Insurance companies often try to find ways to get out of paying for your claims. If they can’t do that, they may try to settle for less than what you really deserve. Both of these qualify as acting in “bad faith.”
Bad faith is illegal, so if you can prove you’re a victim of insurance bad faith, you can take your insurance company to court. People who win these cases not only receive compensation for their original claim but also for punitive damages and pain and suffering. The awarded amount can end up being thousands (and in extreme cases even millions) of dollars.
NOLO suggests starting this way:
If you believe the adjuster for your company is negotiating in bad faith, use the term in conversation with the adjuster. If you get no satisfactory response, you may want to put your accusation of bad faith in writing.
Here are some tactics used by adjusters to watch out for that could signal bad faith insurance:
- Declining to investigate your claim or not fully investigating it
- Refusing to give you a detailed explanation as to why your claim was denied
- Refusing to discuss a fair settlement
- Dragging their feet while you wait to hear if your claim has been accepted or denied
If you still aren’t sure if bad faith has taken place, we recommend consulting an insurance dispute attorney immediately.