What companies meet this description?
I was searching for “Pollyanna’s Rose Tinted Insurance Co. and Muffin Bakery” on the internet and turned up nothing.
My wife was an underwriter 40+ years and just spit out her coffee when I read her this. “… a real claims department that operates in-house but completely separate from underwriting. There should be no actual or perceived conflict of interest.”
The first thing adjusters do is run to underwriting to find out if there is any reason to deny the claim. An adjuster’s job is to pay out the minimum contractually obligated amount. They do not ignore opportunities to deny claims especially if there’s an underwriting issue.
“an agent of long standing calls in a favor or lets the company know ‘ this guy is a real sailor good risk”
Pretty sure that’s not in the actuarial tables or the underwriting manual. Underwriters really, really hate when agents try that BS and only humor them because they bring in business. Agents don’t care if a claim costs the insurance company profits as long as they get their commissions. And the insurance companies are aware of that.
If an underwriter approved a policy based on the “real sailor good risk” clause and something bad happened, they’d be out of a job in an instant.