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Why You Need to Negotiate with Insurance Companies to Get What You Deserve

Get What You Deserve

The average person spends an inordinate amount of money on insurance over the course of a lifetime, whether for home (or renters), auto, life, and disability coverage. When you factor in health care or benefits coverage the numbers get even higher. And for some, there’s additional coverage required for toys like boats, snowmobiles, ATV’s, etc. Then there’s additional riders required for high end jewelry, art, etc. Suffice it to say, we invest a lot of money to cover our proverbial derrieres.

Yet how much time do you spend negotiating the terms of these important coverages? Or, in the event you need to file a claim, do you negotiate to ensure you get everything you’re entitled to? If you’re like most people, you accept the policies recommended by your broker – no questions asked – or worse, you purchase a policy online with no actual discussion about terms. Let’s make sure you actually receive the benefits of the coverage you seek.

I invite you to make it a habit to negotiate the terms of your insurance coverage and, in the event you need to file a claim, to negotiate to ensure you get everything you’re entitled to. These are significant investments. It’s important to take control over the expenditure at the front end and to ensure you get what you need. It’s also important to take control over the claims process to make sure you get what you deserve at the back end.

Not all policies are created equal. Not all insurance companies are created equal. Not all adjustors are created equal. Some do not even honour the full range of benefits to which their clients are entitled. In fact, over the course of my career as a social justice attorney, I saw countless cases where insurance companies denied legitimate claims and attempted to avoid payouts to which the insured were entitled.

Don’t be one of the many people who, incredibly, accept these denials at face value, thereby not receiving monies deserved and lining the pockets of the insurance companies in the process. I had one case where the insurer denied a claim for disability benefits, where the claimant had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer (for which he was receiving aggressive chemotherapy), on the purported basis that there was insufficient medical evidence to support the claim! Needless to say, we were successful in getting his full coverage, but only because we challenged the insurer and insisted on negotiating every single entitlement down to the tiniest detail. Many do not negotiate or challenge these decisions at all, accepting them as unassailable pronouncements.

These decrees (decisions) do not come from on high, handed down like Commandments. You have the right to challenge any adverse decisions and to negotiate to ensure you get what you’re entitled to.

At the front end, make sure you negotiate to get the policies you need. Pay attention to exclusions. Do not accept a policy that excludes coverage you’re likely to need. We sought insurance for our boathouse once only to find (when reading the fine print) that the insurer purported to give ‘all perils’ coverage but actually sought to exclude any and all damage caused by water, ice, natural causes and virtually any of the situations that one would need insurance coverage for re a boathouse on the water.

Pay attention to your liability coverages. Pay attention to how you will be reimbursed in the case of loss. i.e. will you get full replacement value at today’s rates or based on the purchase price or just based on the depreciated value of the item. Pay attention to any and all exclusions. I’ve seen people fail to negotiate out provisions that left them without coverage to actually cover their losses. Or worse yet, I’ve seen people denied coverage altogether on the basis that they fell within a buried exclusion.

Negotiate to get the coverage you need.

At the back end, in the event that you need to file a claim, review your policy and ensure that you receive all the benefits to which you’re entitled. You are not Oliver, begging for a bowl of porridge. Remember these are benefits you’ve paid for and to which you’re entitled. Negotiate your mindset from one of fear or scarcity to one of expectation, abundance, and certainty.

I often see delays in processing claims which leave people without benefits in the interim (i.e. rental cars, early treatment, etc). Be vocal early and often. Keep records of your requests. Insist on reimbursement for items you paid out of pocket while waiting for the insurer to process the claim. Most people walk away from these entitlements.

We once had a kitchen fire (from a faulty dishwasher component). The insurer tried several angles to avoid obligation on the claim based on obscure purported technicalities. They tried to drag their heels. They tried to limit who we could use to do the repairs. They tried to exclude items from coverage altogether. I used the Art of Feminine Negotiation™ A.R.E. F.I.T model, employing rapport-building, empathy, intuition, flexibility and trust-building (all while ensuring I used who I wanted and got what I wanted). But as there was no good faith on their end, ultimately, I had to rely on assertiveness and continue to hold their feet to the fire at every step. Finally, I indicated we’d be filing for litigation and within 24 hours we had full payment on the claim with no further questions asked.

Protect these significant investments by being intentional about how you negotiate them. Negotiate your mindset. Negotiate the terms of your policies. Negotiate to ensure fulfillment. You deserve nothing less.

Cindy Watson
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