This is the true tale of how Aflac still hasn't paid a cent on my disability policy, despite it being more than two years since my first accident. It's important to note that I said "first" accident because, as you'll see, the first unfortunately wasn't the last. (PLEASE NOTE: This started out as a blog entry, which I then copied/pasted when I decided it deserved its own permanent page. So if you're wondering as you read why some apparently unrelated issues are included, that's why!)
My tale begins in June 2003, when I broke my ankle at work. The ankle required surgery to insert a 6-inch plate and 8 screws, and I was laid up for quite a long time afterwards. Once it became obvious that I would be off work for a while, and having paid Aflac for a disability policy for several years at that point, I called my agent. I told him that I had broken my ankle and needed to file a claim on my disability policy. The first thing he asked was, "Did it happen at work?" After I said that it had, he said, "Sorry, but we can't pay for on-the-job injuries." My initial reaction was, "HUH?!" and he said that due to a state law, one cannot collect both workers' compensation and private disability benefits. Of course I asked why not, and he said that the two benefits combined might equal more than one's normal pay, hence one would have no incentive to "get better" and return to work. So I reluctantly accepted that there'd be no benefits coming from Aflac, although I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the state couldn't set a cap on the total benefits one can receive. After all, there have been "coordination of benefits" clauses on health insurance policies forever, so why not have something similar for disability?
At any rate, I accepted it and went about trying to recover from the injury, subsisting on my workers' comp checks. Although I received the state maximum, it was only a fraction (about one-third) of my normal salary, and once my attorney's 25% was taken off the top of each check, there was barely enough left to pay my mortgage and a few utility bills. Thank goodness I had been vigilant about saving money, having no credit card debt, and even had my car loan paid ahead for the next six months. So I wasn't too concerned...at first.
When I needed money, I tapped into my savings, and I was able to keep the bills paid without much worry. Despite continuing pain and swelling in my ankle, including a condition called lymphedema, and a succession of post-op casts and then boots, I went to physical therapy and expected to return to work soon. Then the unthinkable happened.
One day in October 2003, I had just gotten home from a follow-up appointment with my orthopedic surgeon. I came inside, put the lead on one of my dogs, and we went outside to water the plants in my front yard. I should mention that my dog is a Great Dane. The reason I mention that is this: As soon as everyone heard about what happened next, the first thing they wondered was if my dog had caused it. The answer is: NO! Anyway, we're standing on the sidewalk in front of my house and I'm watering some planters I have on the strip of lawn between the sidewalk and street. I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but I fell. Again. As I went down, I tried to break the fall with my free (right) hand, as I had my dog's lead hooked over my left wrist. I immediately knew that I had broken my arm. As I struggled to get up, I realized that my clothes were covered with mud.
I was in extreme pain, but managed to get up and we went inside. My brother, who retired as a Los Angeles City Firefighter/Paramedic due to injuries, had been visiting when I had my first injury. He had stayed in order to take care of me. So I went inside and told him I'd fallen, and that I was sure my arm was broken; he put ice on it and bandaged it up. I had literally just left my orthopedic surgeon's office when this happened; I immediately phoned them and told them what had happened. It was late on a Friday afternoon and they said it would be better to go to the ER, so we did. The triage nurse--thankfully!--put me ahead of everyone else in the ER and I was seen very quickly. They took x-rays and the ortho doc on duty confirmed that my wrist was broken. My first question was, "Will it need surgery?!" and he said he didn't think so. He gave me a shot of Demerol or morphine, and sent me home with a prescription for pain pills to get me through the weekend.
On Monday, I called my orthopedic surgeon's office and told them what the situation was; they informed me that my surgeon doesn't deal with arms, so they referred me to another doc at the same facility. When I saw him on Monday, he not only said surgery was necessary, but that it had to be done ASAP. So the next morning, back I went into the operating room. This time, it took two long pins--with their heads sticking out of my skin--to set the broken bone. I was in agony post-op, much worse than I had been with the ankle. The post-op splint was rubbing against the pins' heads and causing truly intolerable pain. When I saw the surgeon a few days post-op, I begged him to take the splint off to adjust it, but after looking at the x-rays he said that was impossible because the wrist wasn't stable enough yet.
