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• A former Pa. insurance commissioner has accused insurers of crying
"insurance fraud" when it is guilty of the same crime against consumers. In
an article for the Insurance Crime Web site, Herb Denenberg, the former
commissioner, said, "There’s another form of insurance fraud and abuse that’s
just as extensive, just as expensive, and, in a sense, even more outrageous
and offensive [than fraud against insurers]. But you don’t see much about it
in the media..." Denenberg said this fraud "consists of denying a meritorious
claim, or needlessly delaying payment...or doing anything else to
intentionally thwart a fair and efficient claims consideration..." In their
dealings with insurers, consumers are at a big disadvantage, Denenberg said.
"Even insurance textbooks admit that policies are unread and unreadable," he
said. Also, insurers are prepared to fight in court, whereas consumers are
not. Denenberg was particularly critical of insurance commissioners. "Most
commissioners come out of the industry and go back to it when their terms
end," he wrote. "They are more interested in pleasing their future employers
than the people they are supposed to protect." Denenberg has two Web sites:
www.thedenenbergreport.org and www.denenbergsdump.org.
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