Bad Faith Insurance Claims
An insurance policy, whether for a business, home, or any other property, is a contract between the insurer and the insured. When you have lived up to your end of the contract by paying your premiums, you are entitled to receive the full benefits of your policy when you have a valid claim. When an insurance company fails to live up to its obligations, the insured customer is forced to suffer without the compensation he or she is entitled to by law.
When valid claims are denied or unreasonably delayed, the insurance company has acted in bad faith. Insurance bad faith is a form of insurance fraud and is forbidden by law. If you believe your insurance company has acted in bad faith, contact attorney Tony Malley for help. Mr. Malley has represented policyholders in a broad range of insurance bad faith claims, including:
- Fire damage claims
- Commercial property damage claims
- Life & disability insurance claims
- Business interruption claims
- Tornado claims
- Homeowners insurance claims
What is Bad Faith?
Insurance companies should treat you with trust. Any time a valid claim is denied or delayed to an unreasonable degree, the insurance company is dealing with you in bad faith. It may be caused by the actions of an unscrupulous insurance adjuster, or it could be part of a systematic denial of claims by an entire company. These tactics are most likely to be employed in the wake of a natural disaster like a wildfire, flooding, hurricane, or tornado. These often leave entire communities filing claims, which can overextend an insurer. Even though acting in bad faith is against the law, many insurance companies do it anyways.
Examples of Bad Faith
The following are examples of ways in which an insurer might act in bad faith:
- Failure to acknowledge and reply to notice of a valid claim
- Requesting an unreasonable level of documentation not required by the policy
- Delaying, discounting or denying a payment without a reasonable basis
- Failure to conduct a proper or timely investigation of the claim
- Using fraudulent or improper investigative methods
- Failure to inform the insured of benefits they are eligible to receive
- Altering the terms of the policy without the knowledge or consent of the insured
- Offering settlements that a reasonable person would consider far less than a fair amount
How Can an Attorney Help?
Having the assistance of an attorney at every stage of the insurance claims process is an integral part of ensuring that things go smoothly. Most home and business owners are unprepared for the amount of paperwork required to file a proper claim. When Mr. Malley prepares your paperwork, you can rest confident that your paperwork has been taken care of accurately, and that your claim is in perfect order. In addition, insurance adjusters are much less likely to act in bad faith when they know you have professional legal representation.
If you have already filed your claim and are experiencing problems with your insurance company, it is important to have proper counsel. In the event that your insurance company has engaged in bad faith practices, a lawsuit can provide you compensation.
Contact Tony Malley, Attorney at Law
Mr. Malley is an expert in insurance law and uses his expertise to assist victims of insurance bad faith throughout the nation. He is a member of Moore Landrey, L.L.P, which has offices in Beaumont and Austin, Texas. If you believe that your insurance claim has been unfairly denied or delayed, please contact a Texas insurance claims attorney for the legal representation you need. He offers free initial consultations.