Tennessee Senate Misfires on Legislation Aimed at Eliminating the Business of Consumer Legal Funding.

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Tennessee Senate Misfires on Legislation Aimed at Eliminating the Business of Consumer Legal Funding. 

Yesterday the Tennessee Senate passed SB-1360, a bill that if enacted would implement devastating rate cap or price control measures on the consumer legal funding industry and begin the process of driving the business out of the state for good. 

While the Senate bill was a win for out-of-state insurance conglomerates like State Farm and the Washington D.C. based U.S. Chamber of Commerce, it was a huge loss for local consumers who have relied on this important services for many years.

Consumer legal funding began doing business in Tennessee to help consumers gain a fair settlement against large insurance companies by allowing access to small amounts of funding to help pay for essential daily needs while weathering an insurance companies’ long delay tactics for settlement.  These consumers, to no fault of their own, have been injured in an automobile accident, are unable to work and are without a paycheck.  Consumer legal funding provides these small amounts of funding to help the consumer pay for things such as utility bills, transportation, housing and food while they wait for their settlement to be heard and finalized.

Historically, insurance corporations used a consumer’s accident and lack of financial security to force a less-than-market-rate settlement.  Relying on millions of data points as to the valuation of a customer’s injury, insurance companies have no incentive to settle quickly, except for well-below established injury values.   Consumer legal funding has bridged this gap by helping consumers gain an equal footing to its billion dollar foes, the insurance industry.  With today’s vote however, that bridge is in serious jeopardy of collapse.

As the Tennessee House of Representatives now takes the reins on SB-1360, we hope legislators examine the dangers the bill poses to the consumer legal funding industry and their own constituents who rely on this product every day.

As always we stand at the ready to work with Tennessee legislators to enact sound policies that truly help protect all consumers just as we’ve done in states like Ohio, Nebraska and Maine.  It is ridiculous to think that any legislator would want to put their name to a bill like SB-1360, a bill promoted as consumer-friendly but in truth is another profit protecting piece of legislation that favors wealthy insurance companies over everyday consumers.

 

Justice Brandeis once said “Sunlight is the best disinfectant” – Maybe the U.S. Chamber should pay attention to his words

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After remaining silent for years on the subject of consumer legal funding, why is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which describes itself as an organization devoted to free enterprise, aggressively using all of its might to regulate consumer legal funding out of business?

Simple.  In 2012, Ed Rust, CEO of State Farm Insurance, became Chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Coincidently, in 2012 the Institute for Legal Reform, the tort reform arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also started developing its elimination strategy against the consumer legal funding industry.  In a legislative blitz, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce aggressively introduced 22 Model Acts, or “bills to ban”, in 14 states in 2013. Fortunately, the reason and logic of state legislators stopped these bills from becoming laws.  However, the U.S. Chamber is on track to ratchet up their attack even more aggressively in 2014.

The real question that policymakers across the country need to ask is why State Farm and other large insurance companies are hiding behind the U.S. Chamber of Commerce?  If this issue is so important, why not put the State Farm name, or the name of any of other big name insurance companies, on this initiative to cure the so called “problem” of consumer legal funding?

This too, is simple to answer. State insurance departments field thousands of complaints each year related to customer service and delayed settlement payments to consumers involved in an injury claim.  For years, consumers have complained about the insurance company delay tactics they encounter.  State Farm cannot publicly speak out against the legal consumer funding industry without and bringing the spotlight on the insurance industry’s anti-consumer tactics.

Consumer legal funding helps consumers while they are attempting to gain a fair settlement against the big insurance companies, like State Farm. The consumer legal funding companies allow access to a small amounts of funding to help pay for essential daily needs while weathering an insurance companies’ long delay tactics for settlement.  These consumers, through no fault of their own, have been injured in an automobile accident, sometimes are unable to work and are without a paycheck.  Consumer legal funding provides a modest amount of funding to help the consumer pay for things such as utility bills, transportation, housing and food while they wait for their settlement to be heard and finalized.

State Farm and other insurance companies’ must view this service as disrupting the status quo power advantage they have historically had over consumers, and their ability to utilize the strategy of “Deny, Delay, Defend” as long as possible to pressure consumers to settle for the least amount possible.    

