Insurance bad faith practices can leave you without the compensation that you deserve following an accident. Insurance companies use different types of practices and this may leave you facing an unfairly denied claim. The good news is that through a qualified Plymouth personal injury lawyer, you can file a claim of bad faith and fight for your compensation.
A good example of a victim of insurance bad faith practices that got the compensation they deserved is the family of a man who was accidentally shot in a crime-ridden complex. Andrae Davis was killed on August 2011 at Eagle Nest Condominiums in Albuquerque. Even though the police are yet to solve the case, Davis’s family went to court and the jury found that Eagle’s Nest Condominium Association and Roger Cox & Associates Property Management LLC were negligent because they let crime run rampant leading to Davis’s death.
The family was awarded $12 million after it was found that the insurance company had changed its records 11 days prior to Davis’s death to make it look like he did not have insurance coverage. The insurance company argued that the policy expired one and a half hours before the accident.
This just goes to show that you can still get fair compensation even if the insurer acts in bad faith. You may not be awarded $12 million but if you are unfairly treated by an insurance company, you can hire a personal injury lawyer in Plymouth, MA who can fight for your rights to fair and adequate compensation.
5 Signs of Insurance Bad Faith Practices
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Unnecessary Delays
Following an accident, you need to get your life back on track as soon as possible. You need financial support now more than ever so time is crucial when seeking compensation from an insurance company. If the company has already approved your accident claim but they are taking their time processing your payment, you can file a claim against the insurance company for bad faith.
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Refusing to Conduct Investigation into Your Claim
Insurance companies are obligated to conduct fast and thorough investigations into all accident claims. If the insurance company takes way too much time conducting investigations or if they do a bad job, they might deny your claim because of lack of enough information.
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Offering Less Money than Your Claim is Worth
It’s not unusual that insurance adjusters would counter with a low-ball offer during negotiations. This is expected because insurance companies aim to pay out as little as they possibly can. They care more about their bottom line than your own well-being. However, this does not mean that they cannot adjust their offers accordingly. If the insurance company insists on paying you significantly less money than your claim is worth, your lawyer will have no other choice but to go to trial.
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Issuing Threats
If the insurance company tries to coax you into accepting their version of your car accident, coax you into giving a recorded statement without your lawyer present or coax you into signing an agreement without your lawyer, do not give in. This is just one of the tactics that insurance companies use on naïve policyholders or accident third parties making a claim in order to avoid making payments. They may also issues threats or try to intimidate you to back off. If any of these situations happen, you need to lawyer up immediately.
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Misrepresenting Policy Language or the Law
Insurance companies are obligated to be truthful about the statements used in their insurance policy. However, some insurance companies intentionally try to twist or misrepresent their insurance policies. If this happens, you should get a lawyer who understands the language that insurance companies use.
How Can You Prove An Insurance Company Acted in Bad Faith?
It’s very important that you have all the facts and circumstances surrounding the insurance company’s actions to show that they acted in bad faith. Bad faith inquiries focus more on circumstances and specific facts so it can be very difficult to prove that the insurer acted in bad faith. This is why you should consider hiring a Plymouth personal injury attorney to help you with your claim.
Contact a Plymouth Personal Injury Attorney
If you were involved in a car accident, slip and fall accident or any other type of personal injury accident, we might be able to help. Kevin P Landry law Office personal injury lawyers have experience dealing with insurance companies. We know all their tricks and the tactics they used to try to get clients to take low-ball offers. Contact one of our Plymouth personal injury attorney today at 508-746-2700 or visit our Plymouth offices today for a free initial consultation.
