When You Get Dealt a Bad Faith Hand
When you buy an insurance policy and pay your premiums faithfully, you expect to be protected in case of a covered loss. But when something happens, and it’s time for the insurance company to pay out, it may not go as smoothly as anticipated. Insurance providers are in business for profit and far more concerned with their own bottom line than about your health. In bad faith cases, insurers may fail to pay, devalue, or fail to handle a valid claim in a timely manner.
What Is Bad Faith Insurance?
Bad faith insurance occurs when an insurer tries to renege on its obligations to its policyholder. The term refers to the tactics some companies employ in attempting to minimize their payout or to delay or avoid paying a claim entirely. Insurance company bad faith occurs when a provider:
- Refuses to pay the legitimate claim of a policyholder
- Fails to investigate and process a claim within a reasonable period of time
- Misrepresents the language in an insurance policy to avoid paying out on a claim
- Fails to disclose exclusions and limitations to a policyholder before an insurance policy is purchased
- Repeatedly asks for the same or similar documentation
- Makes unreasonable demands from a policyholder for proof of a covered loss
- Makes threatening statements to a policyholder
- Offers to pay less money than the claim is worth
How Can Insurance Bad Faith Impact Your Life?
Most people in the U.S. spend significant sums on insurance coverage every year. For individuals and families, these costs may include personal automobile insurance, homeowner’s insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, and short or long-term disability insurance. When a covered loss occurs, and the insurance company denies the claim or delays payment through bad faith tactics, it can place an unfair burden on the policyholder.
It is bad enough if you are injured in an auto accident or suffer property damage through a fire or natural disaster. The situation becomes even worse when your insurer reneges on its obligations under the policy you spent your hard-earned money to purchase. Insurance companies have a duty to their policyholders. When they act in bad faith, they can be held liable, not only for the original amount due under policy, but also for punitive damages. Also known as exemplary damages, punitive damages are designed to punish a defendant for wrongdoing and to deter similar actions in the future.
Why You Need an Attorney
Insurance laws are complex and vary from state to state. In addition, courts may interpret these laws differently. A lawyer with experience handling bad faith insurance claims will have an in-depth understanding of state statutes and case law in this field, along with the skills and resources to effectively pursue bad faith insurance cases. Your attorney must be skilled in assessing the full scope of the damages to pursue from the at-fault insurer. If you have been a victim of bad faith insurance, your best chance of recovering full compensation is to have an experienced lawyer handling your case.
Why Choose Us?
Our Dallas and Fort Worth personal injury lawyers at The Lenahan Law Firm handle our cases with real TLC. We are high-end, insanely focused, and known for getting big results. We limit the number of cases we accept so we can give our clients the individualized attention they deserve.
If you have been a victim of bad faith insurance tactics, call us at (214) 295-1008 to schedule a free consultation with no time limit. We operate strictly on a contingency fee basis. Our firm has never asked a client to cut us a check for anything.
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- Charles D.
