Money Magazine has a great article “5 Things to Never Say to Your Insurers”

Money Magazine November 2009 has an article 5 Things to Never Say to Your Insurers on page 32. The 5 things to not say are:

• I think
• I got whiplash
• It’s an experimental treatment
• My basement flooded
• Just send me a check

I think is an opinion and opinions get everyone in trouble. Only give any law enforcement officer or insurance investigator facts not opinions. Even if asked be hesitant about what you think, it raises warning flats in everyone’s mind and may lead the investigator down the wrong trail.

I got whiplash is key to start a fraud investigation. If you are hurt, just refer the investigator or claims adjuster to your health care provider. Unless you are a physician and can provide the investigator with the correct medical terminology, don’t. If your neck hurts, say your neck hurts or whatever hurts or does not work. But leave the medical diagnose to your physician.

It’s an experimental treatment translates into insurance speak as “then we are going to experiment on not paying you.” Insurance companies are not required to pay for experiments, even if you believe it may keep you alive. The key term is, is the treatment medical necessary. Again experiments are not medically necessary.

My basement flooded talks about an accident that is not covered. Rain is covered, once water hits the ground, it is called surface water and no insurance policy issued by an insurance company covers it. You must buy a flood insurance policy from the federal government if you want to have coverage for flooding. If the flood was caused by a burst pipe, which is covered tell them what happened, not the results in this case.

Just send me a check. Insurance is used to put the policy holder back in the position where they were before the incident. If you want to use the money for something else, which in some cases may be illegal or a breach of the policy, you can’t tell the insurance company. They want the money to go to fix the problem.

Insurance companies may be owned by shareholders or owned by the policyholders, either way they are not supposed to pay fake, fraudulent, experimental claims or pay for things other than what is specifically listed under the policy.