Delay, Deny, Defend – Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. No, that’s not the theme of a bad faith trial.  Its the title of Professor Jay M. Feinman’s new book that chronicles the bad faith practices of insurance companies.  Several months back, the book’s publisher, Penguin, provided me with an advance copy, and I found it to be dead-on.  An easy and enlightening read, Feinman details the systematic and widespread practices utilized by insurance companies across the country, and then shows insurance consumers exactly how to best deal with these mammoth companies that seldom have the insured’s best interest at heart.  

Here’s a description of the book directly from its author and publisher, taken from the book’s website:

Do you think your insurance policy has your property protected from life’s many mishaps? That those premiums you pay every month guarantee you the help you need when you need it? That your insurance company is a benevolent entity that strives to pay claims fairly and promptly? Think again.

Your insurer’s main objective is not to protect you; in fact, insurers often try to avoid paying justified claims. Today the name of the game is delay, deny, defend: to improve their profits, insurance companies delay payment of justified claims, deny payment altogether, and defend their actions by forcing claimants to enter litigation.

It’s unconscionable, and it’s widespread. From stonewalling and lowballing claims to instigating arbitrary fraud investigations, insurance companies are increasingly failing to live up to their contractual commitments. Some major insurers even hired the big-name consulting firm McKinsey to help them squeeze even more cash out of their claims centers. Why? Because insurance companies have realized they can add to their bottom line by using your monthly payments as a profit center, rather than a fund for giving you what you deserve if tragedy strikes.

Expert Jay M. Feinman details the infuriating systemic abuses, including:
Katrina victims left homeless because of an obscure flood exemption clause in their homeowners insurance policies.
Computer programs that arbitrarily cut the settlements offered to auto accident victims on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.
Claims adjusters who receive cash incentives to reduce the amount paid out on each claim.
Feinman shows you how to fight back, explaining how to choose a carrier that won’t take advantage of you, how to file a claim so that your provider can’t avoid paying you, and what to do when your insurer disputes your claim. He also details the steps lawmakers need to take to protect consumers and thwart the aggressive and abusive tactics of insurance companies. No matter what the advertisements say, your insurance provider is not your friend or a "good neighbor." You need to be smart and savvy to deal with your insurer-Delay, Deny, Defend tells you what you need to know.

Feinman did a great job with this one, and its a must-read for both insureds and insurance consumer advocates.
 

 

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Photo of Brandon McWherter Brandon McWherter

J. Brandon McWherter is a Nashville-based lawyer and member of McWherter Scott & Bobbitt PLC, which has offices across the State of Tennessee and elsewhere across the Southeast.  Licensed in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, he has dedicated his practice to assisting insurance…

J. Brandon McWherter is a Nashville-based lawyer and member of McWherter Scott & Bobbitt PLC, which has offices across the State of Tennessee and elsewhere across the Southeast.  Licensed in Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, he has dedicated his practice to assisting insurance policyholders with their claims against insurance companies, including claims for bad faith.

For well over a decade, McWherter’s practice has been focused almost exclusively on the prosecution of first party property insurance claims for policyholders.  His interest in this area of the law first started around 2003 when a tornado struck Jackson, Tennessee, where he lived and worked at the time.  Since then, McWherter has represented hundreds or thousands of policyholders whose claims have been underpaid or denied.  He advises and advocates for owners of commercial properties, industrial facilities, residential properties, churches, business owners, and other insurance policyholders.

Since he started counting in 2013, McWherter has assisted his clients in obtaining well in excess of One Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000) in settlements, awards, and jury verdicts against insurance companies.

In 2018, McWherter was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Coverage Counsel, which is an invitation-only organization designed to facilitate and encourage the association of lawyers who are distinguished for their skill, experience, and high standards of professional and ethical conduct in the practice or teaching of insurance coverage and extra-contractual law and who are dedicated to excellence in this area of practice.

McWherter has been featured as a “Super Lawyer” or “Rising Star” by SuperLawyers every year since 2010.  Since 2013, he has been selected each year  for inclusion in U.S News and World Reports’ The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Insurance Law.  He also enjoys an AV Preeminent ranking by Martindale-Hubbell for legal ability and ethical standards.

Mr. McWherter is a lifelong Tennesseean and received his law degree from the University of Memphis. While in law school, he was a member of the University of Memphis Law Review, and served on the Editorial Board as Notes Editor.

In advocating for clients, McWherter has trudged through fire scenes and crawled storm-damaged roofs, quizzed consulting construction experts and experts for hours on end, and deposed and cross-examined hundreds of adjusters, experts, consultants, and other professionals within the insurance industry.  He reads insurance policies nearly every day and has a working knowledge of the customs and practices of insurance companies in investigation, estimating, and payment of claims.  McWherter counsels clients on presentation of claims, assists in compiling the evidence necessary to validate the amounts owed, and then enforces his clients’ rights, if necessary, via the judicial system and other alternative dispute resolution options, such as appraisal.

Several of McWherter’s cases have developed the law governing insurance disputes in the State of Tennessee, most recently including the Tennessee Supreme Court’s 2019 decision in Lammert et al. v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., which held that insurers may not depreciate the costs of labor in determining their actual cash value payment obligations when the policy does not clearly allow it.

When not working, you will usually find Mr. McWherter with his wife, Angela, and his two daughters. He is an avid golfer and a lifelong bass fisherman, neither of which he does as often as he would like.

Practice Areas

  • Representation of policyholders in claims and litigation against insurance companies
  • Bad faith insurance litigation
  • Insurance-based consumer class actions

Professional Associations

  • Tennessee Bar Association
  • Arkansas Bar Association
  • Mississippi Bar Association
  • Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association
  • American Trial Lawyers Association (past member)
  • American Bar Association (past member)

Education

  • B.S.B.A. – Union University (1998)
  • J.D. – University of Memphis (2001)

Bar Admissions

  • Tennessee
  • Mississippi
  • Arkansas
  • Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
  • United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas