Last week my grandmother was in her home when a car slammed into her living room at 60+mph. The car ran at full throttle, bucking around furiously, until the cops arrived 20 minutes later to turn it off. The heat actually set her bushes on fire. The driver, her next-door neighbor, was dead inside.

The cause of death was determined to be a heart attack. The poor woman almost made it home but evidently lost control just as she passed her own house.

Yesterday the Nationwide insurance adjuster stopped by to inform us that, since they believe she was dead before impact, her insurance policy conveniently expired 1 second before the wreck. We argued that since she made it around several obstacles she was probably just blacking out, and died later before paramedics arrived. They countered that even if the driver experienced only a momentary blackout, they still weren't responsible.

My grandmother must now file with her homeowner's insurance to replace the wall, paying a hefty deductable and risking policy cancellation or rate hikes.

Anyway, this is just your friendly reminder that insurance companies were forged by lucifer himself and operate accordingly.

3/16/2006 2:24:07 PM

Wait so insurance companies are out to make money now?

3/16/2006 2:30:15 PM

This thread was to remind you guys. I know this isn't news to me, but it's damn shitty, none the less.

3/16/2006 2:31:35 PM

it's really damn shitty

and she can probably fight it and win

find her a lawyer

[Edited on March 16, 2006 at 2:33 PM. Reason : .]

3/16/2006 2:32:16 PM

Quote :

"Yesterday the Nationwide insurance adjuster stopped by to inform us that, since they believe she was dead before impact, her insurance policy conveniently expired 1 second before the wreck. We argued that since she made it around several obstacles she was probably just blacking out, and died later before paramedics arrived. They countered that even if the driver experienced only a momentary blackout, they still weren't responsible."

wow. did they try to get your grandmother to sign anything? They love that game: tell you some bs and get you to sign away your rights via a form. did she sign anything?

she should get a lawyer, seriously. this sounds like a load of crap

3/16/2006 2:33:38 PM

That sucks, dude, but what do you expect? Insurance companies are like any other money-making business; they look out for their own necks. Ideally, an insurance company will always get paid premiums and never have any one of their subscribers have an accident or incident (because said accidents and incidents cut into their profits). It sounds to me like this incident is going to cost quite a bit of $texas to fix; if you were running the insurance company, can you honestly say you wouldn't try to wiggle your way out of paying for that?

Bare in mind that I'm not condoning what Nationwide has done, though, that really is an asshole-ish thing to do.

3/16/2006 2:35:04 PM

No, nothing's been signed yet. But it does put her in a bind: she's got a hole in her house, and it would be premature to fix it until she knows where the money's coming from. And really that whole side of the house needs to be torn off and the brick replaced with a new color(matching brick is nearly impossible), but if there's no insurance money coming it might be better for her to just pay out of pocket and my family will just chip in and fix only the bare minimum.

3/16/2006 2:43:18 PM

^^ Are you kidding?

Saying that someone probably died 1 second before what would have made them liable?

That's disgustingly unethical and even immoral thing to do. I expect insurance companies to try and keep their money, but in a case like this, that's seems like an extreme position to take.

[Edited on March 16, 2006 at 3:04 PM. Reason : ]

3/16/2006 2:45:58 PM

That's horrible man. I wish her the best of luck. Get her a good lawyer and tell her not to even waste her time talking to the insurance company anymore.

3/16/2006 2:49:23 PM

Get your ass a lawyer.

3/16/2006 2:58:35 PM

Pyro: her homeowner's insurance company will have subrogation rights if they pay out a claim and fix your grandmother's house, meaning they have the right to sue Nationwide to recover whatever they lost paying the claim -- in which case she wouldn't have to worry about any rate hikes or policy cancellations.

She needs to talk with the adjuster for her homeowner's policy, and also talk with a lawyer. Allstate is pretty much the worst insurance company when it comes to litigation and screwing victims, with Nationwide coming in at #2.


[Edited on March 16, 2006 at 3:03 PM. Reason : ---]

3/16/2006 3:01:51 PM

grandma's insurance better lawyer the fuck up

3/16/2006 3:07:21 PM

Quote :

"She needs to talk with the adjuster for her homeowner's policy, and also talk with a lawyer."

3/16/2006 3:14:37 PM

def talk with a lawyer, as nationwide is responsible.......


her homeowners insurance could do the fixes and take nationwide to court...and they would win



this is awful and I am appalled at this story



WRAL 5 ON YOUR SIDE!!!!!!!!

3/16/2006 3:20:56 PM

Quote :

"Wait so insurance companies are out to make money now?"

don't be a capitilist dick, trying to write off a clear ethical outrageous decision as a "company just trying to make money". If everything he said holds true, there is no excuse for Nationwide's decision - it's not their job to make money, it's their job to server their customers and if that entails, heaven forbid, paying out some cash for a legitimate claim, then they'd better fucking do it.

I'm with everyone else here - get a lawyer and go to town on this. Of course, I'd be feeling a bit optimistic about it right now because I just finished reading John Grisham's The Rainmaker 2 days ago (the movie with Matt Damon) where a 2-bit lawyer takes down a dirty insurance comany trying to screw a poor family out of their kid's lukemia treatments

3/16/2006 3:43:51 PM

Quote :

"Pyro: her homeowner's insurance company will have subrogation rights if they pay out a claim and fix your grandmother's house, meaning they have the right to sue Nationwide to recover whatever they lost"

Glad someone finally said this.

Your insurance company, while not carrying about your grammas deductible she has to pay, will definitely go to court over the 10,000+ dollars it is going to take to fix her house.

Sounds like you probably have only half the story anyway.

