INSURANCE + BAD FAITH CLAIMS

If you have insurance, you may claim the coverage that is due to you. Insurance companies are legally obligated to review your claim in good faith. They cannot escape the obligation to examine your claim or pay you, as doing so may constitute bad faith. Bad faith claims and lawsuits may derive from several actions or lack thereof by insurance companies—from denial of coverage to failure in settling.

Typical bad faith claims against insurance companies:

• Failure to deny coverage within a reasonable period
• Failure to pay claims
• Failure to properly investigate
• Lack of pertinent information communicated to the claimant
• Failure to disclose policy limits
• No attempt at a fair and reasonable settlement when liability is clear
• Offer of a substantially lower compensation than the value of the claim
• Lack of prompt or plausible explanation for denial of a claim
• Failure to negotiate or review the settlement of the claim with the claimant
• Absence of a reasonable investigation into the claim
• Failure to act upon denial or payment of the claim within a reasonable time
• Unreasonable denial of coverage