DeBarbrie, who brokered the policy for the opera, said Menzies wasn’t involved in the decision to send the letter. “This was something that our client and I felt was appropriate given their experience,” DeBarbrie said. Jeffery McMillan, a spokesman for the opera, declined to comment.
Meanwhile, the situation was taking a toll on Applied. In October, the company filed a document in the court case saying negative publicity had caused brokers to stop signing clients with the insurer. Applied said it was also seeing a surge in customers canceling policies.
Goodwill Lament
When employers can’t pay their bills, Applied offers them a payment plan. Goodwill’s Miller signed one of these IOUs last December for $454,132, the amount the insurer said he owed after his policy ended, plus interest. He’s still bothered by it, even though Applied said in August his organization’s bill had been revised down to about $60,000.
Miller’s Goodwill stores and other operations pull in about $20 million a year in revenue, almost all of which goes to support programs and services. He runs monthly safety meetings with store managers, as he has for the past 13 years. They go over any accidents and conduct training programs to cut down on injuries. It all helped keep claims so low, Goodwill said in its lawsuit, that Applied should send his organization money.
Silver, the insurer’s lawyer, says it’s impossible to know the final accounting for the plan because the nonprofit still has open claims. In any event, he said, Goodwill was represented by a professional broker and had an opportunity to review all the documents. In March, Applied filed a lawsuit in Nebraska, demanding the funds.
“Applied pulled the wool over everybody’s eyes,” Miller said. “Had it all been presented upfront -- ‘here’s the risk you’re taking’ -- I never would have done it.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.