If you have ever visited Las Vegas and been to Caesar’s Place, you have seen the model on which insurance companies operate. The customers (carrying dollars in their wallets) are sped into the casino by a moving walkway. There they can gamble to their heart’s content, or more likely, till their money is gone. But when the customers leave, they must walk – under their own power – all the way back to their cars. It’s a long way. More slot machines line their paths, inviting the customers to leave those last few dollars with the casino.
It is with the insurance companies. In the world of everyday, real life risk, insurance companies are the casinos. They are “the house.” They can and do adjust conditions so that the odds always favor the house.
As a policyholder, you are betting that you will have a claim. And you must ante up, that is, you must pay your premiums. And you must pay them promptly. Your bet is a bit different: you bet that you will have a claim, but you hope that you will not. If you lose your bet, you have no claim and are out only your premium payments. But if you “win” you have also lost, because you have a covered claim and you have suffered an injury.
When you win a bet in the casino, the house typically pays up with a smile. Why shouldn’t they? The amounts at stake are typically small, and if you are like most people, you will probably just gamble it again and lose it, and perhaps lose more, to the house.
Typically, the insurance companies don’t payout as quickly and cheerfully as the casinos when you have a claim. Often there is more at stake. And most of the time, how much you have “won” isn’t a simple calculation like 1 and one-half to one on blackjack. It is often subjective, or at least has a subjective component, as in how much money to pay for pain and suffering.
The ranks of the adjusters are tasked with delaying and minimizing the payouts. And all the while, the insurance companies are making money, not just on earned premiums, but by investing the float.
And, of course in the insurance world, you haven’t really won anything. You have simply suffered a loss for which an insurance company has contracted to make whole.
If you have a personal injury claim, it is very important that you keep careful track of your recovery. Email us at info@richcassidylaw.com or call (802) 864-8144 for your free Accident Recovery Journal. It’s yours for the asking without any obligation.
For more information on Insurance Companies As Casinos, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (802) 864-8144 today.
Rich Cassidy Law
Suite D5
(Pierson House)
1233 Shelburne Road
South Burlington, VT 05403
(802) 864-8144
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