Insurance Bad Faith

Bad faith claims arise when a company with whom you have a contract fails to act within the terms of that contract. In the case of your insurance company, this may happen if it fails to promptly or properly defend or pay a claim. An insurance company has a duty to deal fairly with its customers, giving more consideration to its insured customers than to its own interest. Whenever your insurance company fails to honor its obligations in its contract with you, you may have a claim for bad faith. An insurance company is required to investigate all claims and find out information about anything that might support their insured’s claim.

Insurance contracts are written to reflect current case law. Known terms which seem self-evident to the insured may actually have special interpretations to the insurance company and not to the insured. All insurance contracts are interpreted in a court to carry out the reasonable expectations of the insured party. The contract will be studied to obtain its meaning, and such meaning must be clear and unmistakable. Generally, any terms which are not clear will be interpreted to benefit the insured. You do not have to prove that the company intended to cause harm, only that they failed to honor their agreement and had no cause not to pay the claim.

What You Need To Know:

Insurance companies’ obligations are to their stockholders and policy holders, not to the people injured by their insured’s negligence. Insurance companies’ desire to maximize their own profits provides them with every motivation to try to deny your claim or pay you the very minimum amount that they can get away with. The insurance companies also have enormous advantages: they have immense wealth, armies of experienced adjusters and lawyers and years of experience reducing and denying claims.

At the Law Office of Stephen A. Burroughs, our only obligation is to you, our client. We will use our experience and every resource available to protect your interests, and we will work hard to help you receive the full value for your case. We will advise you every step of the way to help you avoid any mistakes that could cost you money. There is no charge for attorney’s fees until you recover money for your personal injuries, and we will also help you resolve your property damage claims for no fee whatsoever. For assistance, call today at 865-525-3773, contact us or submit an free online case evaluation.