Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Opinion
March 21, 2022 04:04 PM

This bill gives consumers a leg up when battling insurance giants

Crain's Chicago Business
Brian Garelli
Preferred Capital
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    GettyImages-1000962706.jpg
    Getty

    Recently in a piece titled “Lawsuit sweepstakes,” the American Property Casualty Insurance Association attacked SB 1099 and the consumer legal funding industry by claiming they are suddenly concerned about protecting consumers. As a former partner at a large insurance defense firm and one of the founding fathers of the consumer legal funding industry, let me explain what is really behind the false attacks.

    Over 30 years ago I accepted a position as a young lawyer at one of the largest insurance defense firms in Chicago. Back then, insurance companies were more reasonable, and I was regularly given authority to settle claims early on in litigation. However, insurance companies were unhappy with the billions in profits they were earning and decided they could make even more billions by denying every claim and then dragging out every case as long as possible in the court system.

    This change in claims-handling by insurers was done solely to increase profits at the sole expense of their insureds who faithfully pay premiums to them. As a result, I saw injury victim after victim settle their valuable claims for pennies on the dollar because they were worn down by the insurance company starving them for years and dragging cases out as long as possible. Guess what—the practice worked, and insurance company profits soared to record levels.

    After seeing so many hardworking people fall victim to these practices, I decided to leave my partnership at that large defense firm and level the playing field for injury victims against the well-heeled insurance companies. In the late 1990s I started a company to provide small amounts of money to injury victims so they could cover basic living expenses like rent, utilities and food while their claims were pending so they could forgo those low-ball settlement offers.

    Download Modern Healthcare’s app to stay informed when industry news breaks.

    The money we provide consumers is not used to finance the litigation, as was stated in the article. It is used to ensure that they have a roof over their heads and can keep the lights on while their case is making its way through the legal system. Consumer legal funding is not financing the litigation. It is allowing the typical consumer a little help so that they can get a fair and just settlement. It is a lifeline they can use to get what they deserve, rather than what the insurance company thinks they are worth.

    When the insurance companies saw that consumers now have a life preserver, they went on a smear campaign to discredit the industry. They want consumers as desperate as possible so they can prey on their anguish.

    SB 1099 would specifically regulate the consumer legal funding industry in Illinois with some of the most comprehensive and consumer-friendly protections in the country. The legislation contains the lowest rate caps in the country that companies would operate under and makes the transactions fully non-recourse, which means injury victims who lose their case owe the funding company nothing. That is why organizations like the Woodstock Institute, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the Illinois Bar Association support the bill.

    SB 1099 is a bill that levels the playing field between injury victims and multibillion-dollar insurance companies that would prey on them otherwise. Don’t believe for a second that the insurance industry suddenly became consumer advocates. They want this bill to fail for one reason: to fatten their bottom line by billions more.

    Brian Garelli is president of Preferred Capital in Elmhurst.

    This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crain's Chicago Business.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    boston childrens
    Boston Children’s to add 5G network ahead of Epic EHR switch
    legal columns gavel money
    How health systems are battling price-gouging allegations
    Most Popular
    1
    CMS tries luring providers to revamped Medicare ACOs
    2
    Oregon joins other states in setting ratios for nurse staffing
    3
    Blue Shield CA taps Amazon, Mark Cuban, CVS for new PBM model
    4
    A health innovation hub grows in Lake Nona Medical City
    5
    Hospital-at-home providers push for Medicaid coverage
    Sponsored Content
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing