Insurance Defense Investigation Price War

                        Good or Bad for The Client

There is and has been for a year or so a price and service war going on among the
insurance defense investigation agencies as they compete for the insurance
industry surveillance and investigation business.  This has had several benefits
for the clients, primarily in the way of cheaper prices for investigation work
and more investigation for your dollar as the agencies try to impress you with
their abilities.  However, there are many down sides to you, the clients, that
they are not readily visible and some of these are potentially dangerous.  In
order to compete, some agencies are having to cut the amount of training and/ or
the calibre of investigator.  Many have turned to sub-contracting investigators
as personnel and benefits are very expensive.  Many have had to cut benefits to
their employees.  The level and amount of time spent training or keeping staff
abreast of law changes has diminished.  So you say times are tough, but what is
the potential problem or liability to me, the client?  The lower the calibre of
investigator, the less effective the surveillance and investigation dollar.  Yes,
you may have a warm body out on your case, but does he know what he is doing? 
Does he have the right attitude or has his employer been blaming his inability
to provide benefits and a stable job environment on you, the clients?  Attitude
is a critical factor for an investigator.  Where will the investigator be in a
year or two if you need him to appear at a trial, hearing or deposition? 
Agencies have little enough control of their own staff and significantly less on
sub-contractors.
 

Some have had to cut the level of insurance that they carried for your
protection.  The State of Florida only requires $300,000 general liability,
Georgia only $50,000 and Alabama does not require any at all.  Most of the larger
agencies have been carrying $1,000,000, but this is significantly more expensive. 
At a time when the potential for using more inexperienced investigators,
individuals who are not aware of civil law ramifications-such as off-duty police
officers, or insufficiently trained personnel, do you really want less protection
from their actions?  There are more suits being filed against investigators now
than have been in many years.  Partially, this is the plaintiffs attorneys
fighting back against the effects of investigation to their claims, but also it
is due to more inexperienced investigators performing the work and crossing the
line.  

Additionally, with the competition for business, there is greater pressure to
deliver the evidence the client wants so as to secure his business.  This has set
the stage for several abuses of the Rules for Evidence gathering and has seen
Invasion Of Privacy pushed to the maximum and occasionally crossed.  It is time
when you, the clients, need to be cognizant of the amount of pressure brought on
agencies to deliver.  Only the agencies who will not compromise their integrity
and professionalism can continue to provide you the service and the professional
staff investigator.

Finally, one last area of potential abuse that you, the client, will have
difficulty spotting is in the area of what you get for your dollar.  We have
recently seen a version of "Name That Tune" in the competition for services.  In
other words, "I can perform 6 hours of surveillance and a background for XXXX"
and another saying they'll do it for XXX.  The fact of the matter is that there
really is not that great a difference in what it cost each agency to field an
investigator, all factors and competence being the same.  Cheaper prices mean
less service. One agency may tell you that you will get seven hours of
surveillance, but really only give five of surveillance and charge the other two
up to administrative management of the case.  Others may say they will do four
hours today, four hours the next day and four the next but two hours of each of
those four segments will be drive time.  Others will offer or bill periodic
service where they are in the area making spot checks throughout the day on your
case and a couple of others.  This is not good effective investigation or
surveillance.

Many agencies also are not willing to utilize or do not have the experience to
counsel clients as to effective surveillance techniques.  In order to get the
business, they are letting the client tell them, the alleged experts, how to best
perform their services.  Obviously that is always a client's right, however, in
the past an agency was morally obligated to at least attempt to instruct a client
in the correct usage of investigation and surveillance.  Many agencies used to
provide and some of us are still trying to provide extra service, even after the
original assignment is over.  This, however, becomes more and more difficult with
the price wars.

We are not complaining, for we have provided first class investigations and
surveillances with only staff investigators for many years and will continue to
do so.  We felt you should know that a Deal is Not Always a Deal..............