At some point after this surgery, I again contacted my Aflac agent. I told him that, believe it or not!, I had fallen again and now had a broken wrist, too. He knew I hadn't returned to work yet from the broken ankle, but his first question was, "Are you still receiving workers' compensation?" I told him I was. And then he said, "Sorry, but we can't pay you while you're receiving workers' comp for the first injury." So, once again, I was dumbfounded. He explained that as long as I was receiving workers' comp for the first injury, I'd be ineligible to collect benefits on the second. But he made clear that as soon as the workers' comp checks stopped I'd be able to start collecting benefits for the second injury. I asked if my benefits would be retroactive to the date of injury once they did start, and he said no.
During this time I had occasion to contact Aflac for various other issues (I have five different policies with them, including hospital indemnity, so there were other claims I needed information on). In addition to myself, my brother also spoke to Aflac on various occasions on my behalf. We were consistently told that as soon as workers' comp for injury #1 stopped, they'd start paying benefits on injury #2. They were fully aware that I had not returned to work after injury #1 because we told them. At some point we even asked for verification that it didn't matter that I wasn't actively working at the time of the second injury, and they assured me that had no bearing on my ability to collect benefits.
Things were now starting to get pretty interesting financially. My employer informed me that if I wanted to continue my group health insurance I'd have to convert it to COBRA, and that I would be responsible for 100% of the premiums. Of course, now that I had virtually NO INCOME, this was just what I wanted to hear! The premiums, which had been around $100/month when I was working were now going to be $550/month. Considering that workers' comp was barely covering the mortgage and utilities, this was a big blow. As I watched my savings drain away, I had started using credit cards to pay for things like hospital co-payments, and even groceries (something I'd never done before), prescriptions, doctor visits, etc., so I now also had credit card payments to make each month.
When I bought my most recent new car, I'd had the foresight to purchase credit disability on it. Thank God for that! My car payments were $562/month (a drop in the bucket with my normal salary, but a whole different story now), and as I've said I had paid my account in advance for six months. So I didn't have to worry about the car payments in the early days of my time off work. I eventually filed a claim on it and the insurance company, Old United Life, paid promptly...and I love them for that. They have never been anything but helpful, friendly, and a real pleasure to deal with. I can't say enough about how good they are. Since that original claim, I've filed numerous "continuing claim" forms with them and every single one has been processed and paid in a timely manner.
In the spring of 2004 my husband spoke to my agent and even had a meeting with him in person. They spent an afternoon together going through paperwork I'd accumulated and clarifying various questions we had. He specifically asked about the second injury and was--just like my brother and I had been--assured that the ONLY thing holding up my disability benefits was that I was still receiving workers' comp for injury #1. My husband also spoke to Aflac via their main phone number and was, again, assured (by yet another person) that what we had been told by all the other people was correct.
In the spring of 2005 I was hospitalized for surgery (unrelated to the two injuries), and my daughter came to help out. While she was here she spoke to both my agent and another person at his office, plus someone at the main number, to find out which policies we could file on for the current issue. She also asked about the original issue and was--surprise!--told that once workers' comp stopped for injury #1 I could begin receiving benefits for injury #2. According to the notes she made during these phone calls, she was told that I should file on injury #2 ASAP. The reasoning was that since it was now almost the end of May and workers' comp was ending in June, we could get the benefits started as quickly as possible after workers' comp stopped.
It's worth noting that at EVERY step of the way we documented our conversations with Aflac by noting the person's name, the date, and what the conversation consisted of. We had learned the hard way many years ago that you must meticulously document things of this nature because, if you don't, they can come back to bite you. So we have copious notes taken by myself, my brother, my husband, and my daughter, spanning a 1-1/2 year period.
