinion that what, AIG did to Margaret is not an uncommon practice
in the industry. Discouraging policy holders from making claims is a common
practice that can save companies millions each year. I asked one lawyer, who was
going to act for Margaret why we did not hear more about bad faith insurance practices in
Canada. He said "it was because the court procedures are very complicated
for the average person and when they do go to court, and the Insurance Company is on the
ropes, they usually, make an-out-court settlement with the policy holder to avoid the bad
publicity. Insurance companies are very experienced while most people with claims
are not."
For employees this is a long shot, but if we don't start
standing up to unethical insurance companies, there will be virtually no recourse, as
increasingly insurance is becoming something of a necessity, as we are forced to pay for
it as part of our employment but have no choice in the plans. In all cases 'major
depression' is to be treated as a physical disability. |