While consumer legal funding provides a service designed to help consumers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, led by the CEO of State Farm, appear to be only focused on extracting large profits at the expense and well-being of the everyday consumer. 

State Farm should come clean, and put its name on these initiatives instead of hiding behind the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  If State Farm is going to push aggressively for insurance company protections at the expense of consumer choice and free markets, than its CEO should not hide behind the curtain while directing the US Chamber of Commerce to do State Farm’s dirty work. 

When Insurance Companies are Absent, Consumer Legal Funding is Helping Everyday Georgians During Trying Times

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Over the past couple decades, insurance companies have increased their aggressive tactics of delaying their own customer’s settlements over injury claim payments.  This tactic is used as a tool for large insurance companies in the hopes a claimant will be forced to settle for far less than a fair market value for their injury claims.  This of course adds billions of dollars to the already deep pockets of the insurance industry, while only piling onto the financial hardships of the consumer.

Luckily for consumers, consumer legal funding began offering its services in the great state of Georgia several years ago, and has helped thousands of consumers bridge the gap between greedy, absent insurance companies, and their mounting personal expenses.

Unfortunately for consumers, the large pocketed insurance companies along with their multi-million dollar advocacy group from Washington D.C., The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are trying to eliminate the business of consumer legal funding altogether.

This would be terrible news for the many Georgians who have relied on consumer legal funding to help them through tough financial times after enduring an automobile accident, often an accident that is at no fault of their own.  These accidents often leave the consumer injured, unable to work and without a paycheck.

It is people like Stephen and his family from Conyers, Georgia who desperately needed a financial boost after his automobile accident who wouldn’t have a place to turn if consumer legal funding was eliminated.  “With [Consumer legal funding’s] help we finally got to pay off bill and utilities.  Thank You.”

The same can be said for Zacala from Decatur, Georgia who was involved in a horrific accident, had a bad experience with the insurance company, but luckily found a legal funding company to help.  “Being in a car accident is difficult but losing a loved one is worse. [Consumer legal funding] helped me pay off some debt collected during these trying times.”

Consumer legal funding is always there to help those who need it most, especially when an insurance company is absent and trying to pad their deep pockets at the expense of the consumer.  To eliminate consumer legal funding in Georgia would be a terrible disservice to people like Stephen and Zacala, and to the thousands of other consumers who rely on the important services consumer legal funding provides.   

While Big Insurance Continues to Disregard Consumers in Alabama, Consumer Legal Funding Continues to Help Those Who Need a Little Boost.

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For far too long, big insurance companies have been preying on financially desperate consumers in Alabama to help pad their billion dollar ledger sheets. By delaying the settlement process for automobile claims, big insurance increases their chances of settling with a consumer for pennies compared to the fair market value of an injury claim.  It was when consumer legal funding began providing services in Alabama, that consumers finally had an alternative to big insurance companies’ delay, delay, defend, tactics for injury claims. 

For consumers like Angela from Baileyton, Alabama or Christopher from Bessemer, Alabama, they no longer had to worry about their daily living expenses and could finally stand up to large pocketed insurance companies to fight for what they deserved, a fair settlement on their injury claims.  For big insurance companies, consumer legal funding has become an obstacle to their greedy bottom line delay tactics, and they want nothing more than consumer legal funding to disappear.   

But a disappearing consumer legal funding industry wouldn’t help Angela and her family from Baileyton, Alabama.  “My House was being repossessed (as I waited for my insurance company to settle).  [Consumer legal funding] gave me enough [money] to not lose [the house].”

It also wouldn’t help Christopher from Bessemer, Alabama who had run out of money haggling with his insurance company and needed a little financial boost to see his claim through. “[Consumer legal funding] will allow me to pay for my rent, power bill and purchase much needed groceries.“ 

Big Insurance, along with their mouthpiece, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, want consumers, legislators or anyone else who will listen to believe consumer legal funding is bad for consumers and a serious risk to the future stability of the U.S. judicial system. 

