December 15, 2017
People are always confusing the semicolon with the colon, but they are quite different. All of the comma rules, in one way or other, are separating a dependent clause from the rest of the sentence (e.g., The manager, who led …
December 7, 2017
Insurers Seek Reimbursement for the High Cost of Opioid Addictions Big Pharma is having a Big Tobacco moment. Since 1999, the number of prescription opioids sold in America has almost quadrupled. Over the same period, prescription opioid deaths have more …
December 5, 2017
A federal court in Ohio, faced with the question of whether a vacancy exclusion applied in the case of arson, a matter of first impression in that state, attempted without success to get the answer from the Supreme Court of …
November 17, 2017
One of the most cumbersome aspects of a denial letter is the often-abrupt transition from letter to legalistic policy language to establish what the policy says regarding a particular type of incident. Claims people refer claimants to the policy in …
November 3, 2017
Here are a few additional word choice issues I see as I give my webinars and seminars on claims writing across the U.S. Watch for these as you phrase your letters: “Our offer is firm and non-negotiable.” Isn’t this redundant? …
November 2, 2017
Your insured’s eighteen-wheeler is struck head-on by another vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed, resulting in significant medical expenses to your insured driver and a passenger, as well as considerable property damage to your insured’s vehicle. The tortfeasor …
October 30, 2017
In a lawsuit brought by the Illinois city of Park Ridge against its liability insurer, involving the defense of alleged wrongs of city employees, the Appellate Court of Illinois refused to recognize emergency medical services as the city’s “work” under …
October 20, 2017
The following bullets point out random errors in word choice. You may not lose a client because you make a poor word choice, but you’re not helping the relationship along either. Here are several word choice issues to watch for …
October 10, 2017
Following a well-worn path of decisions from other states, the Supreme Court of Wyoming adopted the prevalent of three legal theories to decide the meaning of “any one accident” found in standardized Uninsured Motorist (UM) policy limit language of automobile …
October 6, 2017
Today, the Claims Writing Coach is taking a brief reader survey to found out the most embarrassing or costly writing errors you see throughout your department or company. Once I have your answers, I can then focus my column more …