THE TEN WORST INSURANCE COMPANIES IN AMERICA

Allstate—The Worst Insurance Company in America

One company stood out above all others. Allstate’s concerted efforts to put profits over policyholders has earned its place as the worst insurance company in America.
According to CEO Thomas Wilson, Allstate’s mission is clear: “our obligation is to earn a return for our share-holders.” Unfortunately, that dedication to shareholders has come at the expense of policyholders. The company that publicly touts its “good hands” approach privately instructs agents to employ a “boxing gloves” strategy against its own policyholders. (1) In the words of former Allstate adjuster Jo Ann Katzman, “We were told to lie by our supervisor—it’s tough to look at people and know you’re lying.”

The Insurance Industry’s Wealth

• The insurance industry has so much excess cash it may spark a downturn in the industry. According to analysts at Standards & Poor’s, U.S. insurers are sitting on too much capital, and will likely endure at least three years of negative performance as a result. (2)

The Ten Worst
Insurance Companies

1. Allstate

2. Unum

3. AIG

4. State Farm

5. Conseco

6. WellPoint

7. Farmers

8. UnitedHealth

9. Torchmark

10. Liberty Mutual

• The U.S. insurance industry takes in over $1 trillion in premiums annually. (3) It has $3.8 trillion in assets, more than the GDPs of all but two countries in the world (United States and Japan). (4)

• Over the last 10 years, the property/casualty insurance industry has enjoyed average profits of over $30 billion. (5)

• The CEOs of the top 10 property/casualty firms earned an average $8.9 million in 2007. The CEOs of the top

10 life and health insurance companies earned even more—an average $9.1 million. And for the entire industry, the median insurance CEO’s cash compensation still leads all industries at $1.6 million per year. (5)

Profits Over Policyholders

But some companies have discovered that they can make more money by simply paying out less. As a senior executive at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the group representing those who are supposed to oversee the industry, said, “The bottom line is that insurance companies make money when they don’t pay claims.” (7)
One example is Ethel Adams, a 60-year-old woman left in a coma and seriously injured after a multi-vehicle crash in Washington State. Her insurance company, Farmers,decided the other driver had acted intentionally and denied her claim, contending that an intentional act is not an accident. Another example is Debra Potter, who for years sold Unum’s disability policies until she herself become disabled and had to stop working. All along, Potter thought she was helping people protect their future, but when her own time of need came, she was told here multiple sclerosis was “self reported” and her claim denied—by Unum, the very company whose policies she had sold.
In case like these, and countless others, the name of the game is deny, delay, defend—do anything, in fact, to avoid paying claims. For companies like Allstate, there are corporate training manuals explaining how to avoid payments, portable fridges awarded to adjusters who deny the most claims, and pizza for parties to shred documents