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We represent individuals and small and large businesses in strategic problem solving, lawsuits, and commercial and insurance claim matters for Plaintiffs. Such matters often involve lawsuits for breach of contract, fraud, antitrust, fiduciary duties, and bad-faith.
Over the years, our trial lawyer approach to solving business problems and handling litigation has resulted in many remarkable victories for our clients.
People and small businesses purchase insurance policies to protect them in the event of adverse claims or events and provide coverage for other claims and losses. In the typical situation, a person or their business will pay monthly or semi-annual premiums to their insurance company and those premiums are part of a contract requiring the insurance company to provide protection. Unfortunately, that paid-for protection does not always exist. When your insurance company fails to protect you, you have legal rights.
Insurance bad faith cases are a type of claim that insured individuals and businesses can bring against their own insurance company when the insurer deals dishonestly with an insured in handling a claim, premium payments, or other matters pertaining to the insured’s policy coverages. Most frequently, bad faith lawsuits are brought against insurance companies who refuse to pay a claim they are liable for or who purposefully underpay a claim. Unlike a standard breach of contract claim, a bad-faith claim may allow plaintiffs to recover exemplary (or additional) damages in addition to monies owed to them for a denied claim or excessive premium charges. The purpose of these additional damages is to deter more future bad conduct by the insurance company.
Insurance companies are regulated in each state but are nearly universally required to act honestly and reasonably in handling claims and all other business matters. Unfortunately, it has become an industry norm for insurance companies to deny, delay and fight claims using any means possible, including lying to and deceiving the people they insure and the claimants they owe money to. Author Jay Feinman details this conduct in his 2010 book, Delay, Deny, and Defend. Further, in a recent report, the American Association for Justice (AAJ) revealed that most of the leading insurance companies in America employ deceptive practices to avoid paying claims and to raise premium rates so they continue to generate profits for shareholders. The 10 worst companies cited by the AAJ were Allstate, Unum, AIG, State Farm, Conseco, WellPoint, Farmers, UnitedHealth, Torchmark and Liberty Mutual. The website badfaithinsurance.org also listed The Hartford, Metlife, American Family, Berkshire Hathaway, CNA, Nationwide, GEICO, Prudential, Progressive and Travelers among the worst bad-faith insurance companies.
If your insurance company is denying a claim or refuses to pay the full and fair value of your claim, or has raised your premium rates for unclear or unreasonable reasons, it is best to contact a lawyer and ask whether you have a case. You should receive the full value of your claim, including any exemplary damages if a court decides in your favor.
If you experience any of the following conduct in dealing with your insurance company or an insurance company you have a claim against, you may have a claim. However, these matters are complicated and bad-faith claims are heavily defended by insurance companies with skillful attorneys, so always consult with an experience personal injury or bad-faith attorney before taking action.
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