Insult to Injury: Insurance, Fraud, and the Big Business of Bad Faith (Hardcover)

by Ray Bourhis (Author) "THE WOMAN SEATED BEFORE ME HAD PAIN AND SADNESS ETCHED deeply into her face..." (more)
Key Phrases: disability income business, future policy benefits, total disability benefits, Paul Revere, Joan Hangarter, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Bourhis continues his commitment to justice by taking on the insurance industry and criminal fraud in this compelling case study. -- Senator Edward M. Kennedy

Painstakingly documented, hilarious, and insightful. A seething indictment of the out-of-control insurance industry. -- Amy Bach, Executive Director, United Policyholders

What happened to Joan Hangarter is a grave injustice… Readers of this book should urge their representatives to reform ERISA. -- John Garamendi, Insurance Commissioner, State of California

Product Description
Joan Hangarter bought a disability policy in 1990 to protect her in case of serious illness. When she did become disabled a decade later, she ended up homeless and on welfare when the company refused to pay. With the help of her attorney, Ray Bourhis, she fought back, winning a $7.7 million verdict against the company.

In Insult to Injury, Bourhis walks readers through this case study in bad faith double-dealing by insurance providers. Bourhis, a national champion of policy-holder rights, uses an engaging narrative style to reveal the back-room strategic mind-set that drives these illegal practices, how low-level employees are duped into unethical conduct, and how insurers manipulate data and witnesses in the few cases that do go to trial. He also explains the key regulatory oversights that encourage such corruption, and how the American legal system actually facilitates insurer fraud. Insult to Injury closes with a roadmap to reform — advice no one who holds a policy can afford to ignore.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 263 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; illustrated edition edition (2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576753492
• ISBN-13: 978-1576753491
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #534,428 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most disturbing exposes I have ever read, August 16, 2005

By	Eggcrate "glodphlex" (New York City) - See all my reviews

If, like the average American citizen probably does, you view the insurance industry as a benevolent protector that exists to serve its' customers, you are in for one rude awakening. Ray Bourhis, who served as plantiff's counsel in the case detailed in the book he later wrote, confronts the awesome duplicity of his adversary, one of the largest insurance underwriters in existence, a company that seemed determined not to honor its obligations at any cost. Bourhis describes the unending legal gamemanship, the obdurate refusal to settle, the psychological brutality of a company that appeared to prefer to destroy a policyholder than pay a claim on the agreed terms. The jury was not deceived and awarded Bouris' client a $7.7 million judgement a compensation for the egregious bad faith demonstrated by the insurer. This is an absolutely revolting story of an "ends justify any and all means" philosophy run amok at the senior management level and the terrible human cost exacted from the trusting and powerless who had believed their policies would protect them in times of dire need, when illness or injury rendered them unable to work. If you ever plan on purchasing a long term disabilty insurance policy from any insurer, you MUST read this book first; you have no idea what you may be setting yourself up for.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fight the Power, September 12, 2005

By	Bo Jackson "Bo" (NYC) - See all my reviews

Insult to Injury is a passionate account of the insurance-related problems so many Americans must face on a daily basis. Ray Bourhis makes a compelling argument for reform and does so with gusto. This book is relevant, engaging, and well worth a read.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insurance Truths, September 9, 2005

By	Reviewer18 (Dade, Fl. USA) - See all my reviews

This book should be required reading for every policy holder and potential policy holder. Bourhis clearly defines the dark side of the insurance industry whose reach influences state, federal and local government. His writing style is clear and interesting as he details the facts supporting his thesis. It is a shame that President Bush tried to pin the rising cost of medical care on so-called "frivolous lawsuits", when in fact the insurance companies keep costs high by insisting on unreasonable profits even when company executives make poor business decisions. After reading this book most citizens should demand a rethinking of how insurance companies do business and are regulated.