When you buy insurance, and the insurance company accepts your premium, part of that premium is held in trust, to cover claims. It is not the insurance company’s money. It is your money. Because of this, the law requires the insurance company to treat you fairly. They are not supposed to be in an adversarial position with you – they are supposed to be working with you and not putting their financial interests ahead of yours. If an insurance company fails to uphold its responsibilities, they can be violating the law which is often called acting in bad faith. If so, an insurance bad faith attorney can help.
An insurance policy is a contract. You pay the company premiums, and when you have a claim, they must investigate the claim. This investigation must be a full and fair investigation. Your insurance company should not use tactics that focus on not paying the claim or paying less than what is owed. The insurance company should not focus on facts that support denial and ignore facts that support payment of the claim. The insurance company should not delay the investigation or the payment of the claim once the investigation is complete. The insurance company must treat you fairly.
Most lawyers do not have sufficient experience or understanding of insurance to understand the aspects of bad faith conduct. Sometimes, bad faith is not initially apparent because insurers have become skilled in hiding their ultimate motive. The insurance company may lull you into thinking they are investigating your claim even though they intend to deny it.
Insurance companies can fail to fully and fairly investigate a claim before denying your claim. Insurance companies can hire experts knowing the expert will support denial because either they or another insurance company has used this expert to support such a denial. Experts are supposed to be independent and honest, but some ignore the rules. The experts can range from doctors to repair companies depending on the type of claim. There are many examples of bad faith. If you feel your insurance company might be treating you unfairly, call an experienced insurance bad faith attorney.
If your insurance company acts in bad faith, you have a claim you can bring against the insurance company. These claims require an experienced lawyer. When you are vulnerable after you’ve experienced a loss, you need to focus on getting back to where you were before the loss. That is mainly why you bought insurance. You should not have to fight your insurance company while you are doing this. You need a lawyer who has your back.
If you want to know if you might have a claim contact us today 406-522-7744.
Call us now: 406.522.7744