Bad Faith Claims Dealings

After 19 years with Mercury, I had my first claim: a serious accident that closed the 405, totaled my car, and sent me to a hospital that must have neurosurgery. It was the end of April. The drunk driver that rear-ended my stopped car after I had hit and killed a homeless, under-the-influence pedestrian didn't actually own the Lexus he was driving. The front seat passenger owned the car, and the driver was excluded from the owner's AAA policy, which resulted in an Uninsured Motorist claim under my carrier, Mercury. Eight months and $26K out of pocket for medical (neither Blue Cross PPO nor Delta Premier honored my claim for 8 broken or fractured teeth) later the attorney I had to hire finally got me one-third of my $30,000 UM coverage. And he had to threaten to file a Bad Faith lawsuit and demand to speak to the claims supervisor. As it turns out the claims adjuster had been authorized to pay the claim some time ago and chose not to. Hopefully she doesn't work there any more. My coverage expires the end of January and I'm shopping for a new insurance carrier. I don't care about the premium rate any more. I care more about the claims service because when it gets right down to it, it doesn't matter what premium you've been paying if the claim isn't honored. And guess what else, Blue Cross has a lien again my paltry UM recovery. They get paid back before I get reimbursement for what I've already spent. I thought I was a consumer who was FULLY INSURED with auto, UM, Blue Cross PPO medical and premiere Delta Dental. It seems the insurance industry has one goal -- not paying your claim -- so they can market lower premiums. I now welcome a higher premium in exchange for the experience of bing truly full insured, rather than the illusion of it...

Mercury Customer Review