These comments by big insurance and the Chamber are, of course, false as you can see from the testimonials from Angela and Christopher.   These are merely scare tactics they use as diversions to hide their true intentions, which include getting rid of consumer legal funding in Alabama.  They prefer to return to their old ways of doing business, by forcing consumers like Angela and Christopher into less-then-fair settlement offers, saving insurance companies billions of dollars, while leaving consumers desperate to keep their homes, pay their bills or put food on the table.

Our FREE MARKET way of life is in jeopardy, thanks to the Big Insurance Companies

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The duty of government is to leave commerce to its own capital and credit as well as all other branches of business, protecting all in their legal pursuits, granting exclusive privileges to none. Andrew Jackson

These are words that we should all live by and practice every day. This also includes the Big Insurance Industry and the US Chamber of Commerce. The Big Insurance Industry, and their mouthpiece the US Chamber of Commerce, are trying to use the legislative process to get legislation passed that will limit the access to the free market that we all enjoy and cherish on a daily basis in the United States. They are gearing up to try and pass legislation that will ensure that everyday people will not have access to funds that can use to assist them in their time of need; while the Big Insurance companies drags their feet in deciding who has the right, no the privilege, to get a settlement.  

The high priced agent of the Big Insurance industry, the US Chamber of Commerce, is trying to use the millions of dollars they have raised to lobby for legislation that will limit access to the free markets by allowing the Big Insurance companies to milk consumers out of more and more money and not pay them the proper and legal settlements they are entitled to.

Consumer Legal Funding is one thing and one thing only. It is a life line for consumers who are fighting the behemoth insurance companies. Don’t take our word for it; ask Melinda from Iowa  “Able to get my mortgage paid.” or Gregory from Missouri: “There’s no jobs available for me with my disabilities. This money will pay light bills. Thank you.” Scott from Tennessee: “This will help me from being evicted or having my power turned off.”

Finally Debra from Indiana said “I’m using the money for my brother’s funeral”

Consumer Legal Funding allows consumers to level the playing field against the multi-million dollar lobbying paid by the Big Insurance Industry and the US Chamber to harm consumers and limit the right to a free market society we cherish in this country.

The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit. Milton Friedman

 

Enough is enough: Stop Leaving South Carolina Consumers in the Cold

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The U.S. Chamber and Big Insurance: Leaving South Carolina Consumers in the Cold

If it were up to big insurance companies and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, consumer legal funding would just disappear in South Carolina.  When consumer legal funding began providing services in the Palmetto State, consumers had an alternative to big insurance companies’ delay tactics and low-ball settlement offers for injury claims.  People like Queen from Bishopville, South Carolina or Margaret from Clinton, South Carolina no longer had to worry about their daily living expenses and could finally stand toe-to-toe with the big pocketed insurance companies to fight for what they deserved, a fair settlement on their injury claim.

For too long insurance companies in South Carolina and across the U.S. got away with less-then-market rate settlements with consumers for automobile or on-the-job injury claims.  The insurance companies used notorious tactics to delay claims long enough that an injured consumer was financially in trouble, was out of work and without a paycheck, couldn’t hang on any longer and would take a much lower settlement then what they actually deserved.

Not until consumer legal funding products came along in places like South Carolina, could consumers finally stand up and say “enough is enough.”  With consumer legal funding, consumers who have an injury claim pending with an insurance company can obtain non-recourse funding to help pay for everyday living expenses like rent, transportation and food.  These small amounts of funding help alleviate the worries of the consumer’s daily financial lives and allows them to pursue a fair settlement for their injury claims.

Consumer legal funding couldn’t have been more helpful and important to Queen and her family, from Bishopville, South Carolina.  “[Consumer legal funding] really helped me because with the money, I could pay the rent and buy food for the kids.”  She said, “Thank you with all my heart.”

For Margaret from Clinton, South Carolina her situation was dire.  After months of waiting and still not having her claim settled, she had no other options but to seek a consumer legal funding company.  She was glad she did. “[Consumer legal funding] has helped keep a roof over our [families’] heads and food on our table.”   

The Insurance companies, along with their mouthpiece, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, want consumers, legislators or anyone else who will listen to believe consumer legal funding is bad for consumers and a serious risk to the future stability of the U.S. judicial system. 

