Insurance companies are making it tougher and tougher to collect medical costs incurred due to minor car crashes. According to a recent 18-month investigation conducted by CNN, you could be in the fight of your life if you’re trying to get an auto insurance company to pay medical costs you incur due to an auto accident, even though the accident was not your fault.

The article states that this type of “insurance hardball” particularly happens in relatively minor accidents such as fender benders where there is no injury that may be seen by the naked eye or established with an X-ray.

This insurance-company’s- “play-tough” trend is apparently a recent one, a strategy adopted and religiously enforced by the nation’s two largest insurance companies, State farm and Allstate. According to the CNN investigation, the result of such a strategy has been extremely profitable for the insurance companies, but has hurt consumers significantly. People end up getting dragged through the court system over fender bender claims, but no one sees any benefit such as reduced premiums. In fact, the dirty little secret of the insurance industry for the last 15 years has been this – they’re paying out much less for minor auto accidents, their profits are soaring as are your premiums. Of course, for them, it’s a winning formula.

CNN’s investigative team reportedly reviewed more than 6,000 company documents and court records and conducted interviews with numerous people including former insurance company insiders, accident victims and other experts. This is what they learned. If you challenge an insurer after a car accident and refuse to accept what the insurance company offers you, even if you are insulted by it – you will be left with little option but to go to court and be dragged through a complex, expensive and slow system.

Why is it that fighting an insurance company is not beneficial to a consumer? Because it takes up so much time and so much money. You can’t really turn to a personal injury lawyer because the experienced ones refuse to take on these cases. They know that the payoff for their client and the law firm is to low to make it worth taking up the cause. The law firm makes no money and the client is dissatisfied with the recovery the law firm got for them. It is a now win situation for the lawyers. It is simply not worth it for them to be involved.

Insurance company employees at Allstate were reportedly instructed to get rid of claims quickly by offering a pittance to accident victims – in some cases, amounts as low as $50. The injured person could take it or leave it or sue. And then the insurance companies complain about the volume of lawsuits.

CNN talked to two victims who experience this first-hand. Roxanne Martinez of Santa Fe suffered neck and back injuries when she was sideswiped by a driver insured by Allstate. After three years of back-and-forth, the company offered her $15,000, barely half of what she needed to cover lost income and pay medical bills. She took it to court and four years after the accident, a jury awarded her $167,000 plus interest.

But an Indiana woman, Ann Taylor, was not so lucky. Taylor suffered a herniated disc and muscle tears after she was rear-ended by a State Farm insured. Her bills and lost wages totaled nearly $15,000. But how much did State Farm offer her? $2,000. She was insulted and she sued, but the jury returned with an award of only $1,500 because the insurance company’s attorney showed them an enlarged picture of Taylor’s car after the accident, in which the vehicle had a small dent. So jurors said they thought Taylor was only trying to get more money out of the insurance company.

Experts say this strategy was devised to boost profit for the insurance companies in the mid-1990s with the help of a consultant. Those documents obtained by CNN recommend that insurance companies put on their boxing gloves when it comes to soft-tissue injuries in minor crashes. Their strategy outlines three D’s – denying a claim, delaying settlement of a claim and defending against the claim in court. Other experts say that this strategy helped insurance companies weed out so-called victim’s attorneys “who make a living off auto accident victims.” They argue that lawyers are upset about insurance companies playing hardball with the public because they fear that “the gravy train is over.” The insurance companies did not mention how their tactics were unfair to the innocent auto accident victim; they just blamed everything on the personal injury attorneys.

The party that really suffers in a minor injury crash is the average driver, the guy who is not ready financially to spend thousands at a given time to handle medical expenses for issues such as chiropractic work, which is not covered under many health plans or to be off work for a week or more. It is the average consumer who suffers as a result of this profit-mongering strategy adopted by insurance companies. It is these companies that stand to profit millions by not paying what is due to innocent, injured auto accident victims and then worsening the situation by increasing premiums.

The truth is that a minor car accident can cause a significant injury. This is especially so to seniors and people with preexisting conditions… We’ve had clients who suffered severe back injuries in a moderate rear-end accidents. Yes, many of them were elderly but aren’t they entitled to safe passage on our highways? Aren’t they entitled to compensation for the damage done, regardless of their age? Yes, many of the others are people with preexisting conditions, especially “degenerative disc disease”, a medical term for the wearing out of your spin through age.

