How a Trial Guides Book Resulted in Allstate's McKinsey Documents Being Publicly Disclosed

How a Trial Guides Book Resulted in Allstate's McKinsey Documents Being Publicly Disclosed

Despite Allstate’s attempt to suppress any public knowledge of the damning evidence of institutional bad faith contained in the McKinsey documents, the company failed.  Trial Guides author David Berardinelli meticulously documented the content, and then obtaining a court ruling requiring disclosure of the documents un-protected.  "From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves" details the dramatic impact of McKinsey & Co. and Allstate's claim practices on the insurance industry - practices which continue to result in insurance claim underpayments today.
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McKinsey & Co. scandal Allstate State Farm

Media Cites Trial Guides' From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves in Questioning McKinsey & Co.

In an article about McKinsey & Co.'s impact on business and society published in "In These Times" the media continues to cite Trial Guides' From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves.

"The McKinsey-designed insurance strategy was major news through the 2000s. This was thanks to numerous lawsuits by both private attorneys and state officials like Foti, who went to war with Allstate and State Farm on behalf of consumers railroaded by the companies after not just auto collisions and fires, but natural disasters like tornadoes and hurricanes.

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Allstate Agents Review From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: The Dark Side of Insurance

Allstate Agents Review From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: The Dark Side of Insurance

The following is a review of Trial Guides' public version of "From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: the Dark Side of Insurance" which is sold exclusively through Amazon.com.  The reviews are written by Allstate's own agents in the national Allstate agent publication; Exclusive Focus.  
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Judge Rules Allstate Guilty of Abuse of Litigation Process

Judge Rules Allstate Guilty of Abuse of Litigation Process

A New Mexico Judge has found Allstate Insurance Company guilty of malicious abuse of process. The finding was in, Martinez et. al. v. Allstate Insurance Company, No. D-0101-CV-200400963 filed in the First Judicial District Court (County of Santa Fe) in New Mexico. During the bench ruling The Honorable Barbara J. Vigil stated:

***

If you are a lawyer interested in bringing abuse of process claims against Allstate or other insurers for the intentional denial, delay or requirement to litigate claims, read From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves. The book gives you an outline of how insurers profit by improperly forcing claimants to file litigation to get fair compensation.

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New! Good Hands to Boxing Gloves Webinar CLE

Introducing a webinar CLE recording "Good Hands to Boxing Gloves: Allstate, McKinsey and the Enron Business Model" featuring speakers David Berardinelli & Amy Bach.

From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves is the most talked about legal text in the last generation. It's received feature stories on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, as well as in BusinessWeek and Money.

Now get the background about why settlement offers are down. Why insurers spend more to defend claims than to resolve them, and drag litigation out as long as possible. It's time that every lawyer understand the "Deny-Defend-Delay" strategy being used by insurers.

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AAJ Lists Top 10 Worst Insurance Companies in America, Cites Trial Guides' Books and Authors for Uncovering Insurance Bad Faith Practices

AAJ Lists Top 10 Worst Insurance Companies in America, Cites Trial Guides' Books and Authors for Uncovering Insurance Bad Faith Practices

The American Association for Justice (AAJ) has named the Top 10 Worst Insurance Companies in America.  In doing so, it cites Trial Guides' book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves and articles arising from publicity around that book as the basis for naming Allstate the #1 worst insurer in America.

The 29 page report has a section for each of the ten worst insurers.  The section on Allstate notes at footnote 11 "There is no better analysis of [Allstate's] McKinsey documents than the book, 'From Good Hands’ to Boxing Gloves,' by David Berardinelli, Michael Freeman, and Aaron DeShaw.  Many of AAJ's citations to articles about Allstate's institutional "Deny, Delay, Defend" policy cite the book as the authoritative source on Allstate's policies and procedures as well as the way they have impacted the rest of the insurance industry.  These include the feature articles by BusinessWeek, Money magazine, CNN and others.

