Subject: New Good Faith Insurance
Law
By Richard J. Schroeder
Until recently, Minnesota was only one of a couple
of states in the country that didn’t have a law protecting
consumers and requiring insurance companies and their claims adjusters
to act in good faith. For years, the insurance lobby in Minnesota
scared consumers and our elected officials into not passing such an
important piece of legislation. But that has changed. Gov. Pawlenty
recently signed into law the Good Faith Insurance Bill which our
legislature had debated for years. Thankfully, our elected officials
finally listened to reason as well as to the numerous horror stories of
insurance companies treating consumers unfairly and leaving them with
absolutely no recourse.
We all pay way too much for insurance
coverage—whether it is for auto, homeowners, or health
insurance. If we are unfortunate to have a loss from an auto/
motorcycle collision, a storm, a fire or some other situation that
causes us harm, the last thing we need is our insurance company
fighting against us, rather than helping us! After all, we
are the customer! Can you think of any other business that would be
allowed to take so much of our money and then treat us like the enemy?
When Mike Hatch was our Commerce Commissioner, we
had a person in our corner that watched out for us and kept the
insurance companies in check. But that was years ago. We have not had
that type of watchdog for a long time. Now, with the enactment of the
Good Faith Law, insurance companies will have to start treating all of
us better when we have a claim or face the consequences. We
all need to be accountable for our actions. For years, insurance
companies in Minnesota got a free pass. They could deny claims, fail to
pay claims, hire doctors and lawyers to fight everything until many
people just plain gave up.
Under the new law, when insurance companies act
unfairly (and many companies will continue to conduct business in an
unfair manner like they have in the past), they will now have to answer
to a court of law. We all owe our heartfelt appreciation to
the elected officials who voted for this important bill! They
stood up to the powerful insurance lobby and a very expensive, scare
tactic media campaign– but this time it didn’t work.
Richard J Schroeder
