Insurance is vital to the well-being of America and an integral part of our nation's financial security. The insurance industry has been providing valuable
services and protection to persons in America since the 1700s. Benjamin Franklin is often credited with writing the first fire insurance policy in what would eventually become the United States, and commercially available life insurance has existed for more than 160
years. Considering the volume of business they handle, insurance companies and their agents generally do an excellent job when it
comes to protecting the financial stability of individuals, families,
business owners, and corporations.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
Insurance companies sometimes fail to properly supervise or train their agents, and
agents frequently miscommunicate policy provisions and coverages — inadvertently or deliberately — exposing
insurance consumers to the risk of loss against which they expected to
be protected. State Departments of Insurance work hard to protect both consumers and the integrity of the industry, but are incapable of protecting everyone at all times. Problems do arise. Mistakes are sometimes made. As an example, changes now being implemented in health insurance and those coming on January 1, 2014, will likely lead to even more confusion and misunderstandings between insurers, agents, and insureds alike, and mistakes will occur.
As with any business or industry, one bad actor — be it
an individual or a corporation — can give all the others an undeserved
"black eye." Those bad actors deserve to be exposed and dealt with, and there are laws to do just that.
The insurance industry, as a whole, has paid billions of
dollars in regulatory fines and administrative penalties, legal judgments, and
settlements or restitution to policyholders, beneficiaries, and
claimants, for its own failures and the failures of its agents. Despite this fact, many persons with legitimate grievances against agents and insurers fail to press them because they feel intimidated and ill-equipped to deal with the agents or insurance companies . . . or they are simply embarrassed at having made an unwise decision to purchase an insurance product. As a pre-litigation advocate and adviser, Max Herr can help you pursue your grievances with insurance companies and their agents. Simply knowing what to say, how to say it, and to whom to say it can make all the difference in the world.
A thorough policy analysis often reveals details about one's coverage that were misunderstood or completely unknown to the policyowner, insured, annuitant, beneficiary, and others, and may provide the basis for aggressively seeking a resolution of one's differences with an insurance company and its agents.
Some matters demand legal intervention.
When insurance companies or agents seem indifferent to a consumer's claim or complaint, it may become necessary to initiate legal action against them. After years of teaching and training new agents, Max is now focusing
much of his attention in the area of insurance bad faith litigation, successfully sharing his knowledge and using his skills to provide analytical support services and expert witness
reports and deposition and trial testimony for plaintiffs and their attorneys in complex civil cases involving life and
disability insurance companies and their agents and registered representatives, including identifying concealment,
misrepresentation, fraud, and the sale of unsuitable products to
persons. His technical understanding of the most minute details of term, whole life,
traditional, indexed, and variable universal life insurance and all
forms of annuity contracts is unparalleled.