Steps to Making a Bad Faith Insurance Claim
Insurance dipsutes happen every day.
How can an everyday insurance policyholder initiate a bad faith legal claim? When your auto or health insurer wrongly denies your request for indemnification, you may opt to press charges in court. If your
bad faith insurance attorney proves the insurance company wrong, you can win compensation for your policy-related loss. This is a result of
breach of contract. If you further prove that the company knowingly and actively dealt with your case in
bad faith, you can seek punitive, emotional-recovery, and other damages, if they apply. This extra compensation is due via the company’s tortious liability, or failure to act in good faith as required by state law.
Two types of claims intersect when an individual suspects an insurance company of bad faith practices:
- the denied or unsatisfied insurance claim, and
- the resulting “bad faith” legal claim.
Let’s say you get sick and need surgery. When you file an insurance claim to pay the hospital and doctors, your insurer will either pay them in your behalf, or leave you responsible for the sum. This is determined by an investigation of the events and circumstances surrounding your hospitalization.The insurer may choose to deny your claim outright, offer a smaller sum than the outstanding debt, or delay payment, making you temporarily accountable for the medical bills. Your state may recognize additional ways in which insurance companies handle cases in bad faith.
Check Your Policy
When you decide to bring a bad faith legal claim against your insurance agency, make sure you have a case. Re-reading your contract is the first step to finding out whether the company was acting out of line in denying or otherwise not honoring your insurance claim.
Policy language can be dense, confusing and sometimes anti-concurrent, or negating of other internal clauses. An insurance policy is a contract by which you, as well as the insurance company, are legally bound. If you don’t understand your policy, review it with a bad faithnsurance attorney who practices in your state.
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