[Azred]

This whole case was ridiculous on State Farm's part. Having worked in the insurance industy, I can affirm that State Farm would have made more money in the long run had they simply paid the $50k right away. This paid claim would have been recorded, then the actuaries could have crunched the numbers, shown how much experience that particular plan had (experience = the amount of money paid out) and then everyone's premium would have been increased just a little. The future earnings would far outweigh a mere $50k. Honestly, I can't believe that the senior adjusters didn't see this as a profit-making venture. What could they have been thinking?

That probably sounds uncaring, but that is the reality of insurance. I know for a fact that actuaries project future premiums paid in and claims paid out at least 1 or 2 years in advance (I crunched those numbers for over a year). State Farm could have saved everyone a lot of hassle by simply cutting a check.