Buyer BEWARE!

For those of you who read this blog regularly - you probably know about the house fire last June and the fact that it is still unresolved. The problem with keeping track of these companies is that they are all tied together, and they change their names.

SO
Homesite of the Midwest is the company that insured our home.

They now call themselves 21st century insurance, and they underwrite Progressive insurance policies, Esurance policies, and AIG.

As much as people may not like the "front" company - like AIG - the real culprit is the company behind that front - that refuses to pay claims. Progressive, Esurance, 21st Century - all of these are like insurance dealers - they do not underwrite their own policies, their policies are backed up, and paid by - Homesite.

If you have anyof these insurers, beware! I would strongly advise you to change to an insurance company that pays claims appropriately!

**"In 2008, the American Association for Justice released a 29-page report entitled “The Ten Worst Insurance Companies In America.”
The report was the result of a comprehensive investigation of a blizzard of court documents, FBI records, state insurance department complaints and investigations, news stories from around the nation, and testimony and depositions from former insurance agents and adjusters. The final list includes companies that insure cars, homes, disability, health and life.

One thing that the report shows is that Allstate, State Farm and Liberty Mutual all hired famous management consultant McKinsey and Company to study how they could be more profitable. McKinsey came back with a strategy known as “The Three Ds...Deny, Delay and Defend.” All three companies have used this strategy aggressively to boost profits for their shareholders.
To read the report, go to: http://www.justice.org/docs/tenworstinsurancecompanies.pdf

The list is as follows:

10. Liberty Mutual
Not only has Liberty Mutual pulled out of Coastal states like Florida and Louisiana, but also Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland and big parts of New York.
9. Torchmark
A variety of company subsidiaries sell burial insurance, cancer insurance, and life insurance. The company has been accused of selling minority customers higher priced products than white customers. Its sales tactics have attracted frequent lawsuits from regulators and policyholders.
8. United Health
This health insurer has a reputation for health care reimbursement rates that are so low and so delayed that doctors report patient health is at risk.
7. Farmers
Owned by Swiss insurance giant Zurich Insurance, Farmers is consistently near the bottom of homeowners and auto satisfaction surveys conducted by JD Power and Consumer Reports. As an example of their “profits over people” attitude, note that after the 1994 Northridge CA earthquake, Farmers instituted an employee program called “Bring Back a Billion.” This was an effort to save the company a billion dollars in claims settlements.
6. Wellpoint
Wellpoint is the nation’s largest health insurer, covering over 28 million people. They have been found to routinely cancel policies on pregnant women and chronically ill patients. In 2007, the California Department of Insurance assessed a $12.6 million fine against Wellpoint for “serious violations” in their claims procedures. Wellpoint was also sued by 800,000 doctors for underpaying claims.
5. Conseco
Long-term care insurance is Conseco’s forte. And that usually affects the elderly most. Conseco takes advantage of the calendar, knowing that if it waits long enough, many policyholders submitting claims will die before their claim is paid.
4. State Farm
The largest property casualty insurer in America, who has a long reputation for delaying and denying claims. State Farm has recently announced that it has pulled out of the Mississippi and Florida markets entirely. In 1999, after a giant Oklahoma tornado event, homeowners file a class action lawsuit against State Farm, alleging that the insurer widely undervalued homes. The jury ruled that State Farm had acted “recklessly” and “with malice” toward its own policyholders. And don’t get me started on how State Farm acted after Katrina.
3. AIG
The world’s largest insurer has had massive financial problems of late, with the Congress negotiating a Federal bailout of the insurer in Fall 2008. But besides that, AIG has developed a reputation over the years as a company that fights claims aggressively.
2. UNUM
This Chattanooga, TN based company is one of the nation’s leaders in disability insurance. UNUM has a long reputation for delaying and denying claims. If you want to read an infuriating book about this subject, read “Insult to Injury,” by Ray Bourhis. The author is an attorney that took on UNUM in court. UNUM is regularly the target of insurance department and media investigations for their claims handling tactics.

