Insurance claim unfairly denied?
How to fight back against your insurance company if your claim is denied in bad faith
You were recently injured in an accident, and you made a claim with your insurance company, expecting fair and reasonable compensation based on your policy and benefits. Perhaps you’ve been paying this insurance company for years, expecting you’d be covered in the event of an accident and/or injury. Perhaps you’ve accrued hospital bills, maybe your property was damaged, or you need ongoing medical treatment. But, you’ve just received a denial letter from your insurance company with little or no explanation. So, how do you fight back against your insurance company when they deny your claim in bad faith? Learn how to fight an insurance claim unfairly denied below.
Insurance: a necessary evil or evil because it’s necessary?
As a dissipater of risk and provider of financial security, insurance is an essential part of modern society. So much so that you must have insurance to drive a car, operate a business, or buy a home, and you need insurance to maintain your health. When insurance works the way it should, it’s a great thing. However, the less insurance companies pay out in claims, the greater their profits—a direct conflict of interest with the individuals and businesses they insure. As a result, insureds have increasingly had to file lawsuits to collect their policy benefits and recover full and fair compensation for losses caused by insurance bad faith.
Insurance Bad Faith in California
Under California law, an insured must show two things to maintain an insurance bad faith claim:
- Benefits due under the policy were withheld.
- The reason for withholding the benefits was unreasonable or without proper cause.
If you believe your insurance company has acted in bad faith, talk to a lawyer. Sometimes, legal representation and the accusation of bad faith is enough to get your insurance company’s attention and improve your chances in settlement negotiations. Next, a detailed letter to the insurance company, specifying the bad faith at issue, is generally the next to step to fighting bad faith, short of filing a lawsuit. In some cases, the possibility of a bad faith challenge works to secure a reasonable settlement offer from an insurance company. Your lawyer can help you take the right steps to deal with an insurance claim denial and any other issues you experience with your insurance company after an accident.
