by Jacqueline Jauregui
I. Introduction
In the last ten years class actions against insurance companies have proliferated, in part because of a variety of trends in the insurance industry. The very tools insurers have used to make their operations more efficient, competitive and economical can create the potentially uniform situations that invite class action litigation. The same computer programming that makes estimating or resolution of claims swifter and more accurate introduces a uniformity that leaves insurers vulnerable to class action suits. The manuals and training programs companies develop to enhance the quality of their sales or claims employees’ service to existing and potential policyholders can leave insurers open to class action suits if practices taught in the training or manuals come into question. Uniform policy language, uniformly interpreted, is of course susceptible to class treatment as well. Finally, claims practices designed to keep overall consumer costs low,
