DENVER - She was victim of a horrific car accident four years ago in Longmont when a man fleeing police ran a stop sign and collided with her and her husband's car.
Now, Jenny Latham feels victimized again--but this time--from a multi-billion dollar health insurance company.
Latham suffered a traumatic brain injury and broken bones and spent weeks in the hospital recovering. But shortly after she went home, she received a letter from Assurant Health telling her they rescinded her coverage.
It meant that, not only would she not receive future benefits, but they were not covering any past claims from the crash.
Jenny and her husband, Alex, wracked up bills of nearly $1 million. She hired an attorney, Marc Levy, who says Assurant Health was wrong to drop Latham. He is suing them for breach of contract and acting in bad faith.
Latham says Assurant Health told her she wasn't telling the truth on her medical application. But Levy says the problem is the company's application is hard to understand. He says most policy holders don't understand technical medical terms.
"We allege the questions they ask are not reasonable. They're way too complicated. Nobody of ordinary intelligence can understand them," Levy says.
Assurant's own president, Don Hamm, appeared at a congressional hearing this summer on the practice of rescission. And he also couldn't answer questions on the company's enrollment form.
At that hearing, Assurant Health admitted rescission saved the company $150 million over five years because it wasn't paying out claims.
Even if Latham wins her lawsuit, she is uninsurable because of her rescission. She will never be able to get health insurance. She is now on Medicaid.
"I always thought insurance companies, you got insurance and they took care of you. And that's what commercials say, they're there for you. That's what they're there for. Now, I have no faith in insurance companies at all," says Latham.
Assurant Health told us it could not comment on an insured's coverage.
Latham and Levy are back in Boulder County court next Wednesday. Another former Assurant Health customer who was rescinded in South Carolina recently won a $10-million punitive judgment.
Now, Jenny Latham feels victimized again--but this time--from a multi-billion dollar health insurance company.
Latham suffered a traumatic brain injury and broken bones and spent weeks in the hospital recovering. But shortly after she went home, she received a letter from Assurant Health telling her they rescinded her coverage.
It meant that, not only would she not receive future benefits, but they were not covering any past claims from the crash.
Jenny and her husband, Alex, wracked up bills of nearly $1 million. She hired an attorney, Marc Levy, who says Assurant Health was wrong to drop Latham. He is suing them for breach of contract and acting in bad faith.
Latham says Assurant Health told her she wasn't telling the truth on her medical application. But Levy says the problem is the company's application is hard to understand. He says most policy holders don't understand technical medical terms.
"We allege the questions they ask are not reasonable. They're way too complicated. Nobody of ordinary intelligence can understand them," Levy says.
Assurant's own president, Don Hamm, appeared at a congressional hearing this summer on the practice of rescission. And he also couldn't answer questions on the company's enrollment form.
At that hearing, Assurant Health admitted rescission saved the company $150 million over five years because it wasn't paying out claims.
Even if Latham wins her lawsuit, she is uninsurable because of her rescission. She will never be able to get health insurance. She is now on Medicaid.
"I always thought insurance companies, you got insurance and they took care of you. And that's what commercials say, they're there for you. That's what they're there for. Now, I have no faith in insurance companies at all," says Latham.
Assurant Health told us it could not comment on an insured's coverage.
Latham and Levy are back in Boulder County court next Wednesday. Another former Assurant Health customer who was rescinded in South Carolina recently won a $10-million punitive judgment.
