QUESTION: I have a dispute with a life insurer. It involves millions of dollars. I do not necessarily want to resolve the matter through legal means but will if I am forced to. What are my options?
– R.G., Kingston 6
INSURANCE HELPLINE: Many of the persons who seek information and advice from this column do so about non-life insurance matters. This does not mean that I shy away from issues relating to other kinds of insurance issues. Insurance is insurance.
Some of the problems that consumers encounter when they file motor insurance claims are like those that buyers of health, life, or critical illness face when they make claims.
An American legal firm that specialises in handling life insurance disputes on behalf of consumers puts it this way: “Anyone who has ever filed an insurance claim knows what a pain it can be. From car accident claims to home damage after a storm, the mere act of reading your policy is a chore. The terms and definitions in your coverage seem to contradict one another – and to be honest, you’re not sure what the language actually means.”
Insurance policies, the lawyers say, “are purposely written in the ambiguous language. When you try to file a claim, you are denied and told to ‘read your policy.’ Some people simply give up at this point, assuming the insurance company knows better than they do”. These comments though written in the context of the United States, also apply to how the local life insurance operates.
My first bit of advice comes in the form of two questions: How did the insurer communicate the matter that is the subject of dispute to you? Was it in writing or by word-of-mouth?
If the company stated its position orally, ask them to convey that information to you in writing. Asking an insurer to put its denial of a claim on paper forces the company to be specific, “and when you have a specific reason, the denial will be easier to dispute.”
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