In June of 2005 my workers' compensation benefits stopped, as they had reached the statutory maximum allowed in this state. Anticipating the end of those benefits, I had started the process of filing the disability claim by having the forms filled out by the appropriate people. For example, although my primary physician was not personally involved in the broken bone problems, she did coordinate my care and was kept informed of my treatments and condition by the surgeons. So she filled out the medical portion of the claim forms, and I had my employer fill out his portion. And off they went to Aflac...
Several weeks later I received an envelope from Aflac in the mail. Yippee!, I thought, a check! WRONG. Instead of a check, it contained a stack of BLANK forms--the same kind of forms I'd already submitted, only these were new, blank ones. They had certain portions highlighted in yellow, and there were handwritten notes saying, "Have your physician fill this out...have your employer fill that out..." etc. I immediately called Aflac's main number and attempted to get this cleared up. I pointed out that I had already submitted all of these forms. The woman I spoke to looked at my records and said they needed certain information from my physician. I pointed out that they already had that info from another claim I'd filed (on my accident policy) for the broken wrist. She acknowledged that they did, and thus I could ignore that request. But she said they needed some specific dates my employer had failed to provide. I explained that I have no contact with my employer per my attorney, and that there was NO WAY I was going to ask him to resubmit the forms. She said their auditor could contact him and get the info that way. Fine, I thought, now we're rolling!
Wrong...yet again. Another few weeks went by and I received another envelope from Aflac. Much to my surprise, it said that my claim had been denied because "...your policy doesn't provide benefits for on-the-job injuries..." HUH?! Although it correctly stated the date of injury #2, it must be referring to injury #1, since #2 didn't happen at work. So, once again, I called Aflac and asked what the heck the deal was. Ultimately, the rep I spoke to said, "Since you never returned to work after the first disability, the second disability is considered a continuation of the first one...therefore, you're not eligible for benefits." Try to imagine my shock at this point. TWO FUCKING YEARS of being told that the only thing holding up my collecting benefits on injury #2 was the fact that I was receiving workers' compensation for injury #1. And now, out of the blue, I'm told that they're not going to pay me.
The woman was quite adamant about this, saying that she was looking at my policy and that I definitely would not be eligible for benefits. She said that if I had returned to work, even for one day, between the two accidents it'd be different. I asked her how the hell I was supposed to PLAN my second accident to allow for that...of course, she couldn't give me an answer. She said that if I wanted to, I could send them a letter from my doctor stating that the wrist fracture hadn't occurred at work, and that they "might" reconsider the claim, but she was very sure it would be denied.
I was choking back tears as I hung up with her. It was simply incomprehensible--and unconscionable--that they could really pull this. Once I'd pulled myself together I called my agent and told him about the conversation. His reaction was that the woman I'd spoken to was wrong. He said he would make some phone calls and get back with me; when he did call back he said he'd spoken to the claims department, and that both he and they believed they should pay me. He suggested sending the letter as described above.
I told my [second] orthopedic surgeon that I needed a letter stating--in black and white, with no possible room for misunderstanding--that the wrist fracture did not occur at work. He wrote a perfect letter, even including something I hadn't thought about: He pointed out that there had never been any crossover between the two injuries, i.e., that all costs associated with injury #2 had been paid for by my private insurance, while all costs for injury #1 had been paid for by workers' comp.
I also composed a letter and faxed it to Aflac along with my surgeon's letter. In mine, I made very clear that we had been told repeatedly, over a two-year period that they were going to pay benefits for the second injury once workers' comp had stopped for the first injury, and I let them know that we have copious documentation to back that up.
Several more weeks went by, and then the mail brought another envelope from Aflac. Could this one contain a check? Nope! This one said "...we're reviewing a claim on this policy and we need the employer's disability statement for the wrist fracture." Great! They've been told in no uncertain terms that my employer DOES NOT KNOW about the wrist fracture, therefore there is NOTHING he can provide them about it. This time I decided to call my agent; I told him about the letter and then I scanned and e-mailed it to him. He is fully aware of the situation with my employer (which I really haven't gone into here, but suffice it to say that our relationship is contentious at best), including the fact that he knows nothing about my second injury--and I want to keep it that way. He said he'd make some phone calls and get back with me.
