Insurance companies use bad-faith practices to avoid paying claims, including:
Misrepresenting the policy’s language leads the policyholder to believe that certain types of claims are excluded from coverage when they’re not. If an insurance company tells a claimant that they are not eligible to file the claim and the claimant doesn’t have an attorney assisting them in the process, they will often simply believe the insurance company and walk away from the process.
Deliberately delaying the investigation of the claim. A decision can only be made on the claim once a claims adjuster has investigated the circumstances resulting in property damage and the claimant’s stated losses. By delaying that investigation, they also delay the ability of the claimant to get the compensation they need to move forward from the incident that caused their property to become damaged.
Denying a claim without providing a reason. Insurance companies have an appeals process that claimants can undergo to provide additional information supporting a claim that the insurance provider has denied. If the insurance company fails to provide a reason why the claim was denied, the claimant can determine if it was a legitimate reason for the denial. They will also need help to adequately prepare for the appeals process or prove why the insurance company should not have denied the claim.
Offering a meager settlement. When a claimant doesn’t have an attorney available to guide the value of their claim and how much is fair, they will often fall for the insurance company line: “This amount of compensation is all that is available for the claim.” An experienced property damage lawyer from Dolman Law Group can help you determine how much compensation you need to reimburse you for your losses and how much coverage is available from the policy.
Intimidating the claimant. A common bad faith insurance practice that many claims adjusters use to devalue claims is attaching an arbitrary deadline to a settlement offer that is not related to the statute of limitations on property damage claims in the state where they live and telling the claimant they will lose their right to compensation if they don’t accept the offer by that date. This places the claimant in a situation where they have to make a split-second decision without having the opportunity to consult with an attorney about their claim’s value.