You enter into an insurance agreement with your insurer and start paying him to retain your peace of mind. If someone gets hurt due to an accident, you expect that your insurance company will pay for the damages that the policy covers as per the agreement. During such a situation, if the insurer refuses to pay you the claim amount or refuses to safeguard or defend you from the claims of the other parties, they are the ones who are operating in bad faith. There are different types of insurance bad faith claims and you’re here to know about them.
When your insurance company fails to take action in a reasonable manner, paying or investigating your claim, you should file a lawsuit. As per the state law, they can shape how bad faith insurance claim is justified. Read on to take a closer look.
Examples of third party bad faith
- Failure and unwillingness to settle down a claim
When the insurer fails to settle down the underlying lawsuit which has been filed against the insured, this can be termed as bad faith. The large numbers of bad faith claims pop up from such situations when the insurer doesn’t settle the claim against the client and which leads to bigger liabilities. However, the court has already imposed an obligation on the insurance company to take good care of the interests of the client into account. If the insurer fails to tell the insured about demands of settlement, this can also be deemed as bad faith.
- Failure of the insurer to defend the insured
There are many insurance policies which have provisions which demand the insurer to defend the insured through an action by the third party. In case the insurer doesn’t succeed in defending the insured, this can also be considered as bad faith.
- Handling the defense with enough negligence
There are insurers who undertake the defense of the insured but they fail to take care of it in a proper manner or in an inadequate way and these are termed as being eligible for bad faith. For instance, there can be an insurance company who is showing his negligence by not hiring the perfect counsel who can defend the insured in his lawsuit.
- Talk to an insurance lawyer
Were you denied payment on a covered insurance policy? If you were, do you know that you are bestowed with the right to get back recovery based on this legal bad faith concept? You just have to get in touch with an experienced and skilful insurance attorney and know about your personal legal options as per the situation you’re in.
When you insurer has turned his back towards you, run straight to the court as they are the right options for you when you feel helpless. The way you go about in seeking this assistance depends on the laws of the jurisdiction and the rules related to insurance bad faith. Get help of an experienced bad faith attorney.