California Personal Injury and Insurance Blog

New York Times: Insurance Coverage Article

The New York Times wrote a great piece on car insurance for modified cars. (Look for the quote from me.) The introduction to the piece sums it up nicely:

Few drivers realize that aftermarket parts are generally not insured, so if you have an accident in your modified car, your insurer is not likely to reimburse you for the damaged add-ons. Even worse, in some cases insurers may deny the whole claim or cancel the policy.

The bottom line: if you have a car with modifications, check it once, check it twice and check it three times to make sure your insurance policy covers you. If you have any questions, ask your agent and get it in writing!

Disability Insurance Disaster

Suffer through a 15 second commercial and then watch this 6 minute piece from Good Morning America.  As I was told by Chris Cole, a San Francisco attorney, this succintly sums up the problem with disability insurance. This is especially true with disability insurance that you obtain through your employer as a benefit because it falls under ERISA. (By the way, if you have an ERISA insurance issue, there is one man to call: Ben Glass.)

World Malaria Day

First, I know this is off topic. But, its my little way of giving back.

Second, today is World Malaria Day. I know, every day is something day. I think yesterday was World Black Is Not Really A Color Day and Wednesday was World Be Kind to Fire Ants Day. But, Malaria Day is a bit different because, unlike arguing over black or being nice to a fire ant, you can do something to help.

Malaria is the leading killer of children in Africa and every 30 seconds a child died. Thus, while I wrote this post, 2 children died. But there is a solution. A simple insecticide treated net can protect a family of 4 from the mosquitoes that carry malaria for 5 years. The net costs a whopping $10. Now, I am the last to ask any of you to spend money as I know its tight. So, let me propose another idea.

Major League Soccer has teamed up with the UN’s Nothing But Nets Campaign. But, instead of giving money, all you have to do is play a 1 minute online video game: www.NothingButNets.net/game (Normally, I imbed links so you don't see them, but I want you to have this link so you can pass it on to your friends and family.) In the game, you deliver nets to families in Africa. (Okay, I found away around it and you don’t have to actually play the game and can send the net without playing.) You can do it for each email address you have. I have already played 5 times.

I ask that you all take a minute to go to the link and send a net. This is an easy way you can help someone. Over 7,000 people have already signed up. Will you join me? And when you do, please let me know.

Co-Payments Rise for Health Insurance

From the New York Times: A new insurance company practice is putting the squeeze on insured consumers who must take medications to treat serious illnesses. Instead of charging policyholders a fixed co-payment amount, insurers are starting to charge from 20 to 33 percent of a drug’s price for costlier medications. The resulting bill for many consumers can equal thousands of dollars per month.

Copies of Insurance Policies

This is a fascinating topic for me. It came up in the course of an interview I gave to a reporter on a topic. (I will leave that for another time, after the article is published.) We discussed how you get a copy of an insurance policy.

I called the California Department of Insurance. I asked for a policy. After all, they keep them all there. The answer: The DOI does not give you copies of policies. Why? Because they don't know which policy, if any, you would get from a specific insurer.

So, I called some local agents. These were agents for some of the major insurance companies. I asked for a specimen policy. I was told that I could not get a specimen (sample) policy.

It is fascinating to me that insurance companies sell a product but they will not let you see the product before you buy it. Imagine buying a car without test driving it. Or buying a house sight unseen. You would never do that, but insurance companies won't let you see what you buy until after you buy it. Amazing! 

Good news for Allstate customers?

No, they haven't decided to start paying claims quickly and for a fair amount. That would be like a Lewis Carroll fairytale. Rather, the Dept. of Insurance has ordered Allstate to cut rates by 15%.

Allstate had requested permission for a 7% rate cut. The Department of Insurance wanted a 19% rate cut, according to its calculations. An administrative law judge ordered the 15% rate cut.

Allstate contends it is being unfairly singled out because it is in a fight with the DOI about its homeowners rates. Singled out? I think the decision by the judge supports that the DOI was much closer to the right number than Allstate was.

