If You Mention You're Insured...
Business By kellertur Updated 16 Jun 2009 , 2:36pm by No-goodLazyBum
are people more likely to try and pull some scam/fraud? I am fully insured thankfully, but I don't advertise this to customers, although I would if asked. (and the wholesale buyers/stores know)
I've been wondering if oportunistic people would try and pretend they got hurt, etc. if they thought the business insurance would cover it? I know an investigation would take place, and I do have a great attourney, but has anyone ever heard of this happening? If not, I'll add that I'm insured to my site tonight. 
Do you all advertise being insured and why?
Thank you.
Yeah, I work for an attorney who defends insurance cases like this. There are a lot of whackadoos that will hurt themselves for money. Mostly they slip and fall and it always "causes" back or neck problems (which they usually had BEFORE they fell!) and claim an "exacerbation" of their symptoms brought on by the fall. Then they think they're going to get everything paid for for the rest of their lives. That's part of my job...going through years of previous medical records looking for the exact same problem they say STARTED after they slipped and fell.
It's actually pretty interesting!
I agree with Debi. I think most people assume you've got it... Any falling whackadoo will do it either way.
Yeah, I work for an attorney who defends insurance cases like this. There are a lot of whackadoos that will hurt themselves for money. Mostly they slip and fall and it always "causes" back or neck problems (which they usually had BEFORE they fell!) and claim an "exacerbation" of their symptoms brought on by the fall. Then they think they're going to get everything paid for for the rest of their lives. That's part of my job...going through years of previous medical records looking for the exact same problem they say STARTED after they slipped and fell.
It's actually pretty interesting!
Unfortunately those people make it hard or almost impossible for real injuries to be taken seriously. My mom did fall coming out of a restaurant. They had it dimly lit and it was a ramp with no railings and a red rug that was on the ram but was wider than the ramp so it looked like the area was much larger to walk on than it was. She fall off the side and broke her knee, ankle and arm. Her bone was sticking out of her arm! Not only did she not get compensated but also ended up being stuck wtih over 20K in medical bills from the surgeries where they put pins and plates in her.
Do you have a shop? I assume anyone in a building is insured, inspected, licensed... whatever they need to be in business...
I do state on my site that I am licensed by the state of NC to be a home based processor. I think if you are selling out of your home, it may be questionable, ya know? So I figure I'll just go ahead and let them know. And I also don't have people in my home for consultations, so with it being on my site, when schedule the consultation I can say something like, "as it says on my website, I am a home based processor, and I do not conduct consultations at my home..."
patticakes, that is definitely a problem! I hope she's doing well, now. It's very sad for sure. Did she see an attorney regarding her injuries? I know around here the attorneys for personal injury claims work on a contingency fee and most would give a complimentary consultation.
I'm just glad my boss is honest. If someone honestly got hurt, he'll tell the insurance company. Most of what he does in that case is settlement negotiation. He's had people (that he's defended) try to say they got screwed by having to pay out anything at all. He does NOT appreciate those people!!!!
Good luck to your mom!
I am a licensed home baker, LLC, completely legit and fully insured. I do deliver 95% of my cakes to cut down the chance of such lawsuits, but remember the Fire Inspector telling me to be careful even going to someone else's house. They can say I nicked the car, looked at the cat the wrong way, etc. I do wedding tastings here by apointment only, but at my home. Because I'm a SAHM, going into "cake mode" means completely sanitizing the kitchen, putting the whole area on LOCK DOWN... and I only bake when husband/daughter are asleep.
I decided to do tastings here so the customer could see my home was infact foodsafe and sanitary. It's the one gamble I'm willing to take regarding personal injury on my property, and luckily my insurance is quite generous. This is another reason I went with the LLC.. so I don't lose my home over someone tripping over thier own shoe laces.
I know there are legit lawsuits, I'm guess I'm a bit cynical after what I've heard from FIL.
Yeah, I work for an attorney who defends insurance cases like this. There are a lot of whackadoos that will hurt themselves for money. Mostly they slip and fall and it always "causes" back or neck problems (which they usually had BEFORE they fell!) and claim an "exacerbation" of their symptoms brought on by the fall. Then they think they're going to get everything paid for for the rest of their lives. That's part of my job...going through years of previous medical records looking for the exact same problem they say STARTED after they slipped and fell.
It's actually pretty interesting!
Unfortunately those people make it hard or almost impossible for real injuries to be taken seriously. My mom did fall coming out of a restaurant. They had it dimly lit and it was a ramp with no railings and a red rug that was on the ram but was wider than the ramp so it looked like the area was much larger to walk on than it was. She fall off the side and broke her knee, ankle and arm. Her bone was sticking out of her arm! Not only did she not get compensated but also ended up being stuck wtih over 20K in medical bills from the surgeries where they put pins and plates in her.
That's obviously legitimate! They are talking about people who are scamming. So no worries! A legitimate case is totally different.
I hope that your mom feels better. That's terrible!!
Yeah, I work for an attorney who defends insurance cases like this. There are a lot of whackadoos that will hurt themselves for money. Mostly they slip and fall and it always "causes" back or neck problems (which they usually had BEFORE they fell!) and claim an "exacerbation" of their symptoms brought on by the fall. Then they think they're going to get everything paid for for the rest of their lives. That's part of my job...going through years of previous medical records looking for the exact same problem they say STARTED after they slipped and fell.
It's actually pretty interesting!
Unfortunately those people make it hard or almost impossible for real injuries to be taken seriously. My mom did fall coming out of a restaurant. They had it dimly lit and it was a ramp with no railings and a red rug that was on the ram but was wider than the ramp so it looked like the area was much larger to walk on than it was. She fall off the side and broke her knee, ankle and arm. Her bone was sticking out of her arm! Not only did she not get compensated but also ended up being stuck wtih over 20K in medical bills from the surgeries where they put pins and plates in her.
Patticakes~ I'm sorry this happened to your Mom. It's the ones that cry wolf that ruin it for the legit cases. Last summer I took my daughter to the new elementary school up the road, new playground so we were pretty excited. We went down the slide together (it wasn't even a real twisty slide, but sort of curved), she sat on my lap... we started to fall out of the side on the first turn so I had to stick out my arm to brace us so we didn't fall the 4' to the ground. I still have scars from the friction burns I received on my left arm, which was bleeding when we left the playground. Keep in mind I'm the average size of a 5th grader(short) so the equipment was the right size for me...
The school showed no sympathy or concern... my point was to remove that particular slide (since the actual real twisty slide was safer). They never called me back or looked into it. The worst part for me isn't my scar, etc... it's that this is "playground" for kids 5-12... someone else must have had the same thing happen at some point... Needless to say, she won't be going to that school. 
It's the same school that showed apathy for having hired a music teacher found guilty of molesting students saying he was "such a respected mentor"... and got 2 months in jail.
It's an upside down world. 
I advertise being insured sometimes. But I do convey that I am licensed and insured to people when I talk to them though. Due to recent legislation here in VA I may do it more frequently if it doesn't affect cost. However, there has been no increase or decrease in business because of it. I mention it mainly for credibility and to get past the scepticism so that we can talk cake.
But I do disagree with assuming that someone has insurance just because they are a registered business or they have a website or they've been doing things for X amount of years. Here in VA insurance is optional (although recommended) and a likely corner to be cut because it is optional.
Lastly, in my opinion, none of us can really afford to worry about con artists. Having known a few, they don't target you because you have insurance or even money. They target you because they see a hole or weakness in the way you operate that can be exploited. I'm pretty sure the probability of you coming across that scum is very low.
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