Kemper turns to WrExpert
Wednesday, January 30th, 2002 Liability Life & Health TechnologyEvery P&C insurer has to deal with them (and occasionally life insurers, too—see “Private Eyes Watch for Corpses that Blink,” in the March 15, 1999, National Underwriter). They’re what Mark Burnam, claims systems and operations manager for Kemper Insurance’s Individual and Family Group (IFG), calls “opportunistic claimants.” They’re the ones whose first reaction to a fender-bender is to grab their necks and shout “Whiplash!” hoping to get five-figure checks from Kemper IFG or some other insurer for soft tissue injuries—the kind that can’t easily be detected, or disproved, by a physician. Like every carrier, Kemper realizes some of these injuries are real and deserving of payment. “Our job is to pay people what they are entitled to,” Burnam said. But “we don’t want to pay what is not legitimately owed.”