As I write this, that was three weeks ago. Not a word. It is now October 16; my workers' compensation stopped back in June; to date, I haven't received ONE CENT from Aflac. Yet I continue having to pay the premiums on the disability policy. Ironic, huh? The only checks being transferred between Aflac and me are the ones I send them. Which leads to an interesting question: If indeed they're not going to pay benefits because I hadn't returned to work, WHY are they continuing to collect premiums on this policy? It doesn't seem like they should be able to have it both ways! If they have no intention of paying benefits because I hadn't returned to work, why on earth are they continuing to take my money? Sounds a bit like fraud to me.
I continue to believe that, in the end, it's all going to work out the way it's supposed to, yet I have to admit that it's hard staying upbeat and optimistic when my bills are stacking up and there's NO money coming in. In addition to COBRA payments (which increased to $650/month some time back), I have paid tens of thousands of dollars to hospitals, doctors, labs, and pharmacies, along with all of the other bills that have to get paid every month. And every time I see an Aflac ad on TV...well, let's just say they evoke a rather strong reaction from me. It's funny how, according to their ads, they're right there for you when you're hurt and unable to work, yet in reality, in the 2+ years that I've been unable to work they haven't paid one cent on my disability policy. And I think that stinks.
The moral of this very long story is this: You might want to THINK TWICE before purchasing a short-term disability policy from Aflac. If my experience is even remotely indicative of their normal practices, they should be avoided like the plague. Check into other options if you're in need of disability insurance, and ask a lot of questions. But keep in mind that you CANNOT possibly think of everything that MIGHT come up. I certainly could never have come up with a hypothetical scenario similar to what actually happened to me, in order to ask the RIGHT questions about my policy. I mean, who could know ahead of time that they're going to have one accident at work--which doesn't qualify for benefits on their Aflac policy--followed in short term by another accident at home--before they were able to return to work from the first accident?
UPDATE: On October 17, 2005 (coincidentally the day one of my dogs died), I received YET ANOTHER request for "the employer's disability statement" regarding the second injury--the one my employer NEVER KNEW ABOUT and still doesn't. I spoke to my agent the next day and while we spoke he also had the Claims Department on another phone. I could hear his end of the conversation he was having each time he spoke to them. He/they told me that according to my policy, I'm ineligible for benefits because of that "continuation of the first disability" thing I mentioned above. Well, I'd just about had it, and I got a little, um, upset. I reminded my agent that he as well as numerous other people at Aflac had told me, my husband, my brother, and my daughter--over a two year period--that they would pay on injury #2 as soon as workers' comp stopped for #1. I told him that if it comes down to it I'll take them to court, I'll file complaints with the appropriate Attorneys General, insurance commissions, and Better Business Bureaus, I'll go to the media, and I'll broadcast my tale all over the Internet. He said he'd call me back...and he did about 30 minutes later. He had been on the phone that whole time with a "lead supervisor" in the Claims Department, and they had reviewed the history of my case. He said that he'd told the supervisor that "we need to help this lady" (which really means "we've been telling her for two years that we're going to pay, and now that we're telling her we're not, she's really pissed and is going to make a big stink about it!"). He told me that this lead supervisor would call me after further reviewing the case.
Needless to say, there was no phone call forthcoming. However, I did receive YET ANOTHER request for "the employer's disability statement" regarding the wrist injury! At least this letter acknowledged receipt of the statement from my surgeon that the wrist injury did not happen at work and was unrelated to the work injury. But it went on to say that they still need a statement from the employer saying that the wrist injury hadn't occurred at work.
So here I sit. I don't know what to do and I'm worn out thinking about it. How many ways can I explain to them that my employer DOESN'T KNOW about the wrist injury and therefore can't give them a statement about it?! Besides, I believe this is just another stall tactic on their part; they've made quite clear that they're not going to pay...
