Bad Faith Insurance Practices
“Insurance bad faith” is a legal term that is used to describe the illegal practices that are enforced by some insurance companies. If you are a faithful policy holder, insurance companies hold your money. You and your insurance company are contractually obligated to one another. They are responsible to hold up their end of your policy and you are responsible for upholding your end. The first sign that your insurance company is holding out on you is that they are failing to give you explanations. If they only grant you partial coverage or they deny your claim completely, they are obligated by law to tell you exactly why, based on your policy, they were justified in denying you compensation.
To cover up their trail, insurance companies may compensate by being extremely kind and stating that they are trying to help you. While their tone may be deceptive, the facts never lie. Make sure that you are intimately familiar with your insurance policy so you will not get low-balled by your insurance provider. Insurance companies have one thing on their minds, and that is to keep as much money as they possibly can. This often comes at a direct disadvantage to the policy holder. You need someone on your side that is an expert, but not at all affiliated with your insurance company. Our firm can be that objective third party that fights to get you what your policy guarantees.
What will you do when your insurance company refuses to make good on the claim you worked so tirelessly to prepare? After so many months and years of faithful investment, why are you now being faced with resistance by the company you expected to support you? Unfortunately, these are questions that come up for far too many homeowners in states throughout the nation. When you insurance company refuses to pay the claim you have made, you can refer to these steps as you attempt to take the next best course of action:
Don’t take the insurance company’s “no” as final word. It has been estimated that nearly 10% of all insurance claims are denied upon first being received; however, that does not mean that they cannot be questioned and then reassessed accordingly. Therefore, you should never settle for the first rejection you receive.
Make sure you understand your policy. If your insurance claim was denied, you can defer to the terms and conditions of your policy to better understand what prompted the denial. If the refusal still does not make sense, you may have reason to pursue the matter further.
Ask your insurance company to provide you with a written explanation for the denial that was made to you. If the reasons provided to you are insufficient or they show inconsistencies, you may have reasonable cause to take legal action.
Consider the possibility of filing errors. Some homeowner insurance claims are first refused due to an error that was made by the adjustor who is processing your claim. When this is the case, you can have your claim reassessed and compensated accordingly; however, you must remember that this will only be done if you question the refusal and do not accept first “no” that was issued to you.