Red Flags that an Insurance Company May Act in Bad Faith

You sign up for insurance to be “assured” that you have some form of support when the need arises. It is meant to give you some sense of protection from life-changing events like poor health, natural disasters, accidents, and even death. Most financial problems arise from unexpected medical bills or accidents. It will cost you an enormous amount of money to pay for expenses related to a vehicular accident or sudden hospital confinement. Without insurance, you have no protection against the curve balls that life throws at you—the situations that are impossible to prepare for and makes it impossible to survive without the financial protection that insurance provides.

However, there are times that the insurance you invested good money on falls short of the promises they made in their insurance policies. What then? Is there anything that can remedy the situation?

The best step you can take is to call an experienced insurance bad faith attorney in Kentucky who is well-versed on “bad faith insurance” claims.

Reality bites

When you purchased a policy and pay your premiums on time, you expect to be treated fairly when you file your legitimate insurance claim. But let us face it. These insurance companies are not charity groups. They are not there to dole out money. They intend to make profits out of the insurance policyholders. As such, their goal is to pay you or settle your claims with as little expense to them as possible.

Because Insurance companies are businesses, they need to make a profit. They do so by collecting millions of dollars worth of premiums each year and, at the same time, paying out much less than they collect. It is the awful truth on how insurance companies work, even though they have plenty of money to pay out on legitimate claims. Watch out for insurance companies that deny or delay payments on your legitimate insurance claims.  That means they acted in bad faith and you have every right to demand what you rightfully deserve.

However, it can be challenging to establish if indeed your insurance company acted in bad faith. In such scenarios, you need to work with an experienced legal team.  There are many complexities involved in bad faith insurance claims. The documentation alone is time-consuming, let alone building up your case against the insurance company at fault. Sometimes, it can be virtually impossible to get the money owed to you by an insurance company without an experienced bad faith attorney on your side.

How do you determine if your insurance company acted in bad faith?
Here is a list of what to watch out for if your Insurance company acted in bad faith:

➤Denied the insured individual, family. or company the complete benefits listed in the policy
➤Offered less compensation than what is due under the policy
➤Delayed payment to an insured without reason
➤Engaged in deceptive practices (For example, revising the policy without advising you, putting you through too much red tape, requiring an unreasonable amount of documents to push you against the wall, enough to frustrate you and force you to drop your claim)

These tactics will cost you more because you are left without money as you wait for the insurance company to pay up.

If your claims adjuster or insurance company failed in fulfilling the following duties to you as their policyholder, they may also be held liable for acting in bad faith:

✔The Duty to Investigate – If your insurer failed to conduct a proper investigation of your claim and provide their findings (and a valuation). Unreasonable delays may also constitute bad faith.
✔The Duty to Indemnify – If your insurer failed to pay a settlement agreement or judgment entered against the policyholder, up to the limit of their coverage, or has failed to meet their duty of indemnification.
✔The Duty to Defend – If your insurer refused to defend you against a claim, even if most of the lawsuit is not covered by the policy. The exception to this duty is when a policy explicitly includes the costs of defense in calculating policy limits, though in most situations the insurer must cover all defense costs regardless of the coverage limits.
✔The Duty to Settle Reasonably – If your insurer refused to support you in a  settlement which would be advantageous to you, only because they hope to reduce their liability at trial or because a lawsuit would expose the insurance company to damages beyond the limits of the policy,

If you or anyone you know is presently dealing with an insurance company, make sure to maintain a file of all communications with the adjuster or any other representative, whether in the form of recorded phone calls or notes after each call. Keep copies of all documents required of you and save all emails related to your case. Take care not to delete voicemails from your insurance adjuster and file all expense receipts to support your claim. Maintaining all these documentation may eventually help you in building a case against your insurance company.

As mentioned earlier, it is in your best interest to work with a bad faith insurance lawyer if you suspect your insurance company to be acting on bad faith, as described in this article, starting with delaying negotiations or outright denial of your claim. Once you have presented your files to the bad faith insurance lawyer, you may be surprised to find out that you have a legitimate claim. Call one of the best bad faith insurance attorneys in Kentucky.  At Mehr, Fairbanks, and Peterson Trial Lawyers, we will do the best we can to help you the get the settlement you are entitled to. Call us for a free case evaluation.

Jessica

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