UPDATE, 01/25/06
I've been giving this a lot of thought and am weighing the possibility of hiring an attorney to deal with this. As I see it--and bear in mind I am not a lawyer--it must be fraudulent for an insurance company to continue collecting premiums on a policy yet refuse to pay benefits on the same policy. But that's essentially what Aflac is doing. They've known for over two years that I had not returned to work and, indeed, probably wouldn't be returning to work any time soon. How did they know that? Simple: We told them. For example, in May 2005 following my [unrelated] surgery, my daughter and I asked them which issue I should file on for disability, since I have several separate, unrelated issues all of which would keep me off work on their own. We were told to "pick one" and get the claim in as soon as possible, since workers' comp on injury #1 was ending the following month. As I've stated above, one of their arguments is that they cannot pay benefits on the second accident because I hadn't returned to work after the first one (i.e., the "continuation" issue)--but they KNEW I still hadn't/haven't returned to work. So why have they continued collecting premiums on this policy? (And if you're wondering why I've continued PAYING said premiums, it's like this: I figure that the moment I stop, their new argument will be, "We can't pay benefits on a policy that's lapsed!")
Anyway, if this doesn't constitute fraud, what would?
UPDATE, 02/28/06
My best friend contacted Aflac and asked for the name and mailing address of their CEO and for the complaint resolution department's address. She also asked how to go about getting copies of all previous correspondence they'd sent me regarding this disability claim (we want to make sure their current records still match up with the letters they've previously sent); they said we had to request that in writing, so we did. No sign of the copies yet, but it's only been 10 days or so. The reason we asked for the CEO and complaint department's addresses is this: Once we've had a chance to peruse the correspondence copies, we'll finish putting together a letter--complete with the entire chronology of this unfortunate saga--that we're going to send to their CEO, their complaint resolution department, the Attorneys General in both states, the Insurance Commissioners in both states, and perhaps the media.
The more I think about how they strung us along, all the while assuring us that my benefits were just WAITING for me!, and now they're claiming I'm disqualified from receiving those benefits, the angrier I get. Even if nothing comes of my contacting them I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that I've given them a piece of my mind, and that I find it BEYOND unconscionable to string someone along with false promises of benefits that will be paid, only to do a complete turnabout once the claim is actually filed. Keep in mind that it wasn't just ONE employee who assured us that my benefits would kick in once workers' comp stopped--it was EVERY employee we spoke to for almost TWO YEARS. I can't convince myself that it's purely coincidence that every one of those employees had the exact same misunderstanding of their rules...it's much more likely that each of them KNEW they weren't going to pay, but told us they were so that I'd continue paying the premiums. Then it was just a simple matter of saying, "Oops! Silly us! We can't pay you after all."
UPDATE, 12/08/06
I should have posted this long ago, but I've been busy with some major life changes, so it had to wait. Because of Aflac's failure to pay me the benefits they promised all along, I finally had to throw in the towel in regards to staying in my house. I've moved in with my mother--1500 miles away--who is generously letting me live with her for free, and I've rented out my house; this way, at least the mortgage continues to get paid. Without the support of various family members, I'd be completely unable to pay my other bills; this is not a predicament I ever expected to find myself in...that's why I bought a disability policy!
Prior to leaving my house and moving 1500 miles away, I did finally consult a lawyer. My best friend went with me and we left feeling pretty damn good about my chances in a lawsuit. (NOTE: This attorney had nothing to gain by giving me false hope.) The attorney listened carefully to all the details, read through all of the correspondence I'd exchanged with Aflac, and noted the information I gave him regarding conversations we'd had with Aflac on the phone. He told us that what Aflac did (i.e., telling me and my family that they were going to pay, then failing to pay once the claim was filed) fits the definition of a specific legal precedent and, therefore, made for a VERY strong case. That was the good news. The bad news was that he said a case like this could easily drag on for two, three, or more years as the insurance company figures out one way after another to stall and delay the proceedings. So I moved away knowing that I'd have to decide what to do, and still haven't really made a decision as of now.
