Morse Takes On State Farm: Auto Insurance Battle

Mike Morse, a high-profile personal injury lawyer, has been battling State Farm Insurance Company for over 20 years to ensure they pay their clients the No Fault benefits they are entitled to. State Farm filed a civil lawsuit claiming that Morse was central to a fraud scheme, alleging that he used the limited-liability company Accident Information Bureau to solicit patients for rehabilitation centres to make fraudulent injury claims. The case was investigated by federal agents, and Morse was ordered to produce evidence as part of a subpoena. Morse's law firm sued State Farm and successfully overturned a protective order, exposing their aggressive attempts to withhold payments and benefits from their customers.

State Farm's Advancing Claims Excellence program

State Farm's Advancing Claims Excellence (ACE) program was a plan implemented in the 1990s to handle its customers' auto accident insurance claims. The program outlined cost-saving measures, including denying auto accident benefits to policyholders.

The ACE program encouraged adjusters to be "actively involved" in claims by "aggressively" gathering information. This included questioning customers about their claims before they had a chance to hire a lawyer and requesting independent medical examinations (IME) early in the process. If any facts changed during the claim, adjusters were instructed to place the claim "under investigation" and withhold benefits.

State Farm also hired their own doctors to examine accident victims and write reports claiming there were no injuries related to the car accident. This allowed them to terminate benefits and force customers to sue or drop their claims.

The program also encouraged adjusters to use "time tactics," taking advantage of the fact that "most claims do not get better with age like fine wine." This was especially true for children, as State Farm believed that if a child continued to need treatment, "something else is going on, i.e., malingering or other mental health issues."

During settlement negotiations, adjusters were trained to "always lowball" and to ask customers to waive their future ability to claim medical treatment.

State Farm has denied that the ACE program is still in use, claiming it is "obsolete" and irrelevant. However, evidence suggests that the tactics outlined in the program continue to influence the company's claims handling processes.

State Farm's attempts to withhold payments and benefits

State Farm has been accused of implementing bad faith policies to avoid paying customers their No Fault benefits. The company has been using a plan called "Advancing Claims Excellence" (ACE) to save as much as $30 million per year by denying auto accident benefits to policyholders.

The ACE program encourages State Farm adjusters to use various tactics to deny payment of benefits like medical bills and wage loss. Some of these tactics include questioning customers about their claims before they hire a lawyer, hiring doctors to examine accident victims and write reports claiming no injuries, and offering policyholders less than the estimated value of a case during settlement negotiations. State Farm also drags its feet and causes unreasonable delays, especially in cases where the injured person is a child, as the case would likely lose value over time.

State Farm has also been accused of fraud by filing a civil lawsuit claiming that a fraud ring was using the limited-liability company Accident Information Bureau to solicit patients for rehabilitation centers, which would make fraudulent injury claims, and clients for a certain personal injury lawyer. US Magistrate Judge Anthony Patti concluded that Mike Morse, a high-profile personal injury lawyer, was the "unnamed co-conspirator" central to this scheme.

State Farm's aggressive tactics

State Farm has been accused of using aggressive tactics to withhold payments and benefits from its customers. The company has been exposed for its "Advancing Claims Excellence" (ACE) program, which outlines strategies to deny auto accident benefits to policyholders and save the company millions of dollars annually.

• Questioning customers about their claims before they have a chance to hire a lawyer.
• Hiring their own doctors to examine accident victims and write reports claiming there are no injuries related to the car accident.
• Prolonging the claims process by refusing to settle and insisting on a trial.
• Offering policyholders much less than the estimated value of their case during settlement negotiations.
• Causing unreasonable delays, especially in cases involving injured children, as the value of the case is likely to decrease over time.
• Training adjusters to deny claims by using specific policies outlined in the ACE program.

State Farm has also been criticized for its "Three D's" strategy: DELAY, DENY, and DEFEND. The company has been known to unnecessarily delay handling valid claims, deny these claims, and then aggressively defend them in court. This strategy allows State Farm to maximize investment income by holding onto premiums for a longer period.

In addition, State Farm has been accused of employing hardball schemes in minor-crash claims, convincing juries that these claims are fraudulent, and treating claimants unfairly. Despite their well-known tagline, "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there," the company has a reputation for using unfair tactics, undervaluing claims, and pushing cases to litigation.

Mike Morse's alleged involvement in an insurance fraud scheme

Mike Morse, a high-profile personal injury lawyer and founder of Michigan's largest personal injury law firm, has been accused of involvement in an insurance fraud scheme. The scheme allegedly involved a fraud ring that used the limited-liability company Accident Information Bureau to solicit patients for rehabilitation centres, which would then make fraudulent injury claims, and clients for Morse's law firm.

US Magistrate Judge Anthony Patti concluded that Morse was the "unnamed co-conspirator" at the centre of the scheme, as alleged by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance. State Farm filed a civil lawsuit several years ago, claiming the existence of this fraud ring. The case was investigated by federal agents as part of a widespread criminal probe into Detroit police officers accepting bribes in exchange for giving unauthorised accident reports to Morse's firm.

Morse has not been named as a party in the State Farm lawsuit, but he has been ordered to produce evidence as part of a subpoena. In his opinion, Judge Patti wrote, "It can also reasonably be inferred from this evidence that Morse is at the very center of this scheme.... He does appear to be, for all intents and purposes on these pleadings and on this record, the epitome of the 'unnamed co-conspirator.'"

Allstate Insurance also filed a lawsuit against several doctors and health centres, alleging that Jayson Rosett, a college friend of Morse, and his father conspired with police personnel to obtain unofficial accident reports to solicit clients for Morse's firm.

Mike Morse Law Firm has been battling State Farm Insurance Company for more than 20 years to ensure they pay their clients the No Fault benefits they are contractually and legally entitled to. State Farm has aggressively attempted to withhold these payments, and the law firm has worked to publicly reveal their tactics, which include questioning customers about their claims before they hire a lawyer, hiring their doctors to examine victims and write reports claiming no injuries, and causing unreasonable delays in cases, especially those involving children.

State Farm's lawsuit against Mike Morse

State Farm filed a civil lawsuit several years ago, alleging that a fraud ring was using the limited-liability company Accident Information Bureau to solicit patients for rehab centres and clients for a certain personal injury lawyer. This lawyer was recently revealed to be Mike Morse, a high-profile personal injury lawyer famous for his firm's commercials.

State Farm's lawsuit claims that Morse accepted payments from medical clinics for his private jet and an addition to his house and had secret ties to an MRI centre where his law firm referred clients. Morse's lawyer has denied these claims, saying that Morse had no involvement with the operations in question and knew nothing of their alleged fraud.

Morse has not been named as a defendant in the State Farm lawsuit, but a US Magistrate Judge has concluded that he was central to the alleged fraud scheme. The judge ordered Morse to produce evidence as part of a subpoena.

Morse's law firm has been battling State Farm Insurance Company for more than 20 years to ensure they pay their clients the No Fault benefits they are contractually and legally entitled to. State Farm has been aggressive in their attempts to withhold these payments, using shameful tactics such as questioning their customers about their claims before they have a chance to hire a lawyer and hiring their own doctors to examine accident victims and write reports saying there are no injuries related to the car accident.

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