So, if you are an Allstate insured, expect to see a rate cut from Allstate - assuming it does not appeal.

FAQ: Where does 1/3 of the settlement go?

I have been asked lately about how a settlement breaks down. A lot of people seem to think that there is about 1/3 of the settlement that they never see. Let me see if I can help.

When you settle a case, there is a fee agreement with your attorney. Your attorney may take anywhere from 25 percent to 40 percent (some take more). Assume that your attorney takes thirty three percent (1/3) of the settlement. That leaves 67 percent (2/3) of the settlement. Then the attorney tells you that you get half of that, or 1/3 of the settlement. Where does that other 1/3 go?

Well, in most cases, your doctor or health insurance must be reimbursed. You received treatment for your injuries. The doctor may have treated you on a lien. In that case, the doctor gets paid back. Or, your health insurance may have paid for your treatment. In that case, it may need to be paid back.

In any event, you should ask your attorney for a breakdown of the settlement. He or she should show you where ever cent of your settlement goes.

Telemarketers and Collisions: YUCK!

Well, I was going to use a stronger word, but decided against it since this is a family blog. WOAI in San Antonio has a story on its website about telemarketers who call people who have been in collisions and try to get these people to sign up with attorneys.

Technically, the telemarketer tells the person to go see a clinic to be evaluated at. The clinic then refers the client to the attorney. However, same end result: someone who has been in a collision ends up being called by someone trying to get the collision victim to hire an attorney. It is absolutely disgusting.

This should be perfectly clear: you should make the call to the attorney - not the other way around. If an attorney, or anyone, calls you after a collision, you should not hire that person. It is that simple. You may need an attorney. You may not need an attorney. But, only you know that.

So, do not fall prey to these predators. This disgusting behavior should be outlawed in all 50 states. And every decent trial attorney should support that!

New Drivers Education Bill in California Senate

The Sacramento Bee reported on a new bill from Sen. Tom Torlakson of Antioch. (The bill is here.)Sen. Torlakson has decided, correctly, that we are not doing enough to teach teens how to drive. So, he has proposed a bill that would add $10 to the $27 fee that driver spay to take their DMV test. That money would go to someone. Torlakson is not sure who should get it - DMV to update their tests, schools to provide better education, or someone else. But, Torlakson's bill does set up a commission to figure that out.

Is the bill perfect? No. Is it a start? Yes. Teen driving is still as bad as ever, if not worse. Cars go faster, more cars are on the road, and teens are distracted by their iPods, iPhones, and iOtherstuff. At the same time, we all know that the DMV test is not rocket science and does not really test your driving ability. So, I am support Sen. Torlakson's efforts.

Driving Don'ts

While driving around over the last few days, I have seen some really bad driving. And by bad, I mean really, really bad driving that should have people's licenses taken away. So, with that in mind, I am going to give you my "Top 10 Driving Don'ts" from just this last week:

1. Do not eat soup out of a bowl with a spoon while driving. How, exactly, do you hold the bowl, the spoon, and steer at the same time?
2. Along those same lines, do not eat that hot fudge sundae until you get home!
3. Do not turn left from the far right lane. You can always turn right, then make a u-turn and go straight to get to the same point - and it is safer.
4. Do not tailgate the big rig. As his mudflaps say, if you can't see his mirrors, he cannot see you.
5. Do not drive at night with your lights off. How is anyone supposed to see you, Mr. Black Sports Car?
6. The curved freeway on ramp with 1 lane has 1 lane for a reason. Do not pass someone in the shoulder.
7. The police officer who is following the speed limit will pull you over when you pass him going more than 10 mph faster than he is going.
8. This is a special one for the ladies - do not put on your eye makeup while driving. Please?
9. For the guys - do not comb your hair with both hands.
10. Knees were meant for moving your legs, not driving!

If you have any driving don'ts, please share them. I am anxious to hear what you are seeing.