Insurance
The topic of insurance is broader than any web page could hope to cover. So our hope in adding here is to give you an overview of things to remember when making the decisions as to what insurance you should purchase.
There are many, ways of being insured, but the ones we will discuss are Automotive, Homeowners, Health, Life and Umbrella insurances. All should have the first three. Life is worth considering and the umbrella coverage is inexpensive protection for anyone with a substantial net worth.
Being insured is gambling against your own good fortune. When you buy insurance you are essentially hedging your bet that things will go well for you. Thus if things go badly for you, the financial impact upon you of your bad luck will be less. Insurance businesses, because they insure the bad luck of so many people, should be able to pay your losses.
When administered properly, insurance is a good thing. Insurance becomes a problem when insurance companies try to change the odds on the bet they made, after they have already lost. Understand that I am a lawyer who essentially does nothing but bang heads with insurance lawyers as to how much should be paid on claims. But in my opinion, insurance companies are always looking for ways to pay less than they should.
How much to pay gets to be a high stakes poker game. The insurance companies and its the professional gambler, the adjuster, does its best to bluff the claimant out of fair compensation. The system works if the claimant also has a professional gambler, an attorney to counter this tactic. But if the claimant walks into this poorly lit room without such an advocate by his side, he or she will risk being the greenhorn whose claim will be lost, as surely as the greenhorns chips would disappear.
When insurance adjusters are forthright, lawyers aren’t needed. But count on such behavior. The majority of insurance adjusters, notwithstanding the advertising about the good hands people or friendly this, will see your compensation as a game. They will take advantage of you whenever they think they can. If you agree to a settle on a substantial claim before you have discussed this matter with an lawyer, you do so at your own risk.
NEXT: Car Insurance.
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