(There is some responsibility for Amazon -- if they don't want articles like this, they should choose a better insurance company.)
In this case, publicly going to Amazon via the press was the right call and forced the resolution of the issue.
Beyond that Amazon, as a company is known for treating its employees poorly, more so the warehouse workers, drivers and also the tech side of the house. It is what it is.
> The description of the incident was their driver destroyed her parked car.
"their" refers to Amazon. In the second sentence,
> They determined it was totaled and sat on it for TWO months.
"They" refers to Amazon's insurance company.
I'm not normally one to defend Amazon's business practices, but in this case, I don't see how they did wrong by this woman. If I, acting as a private citizen, did the same thing and totaled someone else's parked car, would it be my fault if my insurance company dicked around for 2 months before paying them? No, it would not. Nor would I be liable for any amount over and above my insurance deductible, because that's the point of having insurance.
> It sounds like an open-and-shut case. Dooley didn’t do anything wrong. The Amazon driver hit her car in her driveway. Amazon is responsible. And at first, it seemed like things were going to go the right way. Amazon’s insurance company paid for her rental car and later determined that the car had been totaled, so she was supposed to receive a check.
While you're correct that the same would also be true between two laypeople, Amazon is a far more powerful and sophisticated actor than a layperson can be expected to be.
If your insurance is dicking me around (and you seem like you've got assets), I'm going to take you to court, and if you can't get your insurance to do their job, it's on you.
That said, lawsuits are a giant pain, so two months of delay isn't enough to get a lawsuit going... When possible, I also try to go through my insurance, so they can deal with your insurance, because at least my insurance has an interest in giving me timely information. Can't always do that though.
Is everything a high anxiety uphill battle when it comes to insurance in the states? They don’t just profit by volume and are, ultimately, a very boring industry?
In my experience this is the case in America.
If you're only making small claims that are easily covered by your own premiums, there tends to be no problems and good customer service.
It's when the reason for having the insurance in the first place (catastrophic losses or unaffordable bills) happen that the insurance companies stop being your friend.
The insurance company came out, took some pictures, and cut me a check as soon as I had a few quotes on cost to repair the damage.
Due to the size of the claim, however, they were required to put both my name and the bank that held the mortgage on the check, and they were a royal pain in the ass to deal with. I ended up paying the contractors out of pocket to keep them working while the bank and I played paperwork tag through the mail just to get them to sign the damned check.
If my house was totaled it would not be so fun.