And...drumroll please...the AAJ choice for number one worst insurance company in America is....
1. ALLSTATE
The AAJ stated that the “good hands” of Allstate should be shown inside boxing gloves. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), complaints filed against Allstate were greater in number than most all of its major competitors.
After Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana Department of Insurance received over 1,200 complaints against Allstate, which is more than any other company. State Farm had over 700 complaints, and State Farm has the biggest share of the homeowners insurance market in Louisiana. Allstate embraces the McKinsey philosophy, “Delay, Deny and Defend.”Allstate’s CEO Thomas Wilson summed up the strategies of all the companies when he said, “Our obligation is to earn a return for our shareholders.”

The Most Holy Place

Exodus 26:33b
The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.God has differations on holiness.

Many people look at holiness as how much sin can I have and still be called holy. How far away from God can I get and still be a "Christian"? I used to have that view. I looked at myself as being on a chain like a dog in the yard. If I started getting to the end it/He would pull me back. Thus I knew where my boundaries were and I didn't have to be in control of myself. I expected Him to do it. What if our spouses were that way.

What if Amanda said let me see how far away from Drason I can be and let him still know I love him. My love language is quality time so it would really bother me. I mean what if she said well I love you but I am going to sleep in another bedroom? Another house? Another road? Another city? Another state? Another country? At what point would it be to far? I know the other room would be too far for me. She might even promise to see me once a week. I promise to spend 2 hours with you on Sunday. Would that be okay? Definitely not. What if your love language is acts of service? I promise to do one thing for you this week. I will go to work one day or I will do one dish or I will rub one foot for one minute or I will live in Texas and call and listen to you for one hour every week. Would that make you feel loved?When we are of the attitude, how far away can I get and still go to heaven then we are telling God the same things. It shouldn't be how far away but how close can I get. Only one person ever got it completely right. Only one person ever got as close as possible. But we can get closer than we are now. Sin separates us from God. The more sin, the larger the sin, the more separation. So how far can I get?

I don't want to know. God makes distinctions in holiness. Only certain people, certain priests were allowed behind the curtain, into the most holy place. That was the old testament. Jesus broke down that barrier. He made it possible for us to be in the most holy place. He made it possible, not a guarantee. As Christians we are in the holy place. We get to heaven. But are we in the most holy place? Probably not. We should desire that closeness, that intimacy, with God. But too many times were are content the just be where we are. We are in the temple and so that is enough. No it isn't. We should be striving to get behind the curtain. "Don't mind the man behind the curtain." We all want to know what is going to happen. Why this is this way or that. Go behind the curtain. It is easier to see how things work back there. Mind the man behind the curtain. He can tell you how and why things work the way they do. We went to a concert Thursday night. One of the lead singers for a band there was telling about him and some others going to see people after their town was devastated by tornados. He said they were asked why. His response is that he didn't know. And that we don't know why sometimes. Wrong.

We may not always know the specifics for everybody, but we can find out about ourselves. If we commit ourselves to residing in the most holy place and not just the holy place then we can talk to God. That is what the most holy place was. It was where God would talk face to face with the Israelites. That is why only a certain person(s) was allowed in there. The had to be the most purified. Jesus took away those rules for that. He made us that purified, the Holy Spirit makes us that purified, but we don't go in. If you want to know why, or how, or when, or where, or how come, or what if, or blah blah blah, then go into the most holy place, be as holy as you can be, not as unholy as possible and still be able to go to heaven. It's not how far can I be but how close can I be. Am I being as close as I can be?

Lord, Thank you for today. Thank you for this time I get to spend with you. Not time I have to but that I get to. Thank you for the blessing you have seen fit to give me. Thank you for making it possible to be in the most holy place. Help me to live there. Help me to stay in the most holy place the rest of my life. Help me to shown my kids and my wife where it is and how to get there. Thank you for wanting to be close to me and letting me be close to you. Help to get closer everyday Lord. Everyday. Amen.

Drason