When you experience an accident that causes injuries, and they are supposed to be covered by your insurance, you’ll likely want to file a claim with the company so that you can be compensated for your damages. Under your policy, your insurance company owes you, but what if they try to find a way to avoid paying you?
At DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC, we understand how frustrating it can be when your insurance company doesn’t act how you think they should. We’re dedicated to representing our clients and ensuring that they get the most favorable outcome. Let’s take a look at what bad faith insurance is and how insurance companies act in bad faith.
What Is Acting in Bad Faith?
As mentioned above, you expect your insurance company to comply with your policy and pay you the money they owe you when you submit a claim that is supposed to be covered. When the company avoids paying you through different tactics, they could be acting in bad faith. This is frustrating because you pay for your policy in case you ever need to use it.
When you finally go to use your insurance policy, you expect them to cover you as the contract states they will. Instead, the company may try to negotiate something different or attempt to find loopholes to keep from paying what you’re owed. If you have a legitimate claim that falls under your policy, they cannot deny you, otherwise that’s acting in bad faith.
It’s important to clarify, that acting in bad faith is not purely you being upset with your insurance company. It’s also not them simply refusing your claim based on legitimate reasons. If your insurance company or their adjuster makes a mistake in your claim, then that also is not grounds for bad faith.
In order to have a claim against your insurance company for acting in bad faith, they have to do something specific that proves they were avoiding their contractual obligations. Let’s take a look at some of the ways they can act in bad faith.
Insurance Companies and Acting in Bad Faith
You might suspect that your insurance company didn’t have grounds to avoid paying you for your insurance claim. When that happens, you could use the help of an attorney to hold them accountable for not fulfilling your contract with them. But you might be wondering if what happened falls under bad faith insurance practices.
Here are some of the situations that could lead to you filing a claim against your insurance company for acting in bad faith:
- They wrongly justify their denial of your claim by intentionally misinterpreting your policy.
- Delaying your claim in an attempt to stall and keep from resolving your claim.
- Not conducting a full investigation of your claim on purpose.
- The investigation they did conduct was biased.
- Keeping certain information to themselves to keep from accepting your claim.
- Intentionally withholding information about a deadline so that you miss it.
- Telling you that you have to partially pay for the settlement that they’re offering you.
- Offering you much less than you’re owed for your claim.
- Wrongfully denying your claim even though they don’t have any grounds to do so.
If you don’t see what happened to you in this list, don’t worry. That doesn’t mean that what happened to you isn’t considered acting in bad faith. Your insurance company could be wrongfully withholding your claim and acting in bad faith even if you don’t see your situation listed above.
When you think you’ve experienced a bad faith insurance situation, you could use the help of a lawyer. They’ll be able to guide your through the process an ensure your rights are protected. Insurance companies can be intimidating, which is why a bad faith insurance lawyer is your best option at recovering what you deserve in your claim.
DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC Is Here to Fight for You
You shouldn’t have to worry about going up against an insurance company who acted in bad faith. When you hire our bad faith insurance lawyer in Charleston, you can feel confident that your claim will be as strong as possible. We’ll make sure that we have all the possible evidence to prove you were wronged.
Reach out to our office today so that we can get started on your claim right away. We will fight for you and ensure your rights are protected.
