Bailey & Greer PLLC

Memphis Lawyer R. Sadler Bailey's Article Featured in "The Commercial Appeal"

The changes legislators are making to the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act will give insurers an unfair advantage. Sadler had the opportunity to voice his opinion in The Commercial Appeal on Saturday.

Here is an excerpt from the column:

Consider this: The product that insurance companies sell is a promise.

They don't sell cars or vacuum cleaners. As consumers, we can kick the tires and test drive cars. We can turn on the vacuum cleaner and see how we like it. We can do consumer research online. We can ask friends and neighbors about their experiences.

But when we buy insurance policies, many of us do not have a clue what we are doing. We do not read the policy. We do not understand the policy. We do not recognize the loopholes or see the ambiguities. We do not know if the price we paid for the promise of coverage is fair. And unless we make a claim and ask the company to make good on its promise, most of us will never know.

Most people do not have the resources to take on a big insurance company. For the past 30 years, Tennessee's Consumer Protection Act has given them the tools they need to do so.

However, legislators in both chambers voted for HB1189 and SB1912 to change state law and give insurers less exposure to potential liabilities and less likelihood of being held accountable in court if they lied to or cheated their policyholders.

Read the complete text: Guest column: New law weakens consumer protection