Concurrently with the above developments, something else happened: Aflac contacted me [as a result of the request I'd made for the CEO's name, etc.] and wanted to know why I was so unhappy that I was planning on writing to all the people I named above. I told them how they'd screwed me, strung me along, lied, etc., and they practically begged for a chance to "reconsider" my claim if I'd just hold off on contacting the various Attorneys General, etc. Sure, I said, why not?!
They actually ADMITTED fault. They said that I had been given incorrect information, and because of that misinformation I had been led to believe that I would receive my benefits. They said they were going to reconsider the claim based on the fact that I had been misinformed. Believe it or not...I was actually hopeful that--FINALLY--they were going to do the right thing. Wrong again! Weeks went by and I finally received word from them: The claim was denied because...care to guess? My policy won't pay in a "continuation" scenario like mine. So all the talk acknowledging that they had goofed was just talk; in the end, they completely ignored all of that. Well, fuck them. Fuck Aflac. I believe I just made the decision: I'll see them in court. And when I do, I hope I have a jury filled with consumers who have their own gripes about insurance companies...
UPDATE, 01/03/07
Just a quick "thank you" to all the people who've contacted me thus far regarding their own problems with Aflac or, as I prefer to call them, AwfulFuckingLiarsAndCrooks. Also, based on the site logs for this page, it's clear that the most common way people ended up here was by searching the web for "aflac complaints" and similar terms. In a way, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one Aflac has screwed, yet at the same time it makes me feel sad for all the others who've also banked on their policies being there when they needed them, only to get royally screwed when they filed. Shame on Aflac. Shame...
UPDATE, 01/05/07
I'm not sure WHY, but for some reason my 'Aflac complaint' pages (both this and my blog) have been getting TONS OF HITS recently. I'm glad. I love it! Knowing that more and more people are reading about the rotten, unconscionable way Aflac strung me along with lies about benefits they were going to pay me...it's great! I get a certain amount of satisfaction knowing that I'm doing my little part to expose these liars and crooks for what they are. I hope anyone who reads my story will stay the hell away from Aflac. Which reminds me: I've forgotten to mention that I let all five of my policies lapse; I no longer wanted to give money to a company made up of liars. Buh-bye, Aflac!
One other thing that's come up in the past couple of weeks: I've been asked twice (by different people) what it would take to make me change my tune about Aflac. That's a good question! Considering that I put my faith in them under the apparently incorrect assumption that they were a reputable company...I don't know. They screwed me so badly, it'd be hard to quantify how the bad feelings--and actual damage--could be undone. Since I'm now considering turning my situation into a class-action lawsuit, I guess I'd have to let the attorney(s) figure out what course to take. (The funny part about my even THINKING about a lawsuit is that I am the least litigious person you're ever likely to meet. It takes a lot to piss me off to the point that I'd even consider suing someone...but Aflac managed it!) Anyway, I know based on the legal research we've done that going the route of a jury trial could easily yield a multi-million dollar judgment in my favor--and that's pretty tempting. However, if Aflac just wanted to pay me what they OWE me--maybe plus something extra for the trouble they've caused--who knows? I might consider it. Or not... I really don't know. I'm so angry and disillusioned in this company that touts itself as this wonderful safety net for when you're injured and unable to work, yet who RUINED my life after lying to me...it'd be a hard call.
UPDATE, 01/12/07 My new bumper sticker!
Now that things have settled down a little in my new [temporary] home, I should probably finish writing that very long letter I was working on last year so I can send it to the appropriate people. I'll have to check to make sure the names are still correct, since we did have elections recently. With that in mind, here's a tentative list of the people/agencies that will receive my letter of complaint against Aflac--and I highly recommend that you make use of this list yourself if you're among those Aflac has screwed:
(Note: The Texas entries are listed because I was living in Texas at the time; Georgia is where Aflac is based.)
