Insurance Bad Faith

When your insurance company fails to honor its obligations in your contract or fails to perform some other responsibility, you may have a case against the insurance company for “bad faith.” All kinds of insurance, from health and dental to automobile and homeowners can be included in bad faith cases.

Insurance companies are required to exercise fairness in writing their insurance policies and in handling claims made by their policyholders, but they have years of legal experience litigating the terms of their contracts—contracts written by skilled lawyers. Few people read, much less understand, insurance policies. Every insurance contract contains an unwritten, invisible or implied term referred to as the covenant or promise of good faith and fair dealing. This is a promise imposed by law upon an insurance company to always act fairly towards its insured in handling their claims.

Reasonable expectations of the policyholder must be met, and an insurer must always give as much consideration to the financial interests of its insured as it does to its own financial interests. But insurance companies have a self interest to not pay claims. If an insurance company refuses to pay your claim, denies payment or offers an insufficient amount, it would be wise to hire a lawyer to enforce the insurance company’s obligations. You should never have to represent yourself alone against an insurance company or accept an unfair settlement offer.

Where a policyholder successfully shows that an insurer breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, the insured may be able to collect the additional expenses that arise out of suing the insurance company, from loss of use of the insurance proceeds, general damages, attorney’s fees, and in cases of egregious and outrageous misconduct, punitive damages.

Expertise is needed to interpret policies, medical records, property evaluations and correspondence when it comes to dealing with insurance companies and their agents. In all bad faith cases it is essential that measures be taken promptly to review all communication with the insurance company and investigate the coverage in question before the statute of limitations expires. If a loved one or you are a victim of insurance company bad faith, call Holland & Lamoureux, P.A. now at (866) 225-4907. The initial consultation is free of charge, and if we agree to accept your case, we will work on a contingent fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a monetary award or recovery of funds. Don’t delay. You may have a valid claim and be entitled to compensation.

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