We have seen people in the forties who are as fit as can be get into a small or moderate rear end collision and have serous neck and back issues. The insurance company claims it is a preexisting condition, “degenerative disc disease” and they refuse to pay. In these cases it is true that the “degenerative disc disease” was present before the accident. What wasn’t there before the accident was the pain and discomfort. The “degenerative disc disease” was asymptomatic; meaning it wasn’t hurting or causing any problems. The accident caused the degenerative disc disease – to become symptomatic, in other words, painful and in some cases debilitating.

Just because you are over 40 years-old does not make you fair game for a spinal injury or for an insurance company rip-off.

There are some steps you could take to make sure you are protected or covered if you get involved in an auto accident – major or minor. The first step, if you are able to do so after an accident, is to get insurance information, name and address of the parties involved in the crash and any witnesses. Also, take as many pictures as possible of the site even if it’s on your cell phone. Finally, get a thorough check-up. Remember that symptoms could surface after several days up to a year or more.

We have recommended to a significant number of people to just take the negligent driver to small claims court. Bypass the insurance company altogether. Bring the traffic collision report and your medical records to court along with any witnesses you have to your accident and the difficulties you have suffered since and let a judge decide. The negligent driver’s insurance company will pay the judgment and neither of the parties can be represented by an attorney.

Small claims court is quick and easy. It is much quicker than haggling with an insurance adjuster for months. The people who we have assisting in their preparation for their small claims court hearing have generally done very well compared to the insurance company offer. And the insurance company hates it.

John Bisnar is a partner at Newport Beach Personal Injury Law Firm Bisnar Chase. The Bisnar Chase law firm has dedicated their practice to victims of serious injuries due to defective products, negligence and malpractice.

Visit the main website at http://www.bestattorney.com or call 888-265-0161

There are three main ways a new life insurance policy is priced: Underwritten policies are those where you answer questions on your personal and family medical history and undergo a medical exam arranged by the insurance company; a simplified issue life insurance policy application asks you some medical questions but does not require a medical exam; and a guaranteed issue life insurance policy requires no questions and no medical exam. If you’re healthy, or even if you have a few medical problems, you’re likely to get the best insurance value from an underwritten policy, which is priced specifically for you. Simplified issue and guaranteed issue life insurance policies set a price that assumes risk that you may not have.

Whether you’re buying term life insurance or whole life insurance, you’ll likely be asked to undergo a medical exam. These are typically performed by licensed paramedicals who are often independent contractors hired by the insurance company. They will schedule a visit to your home for the exam and bring all the necessary supplies. The life insurance company foots the bill for the exam.

Health questions

When you submit your completed application for your life insurance policy, your agent or life insurer will call a paramedical service to let them know you require an life insurance medical exam. The service will then contact you to arrange a convenient time and place. You must have the exam or your application won’t be processed.

The life insurer may still request an attending physician’s statement (APS) from your doctor, but you cannot have the life insurance medical exam done by your own physician.

In a basic exam, the paramedical will take your medical history (even though you’ve already supplied it on your application), height and weight, blood pressure, pulse, and blood and urine samples. Beyond that, tests will vary based on your age and policy amount.

For example, MetLife will order an in-home EKG for applicants age 50 and older who are applying for face amounts of at least $1 million. For applicants age 70 and older who are applying for $2 million policies and higher, MetLife forgoes the paramedical exam and requires an exam by an M.D. chosen by MetLife (not your own doctor). The doctor will ask the same medical questions as a paramedical and get your height, weight, blood pressure and pulse, plus do a brief medical exam such as listening to your heart.

Jacki Goldstein, Vice President of Life Underwriting at MetLife, emphasizes that this is not a comprehensive medical exam and does not include sensitive issues, such as a breast exam for women. Goldstein also stresses that the M.D. life insurance exam is not a substitute for good routine medical care.

When age and face amounts get higher, a treadmill test may be required. For example, MetLife requires treadmill tests for applicants who are at least 50 and applying for over $10 million in insurance or applicants 76 and older applying for $5 million or more.

