In the name of comp

Honorable Lawmakers,

What you are doing in the name of insurance is unconscionable. Let me tell you how wrong you are about many of the laws and policies you have put into place for the insurance industry.

As I am sure you all know by now, I am an injured worker. This following letter will explain exactly what the insurance industry has done to me and many other injured workers.

The Circumstances

I was injured in 1987. I received benefits for two years and then my benefits were cut off forcing me to litigate my case which took over two years. During that time I exhausted my savings.

I won my case and my benefits began again. However it should be noted - for all of you who believe that living on comp is so profitable - that when injured I was making $1000.00 a week. My benefits were capped at $330.00 a week. That is quite a loss for me but then it is the law you people or your predecessors put into affect. You of course were protecting the insurance companies from having to pay out the full amount I would have received had I been able to work.

After several years the carriers once again arbitrarily cut off my benefits with absolutely no legal reason or judical ruling, forcing me to
litigate and even go to the appellate level where I won. Nothing had changed with my injury but the carrier was trying to starve me out.

Please note that during the protracted judicial proceedings WHICH WERE TOTALLY UNNECESSARY HAD THE CARRIER FOLLOWED THE LAW, I lost my home and was forced into bankruptcy and foreclosure because I wasn't getting the money the carriers owed me.

The carriers did have to pay me all the back pay and penalties and interest they owed me although they took their sweet time in doing it. I guess you guys would say no harm, no foul. You got what they owed you. WRONG.

During the carriers starve-out tactics I lost all my savings, the equity in my home and vehicle and everything I ever had including my good credit standing.

top

The TRUE LOSSES
which are not allowed to be recouped, thanks to Florida law

Situation caused by illegal maneuvering of insurance carrier

What it cost me
for THEIR illegality

So lets see. I lost the equity in my home and vehicle, my good credit standing, and my health declined due to the stress unnecessarily caused by the carriers.	equity in home equity in vehicle my health
Then add to that when I go to buy a new home I have to pay twice the cost for the same home I had due to inflation and more for the same vehicle I had due to inflation.	cost of replacement home more than double cost of replacement vehicle much higher
Then add to that I cannot get the same interest rate I had because I now have bad credit and my payment for both go up because I have to pay more for what I would have had if the carriers hadn't starved me out and cut my pay off.	cost of higher interest rate on mortgage and on car due to bad credit rating caused by carrier failure to follow laws
Then add to that I go to get insurance for my home and half the insurance companies will not write a policy for me because I have a bankruptcy and foreclosure. Now keep in mind I am paying upfront for the insurance for a year but still I am a bad risk even though if I didn't pay they could cut off my insurance coverage and would lose nothing.	uninsurable by some companies due to bankruptcy and foreclosure
Then to add insult to injury when I do find a company that will write me an insurance policy on my home they are going to charge me double for the same coverage they give to someone with good credit just because of the bankruptcy and foreclosure.	insurance rates DOUBLED because of bad credit, even though paying upfront
How in the world can you justify what you have allowed the insurance industry to do to the average American. First the insurance company for my workers compensation forces me into foreclosure and bankruptcy, and then they get to charge me double after they have forced me into a position I would have never been in otherwise.	insurance industry members come out very well.... Sweeeeeet.
Add to that if I didn't already have an open bank account I would not be allowed to open one by the banks due to the bankruptcy and foreclosure even though all they would be doing is holding my money and collecting interest on it while they are holding it.	lucky to even have a banking account due to bankruptcy and foreclosures
I cannot afford to get health insurance because the premiums for even just a gap policy to supplement Medicare are over $400 a month.	no health insurance; disability benefits too meager

Now I am just wondering here how it is that so many of you in the legislature believe that injured workers are double dipping if they get comp and SSD which by the way was paid for out of my paycheck each month before I became disabled.

Where do you get off passing a law that cuts off an injured workers benefits at age 70 and how do you justify eliminating supplemental benefits at a particular age? What world are you living in?

Some of you act as if comp is a welfare fund and some of you have even had the nerve to say that workers compensation was not supposed to be a retirement fund. I have news for you. Had I worked my retirement fund would have been much greater.

Comp is not a retirement fund and it does not come close to ever restoring a person to the financial security they once had. No one in their right mind would choose comp if they had a choice. No one in their right mind would live off of comp if they were able to maintain any kind of regular employment.

top

Please consider my situation, which is not unique, and the following issues as you head into next session:

The employer/carrier is making out like a bandit, thanks to the exclusive remedy. So the next time you think about how much comp is costing the employer/carrier, how about thinking about how much the carrier has cost the injured worker and the employer with its starve-out tactics.

To fix the comp system you must deal with the carrier. You have addressed all other stakeholders in the comp system. Now you must deal with the real problem which is the carrier and their policies.

Another aspect to look at in the comp system would be the self insured companies. They are driving up the costs for everyone else in the system. When calculating premium costs, no premiums figures for self-insured companies are included; however, payouts are included This inflates the costs of the premiums for the companies that have to buy coverage. They are in effect paying for their coverage AND for the coverage of the self-insured who don't pay premiums at all. This should be addressed immediately.

Please, this year when you address comp, do it in a fair way and listen to the pleas of injured workers who are the true losers in the comp system.

Restore our benefits and ability to obtain an attorney.

At the very least put the comp system back to the pre-2003 status. Remember that injured workers would not
need an attorney if the carrier was not denying legitimate benefits.

Please also remember that at its best, the comp system is a lose-lose system for injured workers. As for now the comp system is nowhere near at its best and is probably in fact at its worst.

If you want to fix the comp system, start with the carrier and enforce the law.

Mary Bailey
President, VOICES Inc.

top back to news

www.voicesflorida.com/inthenameofcomp.html

July 25, 2004
webmaster