More Money for Insurance Companies Means Less Money for You

Chances are you will be in a car accident at some point in your life. Chances are the car accident will be somebody else’s fault, like a drunk driver or a distracted driver. After you are involved in an accident that is somebody else’s fault, the other side’s insurance company, through a claims adjuster, will probably try to call you to push you toward a quick settlement. The claims adjuster will try to get a recorded statement from you, and will try to get you to agree to a very small amount to settle any case you may have with them. This is the job of the claims adjuster, to attempt to get you to agree to as low amount as possible, which in turn increases the profit margin of the big insurance company. The more money the insurance company brings in from insurance premiums versus the amount the big insurance company pays out in claims, the more profit they make.

Collateral Source Rule Legislation (Missouri Senate bill 31) creates a windfall for big insurance companies.

This is where the collateral source rule legislation comes in, which is Senate bill 31 in Missouri. This legislation aims to increase the profit margin for big insurance companies by limiting the amount that you can claim after you are injured in a car accident. Senate bill 31 will help the big insurance companies to ignore the total value of your medical claim by introducing evidence of your medical costs that were covered by your health insurance. The better health insurance you have, the better chance the big insurance company has to limit your medical claim. This is a big win for big insurance companies, because if you pay more in health insurance premiums, you probably will have less of a claim against an insurance company who represents the person who caused your injury.

We are not talking about the insurance agents in your hometown when we talk about big insurance. Your insurance agent is probably a good person who is involved in the community and does good work for you. The big insurance companies we are talking about are the insurance giants headquartered outside of Missouri in states like Maryland and Connecticut.

The big insurance companies will make you think that trial lawyers are the bad guys, but they spend millions on their own trial lawyers to ensure that you will receive as little as possible if you are the victim of an auto accident. It is your trial lawyer who represents your interests that they don’t like. The sad reality is that if the big insurance companies actually offered fair amounts to settle your case after an accident, you probably would not need a trial lawyer to help you get a fair shake in the process.

The big insurance companies make their profits on the margins. They know that a majority of people who are injured by their client will settle for less than a fair amount, so they will continue to low-ball your claim. The big insurance companies spend millions of dollars on marketing efforts and lobbyists to push legislation that limit your ability to get a fair shake after you are involved in a car accident. Senate bill 31 regarding the collateral source rule is just another example of this.

Senate bill 31 will not result in more jobs in Missouri and will not result in lower premiums for you. The Missouri legislature passed similar legislation in 2005, limiting your ability to receive compensation after a car accident. The big insurance lobbyists promised more jobs and lower premiums for Missouri. Do you remember lower insurance premiums and more jobs in Missouri after 2005? We don’t either. This is why we oppose the collateral source rule legislation, because more profits for insurance companies, means less money for you.