ins. com. sent offer letter for accident. ref. past medical-how can it be obtained with no written/verbal auth

Question

Insurance adjuster sent offer letter and referenced in the letter past medical. When asked where this info came from - it was stated it was sent by me. (not true) Then said received from the Index Bureau - there was no written or verbal authorization for release of info. How does this happen? Isn't there a privacy law?

Answer 1

When you fill out your auto application, at the very bottom where you sign, there's a box which says, by signing here you're authorizing the insurance company to have access to whatever records they want - they can even make inquiries of your neighbors.

I'm assuming this is an auto policy, and the offer letter relates to bodily injury sustained in an auto accident.

Answer 2

Your question is pretty confusing and doesn't explain what you mean by "past medical." Is this your insurance company or the other person's? Was this auto insurance?

There is something called the medical information board that keeps records of medical insurance claims and does have information the industry can get to without your permission. I wouldn't think auto ins companies have access to this though.

It sounds like they claim they have information that you've made a past medical claim that invalidates the current one. IF there was a claim at one point, even with another company, they probably can get that info. That's how they protect themselves from fraud.

If none of this makes sense and you were in an accident that was someone else's fault, I suggest you contact a personal injury lawyer asap. They almost always work without requiring upfront money from you (they get it out of the settlement) and most insurance companies are NOT going to give you a fair settlement without one.

Pull out your phone book and hire a lawyer.

Privacy laws are a joke. You have no privacy. Everything is attached to your social security number and anyone can get that. I don't put my social security number on medical stuff anymore.

Only things that involve taxes and employement technically require your social security number. Schools cannot demand it, nor can insurance companies or doctors. Stop giving it out, you'll get some resemblance of more privacy.

Answer 3

First, I'm rather confused about the type of insurance you're using. Worker's compensation, personal injury, motor vehicle?? Also, if this is from your personal health insurance, they more than likely have all of your medical records on file as you would have signed a release when you applied.

HIPPA does cover personal privacy in many cases but you may have unwittingly signed a release of records which afforded them access to your previous records. Without more information, I'm afraid I can't give you better information.

Answer 4

Judaism concurs with you. A year max in a sort of purgatory, and that's if you're really awful. Jews stop praying for their parents after 11 months because you don't want to imply that they were horrid enough to warrant the full 12. :-) But then we understand that making mistakes is a normal part of human life. You learn from it, you make amends, you try again. Quite sensible, really, despite the complicated metaphysics.