If you’re applying for a low face value policy, you may not even be asked to do a paramedical exam. For example, if you’re age 40 and applying for $50,000 of life insurance, MetLife requires no specific tests or measurements. And for some cases, MetLife asks for a “simple paramed” exam, encompassing the basic measurements and blood and urine work but without the paramedical question list. Guidelines for tests will vary among life insurers.

What are They Looking For?

The life insurance company wants to know if you have any health condition that could shorten your life  which in turn affects the insurer’s risk and your policy premium. When samples of blood and urine are collected, the insurer tests for HIV, cholesterol and related lipids, liver or kidney disorder, diabetes, hepatitis, prostate specific antigen (PSA) and immune disorders. The urine sample might go through routine analysis, plus screening for certain medications, cocaine and other drugs.

Results go to the life insurer’s home office for an underwriter to review. You can usually send a written request if you want a copy of the results, and some insurers will automatically send you a copy of your lab work. If there’s anything of concern about the lab results, you would need to consult your own doctor. Goldstein says, “It’s not uncommon to have abnormalities that don’t mean anything.”

A life insurance underwriter then reviews your application and the results of your medical exam. They decide your life insurance rating, which sets your premium. If there are lingering questions about your health, they may request additional information or medical tests. In the very rare event you are unknowingly quite ill  chronically or terminally  your application would be declined and you would have to look for a high-risk carrier or one that offers guaranteed issue life insurance.

Don’t Let Your Life Insurance Premiums Go Up In Smoke

Smokers pay higher premiums for life insurance because of their higher mortality rate. If any nicotine shows up in your results, you’ll be considered a smoker. The test also detects nicotine from a transdermal patch.

After the Life Insurance Exam Results

If your test results correlate with the classification used for your original life insurance quote, you’ll have no problem getting that rate. If a medical problem is discovered, you might be offered a life insurance policy with a higher premium.

There are two types of risk ratings: “flat” ratings, sometimes called temporary flat extras, and “table” ratings. Underwriters assess health conditions based sophisticated table to determine how to rate certain health conditions.

For instance, an underwriter might apply a flat rating for a short period of time for a person who has just had surgery. On the other hand, a person with high-blood pressure could receive a table rating, which increases premiums by a set amount for the duration of the policy, depending on your medical condition and age. If you disagree with a rating you receive, contact your agent.

Agents can find out if the rating can be revised based on supplemental medical tests to prove you qualify for a better rating.

Even if you end up declining the life insurance policy, your test results become part of your record in MIB Group’s database (formerly the Medical Information Bureau), a clearinghouse of medical information that insurers share which stores information for seven years after you apply for a life, health, disability income, long term care or critical illness insurance policy.

MIB is jointly owned by about 470 insurance companies. So, if you go shopping around for other term or whole life insurance policies, remember that your medical information is accessible to other insurers in the near future. Note that MIB’s database does not contain actual medical records but rather codes that represent medical conditions and tests, hazardous hobbies and even your bad driving record.

If you want to check your MIB file, or dispute information in it, you can obtain one free report annually at www.mib.com.

No Way, You Say?

Life insurance medical exams are really quite routine. But if you want to avoid a medical exam at all costs, you could buy a simplified issue life insurance policy, which requires only that you answer a few medical questions, or a guaranteed issue life insurance policy, which requires neither an exam nor questions.

Keep in mind, though, that if you’re in general good health, or even with a history of some health issues, you’ll likely get a much better rate by buying a life insurance policy that requires a medical exam.

Tips for a Better Life Insurance Medical Exam

Certain health conditions simply cannot be masked, but to obtain the best possible results, here are some recommendations:

-Get a good night’s rest the night before your exam. -Don’t drink for at least eight hours before the exam.

-Avoid coffee, tea or other caffeinated drinks such as soda for at least one hour prior to the exam.

-Limit salt intake and high-cholesterol food 24 hours before your exam.

-Don’t engage in strenuous physical activities 24 hours before the exam.

Source: Exam & Profile Services, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

Amy Danise is a staff writer for Insure.com. Visit Insure.com for a comprehensive array of comparative auto, life and health quotes, including a vast library of originally authored insurance articles and decision-making tools that are not available from any other single source. Insure.com is dedicated to providing impartial insurance information to consumers. Visitors can obtain instant insurance quotes from more than 200 leading insurers, achieve maximum savings and have the freedom to buy from any company shown.