Bradenton Insurance Litigation Attorney
Like all for-profit businesses throughout the nation, insurance companies need to do two essential things to stay in business: 1) actually make a profit and 2) provide value to customers. However, unlike most businesses throughout the nation, insurance companies have a duty to TWO parties: 1) policyholders and 2) shareholders. On the one hand, insurers have a duty to pay insureds when damages occur. On the other, they have a duty to shareholders to lose as little money in claims as possible. To help balance the two duties, insurance companies are required to perform an in-depth investigation into the incident and provide a fair assessment of the value of damages. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for insurance companies to fudge the investigation results or even to forego an intensive investigation altogether.
In an attempt to appease shareholders and save money, insurers may assign an unfair monetary value to a claim, or worse, deny a claim altogether. While the company may just be looking out for its best interests, it failed to look out for the interest of its customer, a mistake that may be cause for an insurance bad faith claim. When this happens, an insurance bad faith lawsuit is filed and the company itself becomes under investigation.
If you believe that you are the victim of insurance bad faith, you need the skill and experience of insurance bad faith attorneys on your side. Our Bradenton insurance litigation attorneys at HD Law Partners represent policyholders in bad faith claims and are prepared help you fight for the benefits you rightfully deserve.
Bradenton Insurance Bad Faith Litigation
Under contract law, individuals and entities who participate in a written or verbal agreement are required to be fair and honest in their dealings with one another. This is referred to as “implied faith and fair dealing.” When the implied agreement of good faith and fair dealing is violated by an insurance company, the insurer can be sued for additional damages on top of the damages claimed in the initial claim. While the notion of bad faith remains relatively the same across the nation, according to the American Bar Association, bad faith occurs when an insurance company shows a reckless disregard for the policyholder’s rights. Some courts say that to deny a policy “when there is no reasonably arguable basis to do so” is considered an act of bad faith.
Some other instances of bad faith include:
- Failure to investigate the claim in a timely manner;
- Denying a claim without giving a reason;
- Delaying a claim or the payment of a claim;
- Offering less money than a claim is worth;
- Refusing reasonable requests for documentation; and
- Misrepresenting the law or policy language.
Each of the above instances of bad faith is fairly subtle, and it often takes a trained eye to spot such wrongdoing. However, other instances of bad faith are much more blatant, such as when insurance companies make threatening statements to policyholders, or when insurers flat out refuse to pay an obviously valid claim. Whatever type of bad faith dealings you are saddled with, our Bradenton insurance litigation attorneys at HD Law Partners can identify it and use the law and available evidence to assist you in defending your rights. Contact our team today to speak with a representative of our firm about your problem and possible solutions.