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Books for lawyers on minor impact cases

David Ball on Handling Minor Impact Cases

While all of the national attention on From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves has focused on David Berardinelli's section on the McKinsey Documents, the new edition of the legal text contains Dr. Michael Freeman's chapters about the background and junk science used by insurers in minor impact cases, as well as information on dealing with defense biomechanists and accident reconstructionists.
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Trial Guides Book Cited as One Reason Allstate Released the McKinsey Documents

Trial Guides Book Cited as One Reason Allstate Released the McKinsey Documents

In a story titled "AIG chief didn't always defend sanctity of contracts" released April 12, 2008, the New Orleans Times—Picayune cites Trial Guides' book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves as a reason Allstate Insurance released the McKinsey Documents on its web site a week earlier.
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Florida Court Suspends Allstate in Florida

Florida Court Suspends Allstate in Florida

Late Friday, April 4, 2008, the District Court of Appeals, First District, State of Florida upheld the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s suspension of Allstate from writing insurance in the State of Florida. The Office had suspended Allstate earlier this year for a refusal to produce the McKinsey Documents during an investigation of Allstate. That investigation, started as a result of the media surrounding Trial Guides book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves, and J. Robert Hunter’s reference to it. These resulted in Allstate being cut off from a market comprising 17% of its national sales.
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Allstate Insurance Bad Faith McKinsey & Co.

Allstate Forced to Cut Premiums 15.9%

Why are Allstate's rates so high that it requires a forced reduction by California's Insurance Commissioner? Because under Allstate's claims handling process implemented in the early 1990s, Allstate's claims payments have dropped to approximately 50% of the level they were at in 1992. At the same time, Allstate has requested over 700 rate increases throughout the country. The system implemented by Allstate to help cut claims so deeply, was developed by the same consultant used by State Farm, Liberty Mutual, USAA, and others. If you deal with insurance claims, you deal with these issues.
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Allstate Suspended by Florida Insurance Commissioner

Allstate Suspended by Florida Insurance Commissioner

This week, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty announced that he is suspending Allstate Insurance companies from writing new insurance in Florida. McCarty's choice follows Allstate's refusal to comply with subpoenas served October 16 by the Office of Insurance Regulation.

The subpoenas seek disclosure of the McKinsey Documents, in which McKinsey & Co. instructed Allstate how to systematically underpay claims starting in the mid 1990s. The content of the documents is so explosive that Allstate has already ignored a $25,000 per day fine in Missouri for its ongoing failure to provide the McKinsey Documents in that state.

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Former Casualty Manager Testifies Against Allstate - Cites Good Hands to Boxing Gloves Claim Handling

Former Casualty Manager Testifies Against Allstate - Cites Good Hands to Boxing Gloves Claim Handling

Former casualty manager testifies against Allstate
By Brandon Ortiz
Allstate's claims practices sent injury victims to biased doctors and
subjected them to intimidating interviews and invasive medical record
requests in an effort to bully them into accepting low-ball offers for
their pain and suffering, a former Lexington casualty manager
testified yesterday.
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Scientist calls Allstate documents scientifically bogus - Dr. Michael Freeman Testifies about Allstate MIST Defense

Scientist calls Allstate documents scientifically bogus - Dr. Michael Freeman Testifies about Allstate MIST Defense

Scientist calls Allstate documents scientifically bogus - Lexington Herald-Leader

"An epidemiologist testified Tuesday that assumptions in an Allstate claims handling manual about how much force passengers endure in low-speed wrecks have no scientific basis.

“These numbers are impossible, and they are just made up,” said Michael Freeman, an epidemiologist at Oregon Health and Science University testifying in the second day of a $1.425 billion civil trial in Fayette Circuit Court challenging Allstate Insurance Co.’s claims handling practices."

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Bloomberg Details Widespread Insurance Claim Denials and Delays

Bloomberg Details Widespread Insurance Claim Denials and Delays

The following article is published in Bloomberg Markets [Since removed from the internet] It provides one of the most comprehensive public media stories covering the serious problems in the insurance industry in America caused by programs of defense, delay and denial of claims.

The Insurance Hoax

By David Dietz and Darrell Preston

Julie Tunnell remembers standing in her debris-strewn driveway when the tall man in blue jeans approached. Her northern San Diego tudor-style home had been incinerated a week earlier in the largest wildfire in California history. The blaze in October and November 2003 swept across an area 19 times the size of Manhattan, destroying 2,232 homes and killing 15 people. Now came another blow.

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From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves

PBS NOW Discusses Insurance Claim Denials Citing From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves

The following is a post by PBS regarding its investigation into insurance claim denials and underpayments in the United States [since removed from the internet]. The story cites Trial Guides' book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves. It is accompanied by a video "Home Insurance 9-1-1" [which has also since been removed from the internet]:

In the fall of 2003, one of the largest recorded wildfires in California's history destroyed over 2,200 houses and killed fifteen people. Soon after, many who'd lost their homes had a rude awakening: their insurance did not nearly cover their losses as expected.