These comments by big insurance and the Chamber are, of course, false.   These are merely PR tools they use as diversions to hide their true intentions, which include getting rid of consumer legal funding in places like South Carolina.  They prefer to return to their old ways of doing business, by forcing consumers like Queen or Margaret into less-then-fair settlement offers, saving insurance companies billions of dollars, while leaving consumers out in the cold.

    

Consumer Legal Funding is Keeping Families Moving Forward in Louisiana

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Whether it is Patricia from Bogalusa, Kenneth from Gretna, or Thomas from Denham Springs, one thing is for certain, these Louisianans have been affected by a terrible accident and have sought the help of a consumer legal funding company.

Consumer legal funding helps thousands of people and families across Louisiana cope with debilitating injuries, caused at no fault of their own, usually from an auto accident.  These accidents often leave them out of work, without a full paycheck and unable to pay for everyday necessities such as rent, utilities and food.  The ability of consumer legal funding to provide non-recourse funding is vital for these injured consumers to get back onto their feet and to continue to pursue a full and fair settlement with their insurance company.

Why is it necessary for consumer legal funding to be part of the equation when someone is involved in these unfortunate situations?

For years, large insurance companies have been preying on injured consumers who are financially unable to sustain time away from work and a paycheck. The companies delay claim settlements in hopes of forcing financially disadvantaged consumers into a less-then-market rate settlement.  Of course, this leaves the consumer in worse financial shape than before the accident, but the insurance company in much better shape as it pertains to their own corporate bottom line.

For Patricia from Bogalusa, Louisiana consumer legal funding was instrumental in helping her and her family through the accident.  “[Consumer legal funding] was extremely helpful, [to] catch up on regular bills and [to buy] groceries for myself and my 10 year old son.” 

The importance of consumer legal funding cannot be understated with Kenneth who is from Gretna, Louisiana.  He had been waiting months for a fair settlement from his insurance company, and had gotten to a point where he needed some extra money to afford everyday living expenses.  “[Consumer legal funding], helped with my everyday bills [like] utilities and rent.  [I] now have a more stable life while [I am] out of work.”

As Thomas from Denham Springs, Louisiana best puts it, “I have had a hard time getting back ahead but because of [consumer legal funding] now I can.”

That is the best way to sum up consumer legal funding, it keeps people moving forward in tough financial times.  Whereas the insurance companies are only concerned about their corporate bottom lines, consumer legal funding is part of the healing process for those consumers who need it most.   

Is the US Chamber truly an honest player in the legislative process?

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Cornell Study Highlights Flaws of Chamber’s Survey of State Liability

Theodore Eisenberg, a Professor at Cornell Law School, in a 2009 study, questioned the validity of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Survey of State Liability.  The study, which was entitled, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Liability Survey: Inaccurate, Unfair, and Bad for Business , hits hard at both the Chamber’s methodology and conclusions.

 “Normally such a flawed study would not be worth evaluating. But the Chamber uses its large budget to promote the survey and, as noted above, the survey receives substantial attention,” Eisenberg states in his study. “The most damaging effects of the Chamber’s survey likely are not on the states the Chamber attacks but on our whole country’s fiscal and physical well-being.”

Eisenberg continues, “The Chamber’s survey violates the elementary principle that evaluation of legal system performance should be based on input from both sides to dispute. [T]he Chamber’s study is a caricature of what a serious evaluation of a liability system should look like.”

As the Chamber attempts to move its so-called “reform agenda” to state legislatures in 2014, the important thing to note about their Survey of State Liability is that they use this study as a centerpiece to criticize judiciaries to seek extensive legal reforms that would essentially benefit a few of their larger corporate friends.

Fortunately, Eisenberg’s study captures the dishonesty of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  A Chamber that has become a voice for just a handful of big corporations, spreading false claims and skewed studies to help enhance a few at the expense of many.  Nowhere is this more true than the Chamber’s efforts to attack consumer legal funding.

Now fast forward to 2013 where Thurbert Baker, Counsel to the Chamber is leading efforts against consumer legal funding companies.  Using similar legal reform tactics to hide behind true intentions of protecting a few large insurance conglomerates at the expense of consumer legal funding, he has stated on numerous occasions that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is concerned that the practice of consumer legal funding is harming consumers and is having a negative impact on our civil justice system.

