The claimant, a high school Spanish teacher, took a home equity loan and, as a measure of protection, purchased disability insurance. Her health began to fail, she had to stop working full-time and she was eventually diagnosed with cancer. When she filed a claim, the insurance company made up a bogus ground that she had filed her claim too late. She hired a lawyer, who caught them in their lie and they then paid up in part. The jury awarded $200,000 in compensatory and $6 million in punitive damages. There was evidence that the insurance company systematically used deceptive practices to deny legitimate claims. The case is Powell v. CUNA Mutual Insurance Society.
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