President’s Message (Continued from page 3)
misconduct, earning it the moniker “the new Enron” by some commentators. State Farm (number four) is another
insurer that retained McKinsey consul- tants. It also became notorious for its deny and delay tactics, going so far as to hire several engineering firms to assist in denying the claim of a Mississippi family that had been victimized by Hurricane Katrina. Long term care carrier Conseco (number five) “made it so hard to make a claim that people either died or gave up,” according to a former Conseco- subsidiary agent quoted. Completing the Ten Worst list are
WellPoint, Farmers, United Health, Torchmark and Liberty Mutual. The Ten Worst report also brings to
light the insurance industry’s extrava- gant profits and executive compensation, earned and paid while companies rou- tinely delayed and denied policyholders’ claims: • Over the last 10 years, the property/ casualty and life/health insurance industries have each enjoyed annual profits exceeding $30 billion.
• The insurance industry takes in over $1 trillion in premiums every year. It has $3.8 trillion in assets, more than the GDPs of all but two countries in the world.
• The CEOs of the top 10 property/ casualty firms earned an average of $8.9 million in 2007. The CEOs of the top 10 life/health insurance earned an average of $9.1 million.
• The median insurance CEO’s cash compensation is $1.6 million per year, leading all industries. Instead of spending time and money
undermining the civil justice system, the insurance industry should put their efforts into paying just claims and aban- doning its “deny, delay, defend” tactics. The Ten Worst is must reading for in-
surance consumers and their attorneys. The report is available at http://www.
justice.org/docs/TenWorstInsurance- Companies.pdf n
About the Author
Wayne M. Willoughby is a cum laude graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law (1986), where he held the distinction of authoring the school’s first Law Review student comment cited by the United States Supreme Court. Currently, Mr. Willoughby works at
the law firm Gershon, Willoughby, Getz & Smith, LLC in Owings Mills, where he concentrates his practice on representing children who suffer from cerebral palsy and other birth injuries caused by medi- cal negligence. Gershon, Willoughby,
Getz & Smith, LLC, was formed by Mr. Willoughby in 2004. Active in the legal community, Mr.
Willoughby founded the MTLA Medical Negligence Section, and has served as MTLA Legislative Chair and on numer- ous MTLA committees. Mr. Willoughby also is a long-time member of the Ethics Committee of the Bar Association of Baltimore City, and is a member of the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Baltimore County Bar Association and the Council of Presidents of the American Association for Justice, among other professional organizations.
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www.DrGaber.com Fall 2008 DLG000108_Revised
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