. John W. Oxendine, Georgia Insurance Commissioner . Mike Geeslin, Commissioner of Insurance, Texas Department of Insurance
. The Council of Better Business Bureaus
. BBB of West Georgia-East Alabama
. Daniel Amos, CEO, Aflac Worldwide Headquarters
. Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas . Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General of Georgia . Georgia Department of Insurance
. various media outlets, such as network TV stations/affiliates in Los Angeles, New York, and Atlanta
I particularly like that last line! I've seen so many "consumer complaint" stories on various news programs, some of which paled in comparison to my Aflac saga, I think I should shop my story around and see if anyone would be interested in doing an expose on these liars. (As I was writing this, NBC Nightly News had a segment about a couple in Mississippi who just won a multi-million dollar judgment against their insurance company; apparently, State Farm tried to get out of paying for their Katrina-related damages, but the court disagreed. Maybe the next time I update this page, it'll be my story making headlines like that!)
UPDATE, 02/05/07
Not much of an update really, but I thought it would be fun to list the most frequent search terms people used when ending up on this page. Here they are, in no particular order:
aflac complaints
problems with aflac
AFLAC sucks
complaints about AFLAC
Aflac lies
aflac problems
class action lawsuit aflac
aflac fraud
AFLAC denies claim
Aflac takes premiums but doesn't pay claim
AFLAC lied to me
AFLAC refuses to pay on disability policy
fuck aflac
aflac screwed me
That says a lot about what people think about this crooked company, doesn't it?!
One other thing: I added an entry on My3Cents.com, which is a place consumers go to talk, and learn, about various companies. As you might imagine, what I have to say in my post about Aflac, which I gave the VERY appropriate title of Lies, broken promises...but no money, isn't exactly flattering! But it's all true, so that's all that matters.
UPDATE, 02/18/07
Found another great place to publish complaints about Aflac...and I did! Here's my latest attempt at informing people about this scumbag company.
UPDATE, 03/10/07
Some recent health crises have prevented me from following through on some things I've intended to do, as I've had to direct my energy to just staying alive. The enormous stress of the past couple years really caught up with me, manifesting itself in the form of extremely high blood pressure. Even though I've been on a high dose of blood pressure meds for the past two years, my BP recently soared to 203/130; my resting pulse rate was 120. I felt like my head and chest were going to explode, and I could barely stand up without fainting. There is no question in my mind that Aflac bears great responsibility for this, as the primary reason I'm so stressed is financial. Had they simply paid me what they owed--and promised--me, I wouldn't be in this predicament.
I have informed my family that if I should die from any stress-related issue (stroke, heart attack, etc.) they MUST pursue legal action against Aflac. It's kind of funny...in a sad way: I've known since consulting an attorney last year that I have a GREAT chance of winning a huge settlement if I take these scumbag liars to court--but just think if my family pursues this and I'm dead! If my case, with me living to tell the tale, is worth, say, $10 million, my family should expect...I don't know, maybe $100 million? They've also been instructed to donate at least half of any judgment to my favorite charities; this is really important to me because although I'm desperate for money and would REALLY like to see Aflac held accountable for what they've done to me, this really isn't about money. It's truly about justice.
Also, when I get around to it I'm going to post screenshots I've taken recently showing some of the various search terms people have used in order to find this page. It's VERY eye-opening! There are so many people who've been screwed by Aflac...it's just amazing. My favorite? "Fuck Aflac"--I love it! This is the page of screenshots that will be up as soon as I can, but you can check it from time to time if you're so inclined!
Comments are welcome, especially if you have a similar tale of woe regarding an Aflac claim, and/or if you're interested in becoming part of a class action lawsuit [which I'm now considering] against them.
If you're writing with comments, such as your own horror story with Aflac, please send mail to: aflacproblems [at] smartassproducts [dot] com
If you're writing because you're interested in becoming a member of a [potential] class action lawsuit, please send mail to: aflaclawsuit [at] smartassproducts [dot] com