There is a difference in Insurance Company Ethics

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There is a difference in Insurance Company Ethics
Considering that what happens at the top of any
organization, it is easy to conclude that
employees will often emulate its leaders. This is
evident when considering a particular airline
whose employees are fun and helpful and compare
that airline to another whose employees seem not
to care. It starts at the top. As the leadership
goes, so goes the organization. So it is with
insurance companies. American Family is involved
in an unethical business practice in Arizona.
That business practice involves the fact that
American Family rewards its employees with legal
titles they have not earned. For instance,
Arizona law is clear a representative of an
insurance company can adjust claims but the
person adjusting claims may not claim the title
of adjuster without passing an examination and
submitting to an exhaustive background check.
Specifically, the law states
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A person shall not act as or claim to be an
adjuster unless the person is licensed under
this article. To obtain a license as an adjuster
a person shall apply to the director for the
license and use the forms prescribed and provided
by the director. The director shall issue the
license to qualified persons on payment of the
license fee prescribed in section 20-167. To be
licensed as an adjuster the applicant shall meet
all of the following qualifications Be a person
who is at least eighteen years of age. Be a
resident of this state or a resident of another
state that allows residents of this state to act
as adjusters in the other state. Take and pass
an examination that is given by or under the
supervision of the director and that reasonably
tests the applicants knowledge of insurance and
legal responsibilities as an adjuster and
otherwise comply with section 20-321.02. Several
years ago a letter was written to American
Family detailing the fact that American Family
Claim Representatives could not use the title of
adjuster just as a paralegal cannot call himself
or herself an attorney, even though that person
can participate in the legal process, or a nurse
can-not call himself or herself a doctor despite
being able to practice some medicine. American
Familys response was to retain a lobbyist to
allow claim representatives to use the adjuster
title. Subsequently a lawsuit ensued designating
the practice of an unlicensed adjuster who was
purloining an adjuster title, with consumer
fraud. That lawsuit was settled out of court and
American Family has continued this
practice. Claim representatives of American
Family know they should not call themselves
adjusters. This can create a climate of
deception within the entire business. If a lie
is promulgated at the top of an organization, it
will filter itself down the entire chain of
command. In comparison, Chubb Insurance Company
is a premier insurance carrier. The parent
company of Chubb Insurance Corporation is Ace Ina
Holdings, one of the largest insurers in the
world.
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An example of how Chubb Insurance Company handles
claim losses would include its acceptance of
insurance claims being pursued by claimants.
Most insurance policies include provisions that
unequivocally state that perils that are a result
of acts of war will not be honored. It was the
general consensus at the time of September 11,
2001 that insurance companies most likely would
deny claims based on act-of-war exclusions. If
they did not deny claims they would risk opening
up serious dialog regarding issues as simple as
defining those with commercial policies as
reinsurers. This entire act-of-war exclusion
became a non-issue when Chubb Insurance became
the first insurer to accept coverage. Chubb said
it would not invoke an act-of-war exclusions.
Because Chubb leaders have set ethical standards
that are a model in the insurance world, their
employees act accordingly. Leaders of the
organization set attitudes that filter
throughout the organization. The ethics of the
organization is the environment created by the
organizations leadership.