Bad Hands: The Naughty Insurance Companies.

There are some really, really bad insurance companies out there. We've all heard the horror stories in movies and books like Grisham's The Rainmaker. You may have even heard some of the news stories in recent years. But how do we know who to trust and who to avoid?

The American Association for Justice has compiled a list based on the dismal track records of the ten worst of the worst. These are companies you've heard of. These are companies who spend millions on advertising to make themselves look good. These are companies who seem to be willing to do anything to avoid paying out.

The entire article can be found here, http://www.justice.org/docs/TenWorstInsuranceCompanies.pdf , and I suggest you read it all. It contains real stories compiled from these nightmare corporations, like the Unum sales agent who found herself in need of her disability insurance and was denied by the company she had served for so many years.

So who are the culprits? Here they are listed in order of awfulness, beginning with the company who works the hardest to avoid doing good:

1. Allstate
2. Unum
3. AIG
4. State Farm
5. Conseco
6. WellPoint
7. Farmers
8. UnitedHealth
9. Torchmark
10. Liberty Mutual

It may be time to reconsider who you have your car insurance with.

What amazes me is how each of these companies advertise how they are "there for you" and "do the right thing," etc. It's time to stop looking at ads to help us make decisions and do some actual research.

We'll discuss what makes an insurer tend to be "good" versus what makes an insurer go bad in a future post. We'll also talk about some simple research that you can do to figure out where to shop. Look for it here!

- Oreo