The (insurance) world in which we reside is quite an inhospitable place, where one can scarcely count on a good "neighbor" or "friend" to do the right thing, Jay M. Feinman asserts in so many words in Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.

An inflammatory, self-proclaimed expose, Feinman's new book depicts a wasteland of cantankerous insurance carriers that have grossly deviated from a culture of promise and good faith to one of deceit and greed. The shift in focus from customer service to padding the bottom line is not accidental, Feinman contends. Rather, it is demonstrative of a systemic change in the way insurers go about their day-to-day operations following the desperation of a 12-year soft market.

The author goes on to portray denial of valid claims as commonplace and desired by insurers rather than infrequent. In fact, the author operates under the premise that insurers' collective objective is to avoid paying legitimate claims and instead resort to unsavory practices to, above all, bolster profits, and thus victimize policyholders and claimants in the process.