“You’re in good hands” begins a familiar insurance company slogan. To be sure, insurance providers like to be viewed that way — as reliable, helpful protectors of your financial security and peace of mind.

But though some insurance companies certainly provide such service, others may betray a resolve to keep every dime they get from policy holders, even when such money rightfully should be paid out.

Take Great American Insurance Co., which is trying to wriggle out of a potential $25 million liability for a 2007 Houston office fire in which three people died.

The fire was arson, but Great American still faces a big payout. So it came up with this strategy: deny and contest the claim, based on the fact that the victims died from inhaling smoke, fumes and soot. And those things constitute “pollution,” for which Great American’s policy has a specific exclusion.

Normally, pollution refers to a contaminant which accumulates and can adversely affect people over a sustained period of time. If you die from pollution, you die slowly. By contrast, a fire happens very quickly, and the smoke which spews from it is no mere pollutant but a sudden, decisive killer.

When such smoke kills three people, it’s merely “pollution”? That’s like saying a flood which washes away a house is no more than heavy dew.

An insurance company which stretches the truth and hide behinds fiction to this degree appears contemptuous of its duty to protect those who purchased its coverage in good faith. The only “pollution” here is a rancid affront to human decency and intelligence.

Perhaps you’ve faced similar resistance from your insurance company when filing property damage claims after Hurricane Ike. If so, and your insurance company is similarly evading its responsibility, you may need an insurance fraud lawyer to ensure that legal justice is done and fair payment is made on your claim.

Whether you need a Hurricane Ike insurance fraud lawyer, a property damage lawyer or any other attorney in insurance matters, let Jim S. Adler & Associates explain the meaning of terms such as “pollution” and “responsibility” to a balky insurance company which resists making payments. You may not be in good hands with them, but you will be with us.

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