Insurance Companies Cutting Back on Training and What Does it Mean for Your Accident or No Fault Case?

A very telling question was posed today by Mr. Gary Blake on a LinkedIn insurance industry discussion group:

"Has the economy caused the claims department at your company to slash the training budget or does training continue regardless of the tough times?"

The very first answer out of the gate was posted by a senior executive at an insurance consulting company who stated that training is being cut although most insurance companies won't admit to it.*

Interesting.  When I worked in insurance, the most prevalent training was for claim handling.  Claim handling, I can tell you, is no easy task.  Not only do adjusters have to know how to manage their files (sometimes upwards of 400 per individual), but also try to grasp the No Fault Regulation and its myriad of time frames.  Even adjusters who are not directly involved in the litigation of claims, should have a basic working knowledge of the legal consequences of the denials they decide to issue on behalf of the company.  Why?  Lack of training in No Fault can have a major impact on an insurance carrier's bottom line in New York.  The handling and defense of No-Fault claims is one of the costliest burdens an auto liability insurer can take on.

What is potentially in it for you?  If you are a health care provider armed with the knowledge that these companies are cutting back on training, you can bet that the quality of the denials you receive from them will not be up to proper legal standards.  Every one of your denials from a No Fault insurer should be carefully scrutinized and if there is a failure to adhere to the New York No Fault Regulation, you have every right to challenge it on that basis.  Most, if not all denials which are "out of Reg" will not hold up under the scrutiny of the court or arbitrator and you can obtain your outstanding fee plus statutory interest.

The reduction in training programs is extremely short-sighted on any insurance carrier choosing to make this decision.  Can you legally take advantage of these short cuts?  Yes, because the carrier still must follow the rules under the Reg and prevailing case law.

*Since the posting of this article, the LinkedIn question and answers have been taken down.

If you have any questions about your No Fault claim, give me a call.