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.  Consumer legal funding has a tremendous history of helping those across the country who need it most by providing financial help.  It is through this financial help that consumers can then worry less about their daily living expenses and instead concentrate on finalizing their settlements with their insurance company in a fair and full manner.

Putting profit protection over consumer protection is the endgame for the Chamber’s efforts on consumer legal funding. Fortunately for consumers, we can thank this Cornell study for blowing the whistle on these phony surveys upon which so much of the Chamber’s so-called legal reform agenda is based.

Insurance Industry: We’re #1 (but not in a good way…)

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NAIC Stats show delay tactics by Insurance Industry still #1 complaint by Consumers.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization created and governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories.

When they released last month’s insurance complaint numbers, it was not a surprise that claim-handling delays were the number one complaint among insurance consumers.  With almost 30,000 complaints lodged against big insurance corporations so far in 2013, delay tactics accounted for nearly one-third of those complaints.

To the consumer legal funding industry and its consumers this is eerily similar to Bill Murray’s movie, Groundhog Day.  Where delay tactics are used over and over and over again to stall and wait-out injured consumers who just want a fair settlement and to get back to a normal way of life.

It is no secret that the insurance industry uses these delay tactics as a business practice to help lessen the amount of money they pay out to claimants.  The insurance industry takes pride in preying on those consumers who have been involved in an accident and are financially disadvantaged, forcing the consumer into a less-then-market-rate settlement.

Large insurances companies are taking advantage of those who have been in a serious accident, are out of work and their savings have run dry.  Consumer legal funding bridges the financial gap from the time an accident occurs until a consumer has a chance to rightfully and fairly settle their injury claim. 

Consumer legal funding has become such a threat to the insurance industry’s old ways of doing business that they have begun to spin a message that consumer legal funding is anti-consumer.  It is laughable on its fact that helping to keep a roof over a family’s head, or to help provide financial assistance so a family is able to put food on the table is anti-consumer.

Without any substantial statistics to back up their claims, the insurance industries claims are a mere smokescreen for who the real anti-consumer culprit is in the room.      

Unfortunately for big insurance companies, the National Association of Insurance Commissioner statistics do not lie.  When it comes to consumer complaints, big insurance hands down leads the way.

For Cristy, Consumer Legal Funding Provided a Financial Lifeline and an opportunity to Stand Up to Big Insurance.

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Big insurance wants you to believe consumer legal funding is some monstrous organization that doesn’t care about the consumer.   Of course these are only desperate words being used by big insurance to try and protect their decades old strategy of deliberately delaying injury claims in hopes of settling for a less than fair market value with a claimant.

The tactic for big insurance is simple, find those claimants who are financially disadvantaged.  Often these claimants, like many Americans, are working paycheck to paycheck, do not have significant savings and have been in an automobile accident that has left them unable to work and without any money coming into the home.  Big insurance knows these people are the most vulnerable and most likely to settle for less if the claim process is delayed.

Big insurance has been utilizing these delay tactics on the financially vulnerable for decades.  In contrast, consumer legal funding has provided a lifeline to those who need financial assistance and want to get a fair settlement for their injury claim.

Consumer legal funding helps level the playing field with big insurance, especially those who are financially vulnerable.  Instead of settling for pennies on the dollar, a claimant can now pursue non-recourse funding through a consumer legal funding organization.  Through this funding a consumer can access funds to help pay for everyday necessities such as housing, transportation, utilities and food. These funds help keep the consumer’s daily life going, while they wait for their claim to be settled in a fair manner.    

Cristy from Georgia, who was involved in a terrible accident, is a prime example and just one of the millions of claimants who would have been held hostage by the outrageous delay tactics of big insurance if it weren’t for consumer legal funding. 

“I was unable to work and had [gone] thru all my savings,“ Cristy said. “I tried to refinance and since I didn’t have employment [due to the accident], no one would give me the money and I needed money to pay my mortgage and buy groceries.”

Cristy goes on to say, “I am still [waiting for my claim to be settled in a fair manner] and am thankful [a consumer legal funding organization] gave me the money when no one else would.”

Thanks to consumer legal funding, Cristy has a financial lifeline that will help get her daily life back on track and will allow her stand up to big insurance and their delay tactics.