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CNN Investigative Report Exposes Insurance Claim Denials - Cites Trial Guides' From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves

CNN Investigative Report Exposes Insurance Claim Denials - Cites Trial Guides' From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves

On February 7, 2007, CNN released its findings from an 18 month investigation into Allstate and State Farm Insurance, and the companies' decision to deny claims to increase profits. The feature focuses on the Trial Guides book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves, and features co-authors David Berardinelli, Esq. and Dr. Michael Freeman.
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CNN Expose "Auto Insurers Play Hardball in Minor-Crash Claims"

CNN Expose "Auto Insurers Play Hardball in Minor-Crash Claims"

CNN has released a new expose on the insurance claims handling by State Farm and Allstate, titled "Auto Insurers Play Hardball in Minor-Crash Claims. The article covers the topic in Trial Guides' book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves.

The beginning of the article notes:

"If you are injured in a minor car crash, chances are good that you will be in the fight of your life to get the insurance company to pay all the medical costs you incur -- even if the accident was no fault of your own.

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CNN Expose on Allstate and State Farm features Trial Guides Authors David Berardinelli and Dr. Michael Freeman

CNN Expose on Allstate and State Farm features Trial Guides Authors David Berardinelli and Dr. Michael Freeman

Below is a Transcript of CNN’s Expose on Allstate and State Farm [since removed from CNN and all web video services.] Wed., Feb. 7, 2007

Insurance companies fight paying billions in claims

"ANDERSON COOPER: Traffic accidents, of course, are a fact of life. So is dealing with insurance companies. You pay them to protect you. That’s the idea. But some accident victims say they’re being forced to settle or go to court because
the claims are denied.

We wanted to know the facts, and in a CNN investigation, we looked into
whether some big name insurers are more interested in profit than
policyholders..."

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Legal Legend Eugene Anderson's Introduction to From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves

Legal Legend Eugene Anderson's Introduction to From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves

Eugene Anderson is a pioneer in the field of insurance law, and and is an icon in the field of insurance law.  He is the founding member of Anderson Kill, arguably the leading insurance coverage law firm in the United States.  Gene has written several legal treatises and legal journal articles on insurance, including Insurance Coverage Litigation, the ABA Manual for Complex Insurance Coverage Litigation, and more. Some even say that Anderson's career fighting insurers was the inspiration for John Grisham’s The Rainmaker. 

So, we are pleased to announce that Mr. Anderson has agreed to write the introduction to Trial Guides' upcoming book “From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves.”  

Here is his introduction:

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BusinessWeek cites Trial Guides book - "In Tough Hands At Allstate"

BusinessWeek cites Trial Guides book - "In Tough Hands At Allstate"

A new article by BusinessWeek titled "In Tough Hands at Allstate"

The article notes that From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves "tells the story of the key role played by management consultant McKinsey & Co. in reengineering auto insurance claims operations at Allstate Corp. (ALL ) -- and it's a story Allstate doesn't want told."

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Turner / CNN Interviews Trial Guides Authors on Allstate's Insurance Claim System

Turner / CNN Interviews Trial Guides Authors on Allstate's Insurance Claim System

Trial Guides authors David Berardinelli and Aaron DeShaw are being interviewed by Turner Network for CNN and Money Magazine regarding Allstate Insurance's claim handling method called Claims Core Process Redesign ("CCPR").  

New Mexico lawyer, David Berardinelli, is the primary author of Trial Guides' upcoming book From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves.

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Trial Guides Authors Interviewed by BusinessWeek Regarding Allstate

Trial Guides Authors Interviewed by BusinessWeek Regarding Allstate

Trial Guides authors David Berardinelli and Aaron DeShaw are being interviewed by BusinessWeek regarding Allstate Insurance's claim handling method called Claims Core Process Redesign ("CCPR").
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From Good Hands to Boxing Gloves Allstate Bad Faith

Article in Kentucky Newspaper Discusses Allstate Insurance Claims

INSURANCE FIRM PREYS ON VICTIMS OF LOW-IMPACT CRASHES, ATTORNEYS SAY HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

"Allstate Insurance Co. is engaging in a systematic and fraudulent scheme to make obtaining fair offers for damage claims so difficult that victims accept low offers rather than pursue costly and time-consuming litigation, attorneys for a Richmond woman argued yesterday in Fayette Circuit Court..."

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