3/16/2006 3:47:31 PM

Quote :

"it's not their job to make money, it's their job to server their customers"

ahahahahah. i am afraid you need lessons on the definition of capitalism.

they have one single responsibility--claiming to serve, or actually serve a customer is just a means to an end. please see dictionaries and examine the historic behavior of corperations for more information.

3/16/2006 3:52:51 PM

Quote :

"WRAL 5 ON YOUR SIDE!!!!!!!!"

i lol'd

3/16/2006 4:01:29 PM

Quote :

"WRAL 5 ON YOUR SIDE!!!!!!!! "

for real though.. I would call it in to the news

3/16/2006 4:36:32 PM

Nationwide is on your side!

WRAL, 5 on your side!



WAIT....WHAT IF WE ARE ON THE WRONG SIDE|!

3/17/2006 8:01:02 AM

1) Have her contact her insurance agency. They will provide lawyers FOR YOU. Aka if they lose they have to pay it. They don't want to lose

2) This will NEVER go to court. I guarantee that Nationwide will settle out of court.

3) Do not threaten or do anything on your own. Call her insurance agency and explain the situation.

Right now the BURDEN OF PROOF is on Nationwide to PROVE the lady died prior to hitting the wall. Since with heart attacks it's impossible to PROVE time of death to a minutes accuracy, there is a 15-20 minute error. There is no fucking way they can claim she was dead on impact.

I know this because my grandfather died of a heart attack and when asking about time of death they explained about the error in time of death with heart attacks.

Now, once you contact your insurance company and they get you in touch with their legal department ask them if it's okay to contact your local news. If they are okay with it this event will make nationwide look like ASSES. They will HAVE to pay or suffer an extremely bad PR case.

3/17/2006 8:13:33 AM

Wow. This sounds like a case that would be in my Torts Law book. Crazy shit.

And follow what was said about...this shit usually turns into a fight between insurance companies. Your grandma's insurance company should take Nationwide through the ringers.

3/17/2006 8:18:07 AM

this SCREAMS lawyer.

3/17/2006 9:32:50 AM

Damn, they are nigers

3/17/2006 9:39:02 AM

yes, they are West-Central Africans

3/17/2006 9:55:45 AM

yes, they are West-Central Africans

3/17/2006 10:39:26 AM

1) Never listen to any advice Raige gives about anything

3/17/2006 11:24:47 AM

Quote :

"WRAL 5 ON YOUR SIDE!!!!!!!!"

Seriously, your grandmother should contact them (or another station if she lives somewhere else). It shouldn't even matter if the poor lady did die a minute before impact.

Completely insane

3/17/2006 12:28:35 PM

lawyer up

3/17/2006 1:13:56 PM

Try not to put this on the Homeowners- They will jack your rates up and try to cancel.

Call a lawyer, I would be damned if that policy expires at death. There are car accidents all the time that the person dies instantly. You can at least sue her estate for the damages.

[Edited on March 17, 2006 at 1:27 PM. Reason : k]

3/17/2006 1:26:08 PM

Quote :

"don't be a capitilist dick, trying to write off a clear ethical outrageous decision as a "company just trying to make money". If everything he said holds true, there is no excuse for Nationwide's decision - it's not their job to make money, it's their job to server their customers and if that entails, heaven forbid, paying out some cash for a legitimate claim, then they'd better fucking do it."

cosigned.

and if i ever die and run into any of you all's property, i expect you to sue the HELL out of my insurance company, then donate half of it to NCSUs endowment . i don't even curse and that is the biggest crock of shit i've heard in some time. "OH, IT EXPIYERD 1 SEKOND BE4 SHE HIT TEH HOUSE. SO U R NOT COVERD." damn WRAL if possible, get somebody national that will affect their business on a larger scale than WRALs media market. that is disgusting.

3/17/2006 1:33:11 PM

In this situation, her insurance will probably hire a lawyer for her to save their asses some money.

3/17/2006 1:41:21 PM

Quote :

"insurance companies were forged by lucifer himself and operate accordingly."

agreed

let not forget medical malpractice rates, the fact that companies are "reinsured", and that they can always get corporate welfare from our beloved legislators.

3/17/2006 1:43:15 PM

Isn't (part of) the reason for high malpractice insurance rates due to the high number of medical-related lawsuits, legitimate or frivolous?

I could very well be wrong, but that was my take on it.

3/17/2006 1:46:45 PM

^ depends on who you listen to.
in truth, it's a self-perpetuating cycle though. A lawsuit is filed, insurance company raises their premiums to cover future lawsuits, doctors charge more to cover their premiums, another lawsuit is filed (often for legitimate purposes - "frivolous lawsuits" certainly happen, but not as much as, for example, many Republicans would have you believe), insurance company raises premium to cover future lawsuits, doctors charge more to cover higher premiums, etc etc.
The insurance industry and medical industry certainly prop each other up, though, and as usual, the big loser is the customer. Insurance companys and doctors will always make money - it just depends on how high their margins are, so each will raise their rates to cover each others costs, and the end-customer is the one who's stuck with the final bill.

3/17/2006 2:29:39 PM

Quote :

"Isn't (part of) the reason for high malpractice insurance rates due to the high number of medical-related lawsuits, legitimate or frivolous? I could very well be wrong, but that was my take on it."

lawsuits have become the whipping boy of the insurance industry.

insurance company's have shitty asset managers that get owned by the capital markets regularly. they lose $ investing their cash, and use jacked up rates to bail them out.

3/17/2006 2:44:07 PM

TGD was on the nose. Your grandmother is going to be fine, but she needs to talk to the homeowner's insurance co. adjuster and a lawyer. It is extremely unlikely that Nationwide will be able to prove that death occurred before impact, and they'll have to pay by law if they can't.

3/20/2006 4:21:49 AM