Insurance is a grudge purchase. You pay the premiums for years, hoping you never actually have to use the policy. But when the worst happens—a car wreck, a house fire, a terminal diagnosis—you expect the safety net to hold. Then you read a book like Delay Deny Depose by Jay Feinman, and suddenly that safety net starts looking more like a spider web.
Feinman isn't just some angry policyholder venting on a forum. He’s a distinguished professor at Rutgers School of Law. He’s an expert in contract law and torts. When he writes about how big insurance companies have fundamentally changed their business model from "paying claims" to "protecting profits at all costs," people listen. Or at least, they should.
The title itself isn't just catchy. It describes a three-pronged strategy that Feinman argues has become the standard operating procedure for several major players in the industry. It’s a systemic shift.
The Shift From Good Faith to Profit Optimization
Historically, insurance was built on the principle of uberrima fides—utmost good faith. The idea was simple: the company and the policyholder were in it together. You paid a premium, and they took on your risk. If a disaster occurred, they settled up fairly and quickly.
Feinman argues this changed in the mid-1990s.
Why then? Because consulting firms like McKinsey & Company started advising giants like Allstate and State Farm on how to "industrialize" the claims process. They introduced the concept of "CCP" or the Claims Core Process. This wasn't about making things faster for you. It was about creating "claim leakage" metrics. Basically, if an adjuster pays out $10,000 on a claim that could have been settled for $8,000, that $2,000 difference is considered "leakage."
The goal became plugging those leaks.
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Delay Deny Depose highlights how companies moved away from individual assessments. Instead, they started using software like Colossus. This program uses algorithms to determine the value of a claim based on specific "injury codes." If your specific pain doesn't fit the code, the computer spits out a lower number. And the adjuster? They often have very little leeway to override the machine without getting flagged by their manager.
It's a cold, hard numbers game.
Understanding the Delay, Deny, Depose Tactic
The book breaks down the strategy with brutal clarity. It’s not just about one bad adjuster; it’s about a culture.
Delay is the first line of defense. If a company stalls long enough, the policyholder gets desperate. Maybe they’re out of work because of an injury. Maybe their house is uninhabitable. The longer the delay, the more likely the person is to accept a "lowball" offer just to get some cash in their pocket. It’s a war of attrition. Money that stays in the insurance company’s accounts for an extra six months earns interest for them, not you.
Then comes Deny. This isn't always a flat-out "no." Often, it’s a denial of certain parts of a claim. They might admit you were in a car accident but deny that your back pain was caused by it, blaming "pre-existing degenerative conditions" instead.
Finally, there is Depose. If you have the audacity to sue, the company turns on the legal firehose. They have deeper pockets than you do. They will file motion after motion. They will depose you for hours, asking about your childhood, your medical history from twenty years ago, and anything else that might rattle you. Feinman points out that this is often a deterrent. It sends a message to trial lawyers: "If you take us on, we will make this the most expensive, miserable experience of your professional life."
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Real-World Consequences and the Allstate "Boxing Gloves"
Feinman doesn't just theorize; he points to specific documents that came to light during litigation. One of the most famous examples mentioned in the context of the Delay Deny Depose philosophy involves Allstate’s "Minor Impact Neck Injury" (MIST) program.
Internal slides showed a strategy of "boxing gloves" for those who refused to accept low settlements. The idea was to make litigation so expensive that it would be "uneconomic" for plaintiffs' attorneys to represent people with smaller claims. If a lawyer knows they'll have to spend $10,000 in expert fees to win a $15,000 case, they won't take the case.
The result? A massive segment of the population loses access to the civil justice system.
It's honestly a bit terrifying when you think about the power imbalance. You’re one person. They are a multi-billion dollar corporation with a floor full of lawyers.
Is This Every Insurance Company?
Feinman is careful to note that not every company operates this way. There are still "mutual" companies—owned by policyholders rather than shareholders—that tend to have better reputations for claims handling. Amica and USAA often rank higher in consumer satisfaction because their incentives aren't purely driven by quarterly earnings reports for Wall Street.
However, the "publicly traded" giants are under constant pressure to increase margins. When your product is a promise to pay later, the easiest way to increase profit today is to pay out less on those promises.
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What You Can Do to Protect Yourself
If you're reading this and feeling like the deck is stacked against you, you're mostly right. But being aware of the Delay Deny Depose playbook gives you a fighting chance. You have to be your own advocate from day one.
First, document everything. I mean everything. If you have a phone conversation with an adjuster, send a follow-up email immediately: "Per our conversation at 2:00 PM today, you mentioned that..." This creates a paper trail that is very hard for them to "lose" or misinterpret later.
Second, don't sign anything immediately after an accident. They might offer you a check for $500 to "settle" the claim while you're still in shock. Once you sign that release, you’re done. Even if you wake up the next day and can't move your neck, you've signed away your rights.
Third, understand the "Bad Faith" law in your state. Insurance companies have a legal duty to act in good faith. If they don't—if they delay without reason or deny a valid claim—you can sue them for bad faith. This is the one thing they actually fear, because bad faith settlements can include punitive damages that go far beyond the original claim amount.
Taking Action Against the Playbook
Reading Feinman’s work shouldn't just make you cynical; it should make you prepared. Dealing with an insurance claim is essentially a business negotiation where the other side has more data than you do.
Practical steps for your next claim:
- Get an independent estimate. Never rely solely on the insurance company’s preferred body shop or contractor. They have "relationships" that often involve cost-cutting.
- Request the "Claim File." You are often entitled to see the notes the adjuster is making, although they will fight to keep "internal" evaluations private.
- Consult a Public Adjuster or Lawyer early. If the claim is large—like significant house damage or a major injury—don't try to go it alone. Public adjusters work for you, not the company, and they know how to speak the language of "claim codes."
- Contact your State Insurance Commissioner. If you hit a wall of silence (the Delay tactic), filing a formal complaint with the state regulator often "magically" gets a supervisor to call you back within 48 hours.
The reality described in Delay Deny Depose is that the "good neighbor" isn't always there when the storm hits. The industry has changed, and your approach to handling them must change too. Keep your records tight, stay persistent, and don't let the "Depose" phase scare you off from seeking what you are contractually owed.