Insurers are increasingly using tough tactics against cash-strapped consumers to boost profits, according to a new report that investigates claims data, policies, and news accounts.
The report details tactics that target policyholders, insurance companies that are engaging in these practices, and what consumers can do to prevent abuses and fight back.
The current economic turmoil, which is greatly affecting the insurance sector, will likely spark insurers to use these tactics to maximize their bottom lines.
"Insurance companies are preying on cash-strapped consumers with tough tactics to increase profits," said American Association for Justice CEO Jon Haber. "The current challenges facing American families are only compounded when their insurance company plays hardball in their greatest time of need."
Insurance Company Tactics Add to Americans' Financial Hardships
Raped in the Military? You May Have to Pay for Your Own Forensic Exam Kit
TRICARE, the United States Department of Defense Military Health System that covers active duty members, will only pay for rape kits if the victim is seen in a military or a VA facility.
But the Pentagon acknowledges that 80 percent of military rapes are never reported. And that 80 percent who go off-base to protect their anonymity (and/or their careers) are on their own. If a soldier is on leave, or is five-hours from the nearest VA, or if a soldier is simply delivered to the nearest hospital by the local ambulance driver, their rape kits are not covered under TRICARE. Neither are other forensic exams that might be used in domestic violence situations.
Palestinian couple evicted from home of 50 years as Jerusalem settlers move in
Israeli police have evicted a disabled Palestinian man and his wife from their home of 52 years in a Palestinian district surrounded by settlers.
The eviction, which took place before dawn on Sunday, comes after years of litigation that culminated in an Israeli supreme court ruling in July ordering the couple out of the house.
Obama team announces new rules on lobbyists
President-elect Obama's aides are announcing new rules to govern the conduct of lobbyists during the transition to power, including steps to limit their involvement in areas where they have sought to influence policy in the past year.
According to John Podesta, a top transition aide, federal lobbyists will be prohibited from any lobbying while they are at work on the transition.
Also, if anyone involved in the transition later becomes a lobbyist, they would not be able to lobby the new administration for one year on matters on which they worked for the president-elect.
The rules also stipulate that federal lobbyists may not contribute financially to the transition.
Teenager who won right to die: 'I have had too much trauma'
A terminally ill teenager who won a legal battle against a hospital's attempt to force her to have a life-saving heart transplant said today she had endured "too much trauma".
Hannah Jones, 13, from Marden, Herefordshire, who has been in and out of hospital since the age of four, said she did not want to go through any more operations.
Probe sought of Bush handling of Alaska oil-spill case
An environmental watchdog group asked the Department of Justice's inspector general on Monday to investigate whether the department had prematurely halted a criminal prosecution of BP for a 2006 oil spill in Alaska.
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed the complaint on behalf of Scott West, who as the special agent in charge for the Environmental Protection Agency participated in the federal and state investigation of the spill.
Diarrhea bacteria common in hospitals: survey
A common and sometimes deadly cause of diarrhea is far more common in U.S. hospitals than people thought, and only better hygiene and more judicious use of antibiotics will help, experts reported on Tuesday.
As many as 13 out of every 1,000 hospital patients are infected with Clostridium difficile, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology reported.
Another AIG Resort "Junket": Top Execs Caught on Tape
Even as the company was pleading the federal government for another $40 billion dollars in loans, AIG sent top executives to a secret gathering at a luxury resort in Phoenix last week.
Reporters for abc15.com (KNXV) caught the AIG executives on hidden cameras poolside and leaving the spa at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort, despite apparent efforts by the company to disguise its involvement.
Palin's father says Alaska governor sorting clothes to find GOP's
According to her dad, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spent part of the weekend "frantically" trying to sort out which of her family's outfits belong to the Republican party.
Palin and John McCain's campaign faced a storm of criticism for spending more than $150,000 at high-end stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus to dress the vice presidential nominee. Republican National Committee lawyers are still trying to determine exactly what clothing was bought for Palin, what was returned and what has happened to the rest.
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