SHEDDING SOME LIGHT ON BAD FAITH
Don’t be alarmed if you have never heard about Insurance Coverage Bad Faith. Most policyholders haven’t or don’t understand it even if they have heard about it. The unfortunate thing is bad faith wrongful delays and insurance company denials happen every day. So let’s shed some light on bad faith conduct by your insurance company, shall we?
First let me say that there are many insurance companies that conduct their business in a professional and honest manner. Those are the companies you want to find when you are looking to buy insurance. However, there are many companies who are not so honest and simply can’t handle the number of claims they are dealing with. These com
panies find it easier to deny claims “in bad faith” than to do the right thing and honor their contract.
Why don’t they get caught? Well, most people don’t understand what bad faith is and so they do nothing to challenge the insurance claim denial. Without an understanding of bad faith, the insured simply doesn’t understand their rights.
So let’s turn the light on and see if we can pull bad faith out of the darkness. Your insurance policy is in essence, a contract between you and the insurance company. You have to follow certain rules and so do they. You have to pay your premiums on time and file claims according to the guidelines set out in the policy.
The insurance company also has to follow the guidelines of the policy and provide financial coverage as set forth in the policy. It must act in “good faith” and honor its part of the bargain. After all, you are paying them to do this.
Should the insurer withhold or deny you benefits in a way that is inconsistent with what the policy states, it is considered “bad faith.” Insurance companies try to get by with this as a way to lower costs – the fewer claims they have to pay, the more profit they make. In the last few years, many insurance companies have resorted to this kind of activity because they’ve lost money through investments that have gone bad as a result of the current down economy. Short-changing claims or denying them altogether is a way to make up for losses in other areas.
The challenge is to successfully file an insurance claim dispute and to have the court agree that the insurer did not honor their contract with you. This is where you should turn to a competent insurance claims attorney for expert help.
Here are a few ways insurance companies act in “bad faith” and deny rights to insured policyholders:
-Fail to investigate a claim in a timely and thorough manner
-Delaying the payment of benefits owed
-Interpreting policy language unreasonably
-Unreasonably denying a claim
-Refusing to settle a case or only partially paying a claim that should be paid in full
If an insurance claim denial is dishonest, deceptive or fraudulent in the eyes of a court then it is deemed “unreasonable” and the insured could be granted extra damages like emotional distress, extra contractual damages if you lost your house.
If after reviewing your policy you still feel like you have an insurance case for “bad faith,” gather all the documentation you have and all correspondence you have with the insurer and contact a top insurance attorney. If you have an insurance claims attorney, they can quickly evaluate the insurance company conduct and guide you through the process.
Tags: Long Term Disability Claims, Employments Benifts Lawyer
Long Term Disability Claims Employments Benifts Lawyer
