The term “stacking the deck” was, in the past, used to refer to the claims process of creating the appearance of credible denials by initiating strategies that create the illusion that insurance company decisions are accurate, fair, and unbiased. Said another way, “stacking the deck” means the insurance companies APPEAR to have completed a fair review, but in reality have left insureds and claimants without any ways or means to prove their claim.
One of the most skillful I’ve seen lately is New York Life with strategies akin to “padding the file” with what appears to be objective file reviews, by one doctor after another. The company doesn’t appear to be concerned about cost, just claim denials, which we know eliminates the financial reserve and provides immediate contribution to profit.
In additional to what the company does to pad your file, they also appear to be incompetent reviewers. All of the disability claim companies today can be said to be. negligent and incompetent. In fact, people are telling me that Unum no longer has any customer service”; calls are dropped, lines are cut off, and there is absolutely a breakdown of who does what within the company. I’ve experienced some of this myself when trying to contact claims handlers.
If you ever thought that insurance companies operate using a set of rules think again. The “rulebook” if you will, doesn’t exist, and there are no guiding principles to stop insurers from indiscriminately denying claims for profit.
From 2002 – 2008 UnumProvident was found to have engaged egregious claims practices deliberately intended to deny claims that should be paid. Several attorneys filed RICO claims against the company, but few were successful.
Nevertheless, today the same thing appears to be taking place, but without the publicity and naysayers. Disability insureds and claimants are as much victims today as they were 25 years ago, with the only difference being they don’t know how much the deck has been stacked against their claim.
Insureds and claimants need to wake up and realize what kind of environment they will be asked to deal with. Those who have New York Life claims, in particular, should be prepared for a fight.
