Joan Hangarter bought a disability policy in 1990 to protect her should she ever become seriously ill. She dutifully paid her annual premiums for nearly a decade. But when she became disabled, she and her children found themselves homeless and bankrupt when her insurer—UnumProvident—stopped paying her benefits. With the help of attorneys Ray Bourhis and Alice Wolfson, Hangarter won a landmark $7.7 million jury verdict against Unum.
Hangarter’s dramatic story illustrates in shocking detail how insurance companies put profit above the promises they make to policyholders. Exposing the intricate systems insurance companies use to target and terminate expensive claims without just cause, Bourhis reveals the back-room mind-set that drives these illegal practices. He shows how low-level employees are duped into unethical conduct, how insurers manipulate data and witnesses in the few cases that do go to trial, and exactly what ordinary people are up against when forced to take on these behemoths.
Bourhis paints a frightening picture of how key decisions by Congress and the US Supreme Court have enabled these schemes to continue unchecked—and he
provides a sorely needed roadmap to reform.
Insult to Injury tells the story of how a disabled single mother named Joan Hangarter fought back against a fraudulent insurance behemoth-and won.
Author Ray Bourhis, Hangarter's attorney in the case, walks readers through this shocking case study in bad faith double-dealing by insurance providers. In an engaging narrative style, Bourhis reveals the back-room strategic mind-set that drives these illegal practices, how low-level employees are duped into unethical conduct, and how insurers manipulate data and witnesses in the few cases that do go to trial. He also explains the key regulatory oversights that enable these kinds of practices to continue unchecked, and how the American legal system actually facilitates insurer fraud.
Insult to Injury closes with a roadmap to reform-advice no one who holds a policy can afford to ignore.
“Ray Bourhis continues his strong commitment to justice by successfully taking on the insurance industry and criminal fraud in this compelling case study. He makes clear that we need to do much more to end the shameful abuses of the current system and guarantee honorable insurance coverage for every American.”
—Senator Edward M. Kennedy
“What has happened to Joan Hangarter—and so many others like her—is a grave injustice…. Readers of this book should urge their congressional representatives to force the big insurance companies to honor their obligations just as the holders of those policies honor theirs.”
—John Garamendi, Insurance Commissioner, State of California
“Painstakingly documented, hilarious, and insightful. A seething indictment of the out-of-control insurance industry and its friends in Congress and on the U.S. Supreme Court who have given it a green light to defraud Americans.”
—Amy Bach, Executive Director, United Policyholders
