Mehri & Skalet's insurance law practice is headed by Jay Angoff, who served as both Missouri's Insurance Commissioner and New Jersey's Deputy Insurance Commissioner and has more than 20 years of insurance law experience. The firm represents individuals who have been injured as a result of unlawful conduct by insurance companies, including auto, homeowners, health, life, workers compensation, medical malpractice, and general liability insurers. Typically these cases are brought as class actions under state or federal law. The conduct the firm has challenged and will continue to challenge in the future includes: - Failing to pay covered claims;
- Rescinding coverage after the premium has been paid;
- Imposing surcharges for unlawful reasons, including in some states credit history, occupation, and lack or prior coverage;
- Inducing the purchase of a particular policy based on misrepresentation or false advertising;
- Refusing to insure people entitled to buy coverage;
- Selling unlawful coverages
- Policies and practices that violate civil rights laws
The firm has unique expertise both in identifying those insurers which are violating the insurance statutes of specific states and in challenging such violations under different state insurance laws. Lawyers at M&S have settled cases against Allstate, GEICO, and AAA of California which resulted in more than 200,000 policyholders receiving refunds totaling more than $30 million and against John Hancock for $24.4 million for discrimination in the sale of life insurance. The firm also represents and advises state insurance departments and private sector clients in connection with proposed mergers, for-profit conversions, and other regulatory issues, including executive compensation-related issues. For example, Mr. Angoff has advised both the Maryland and Pennsylvania Insurance Departments regarding the antitrust, consumer protection, and executive compensation issues raised by proposed Blue Cross mergers in those states. His report on the executive compensation of both non-profit Blue Cross companies and for-profit health insurers was released by the Pennsylvania Department on July 30, 2009. That report is available here. The firm also advises the trial bar, public-interest organizations and health care providers in connection with tort reform-related issues. We challenge insurance rate increases before state insurance departments, draft legislation, testify both before Congress and in state legislatures, and issue reports. A report on auto insurance profitability in Michigan is available here. A report on medical malpractice insurance profitability is available here. |
