If you’ve been injured in a car accident due to the negligence or recklessness of a third party, you expect to be able to make an insurance claim for compensation.
When the worst happens and your insurer refuses to pay out, is there anything you can do? If you have evidence to show that the refusal was made in bad faith, you don’t have to accept the decision. You have the right to challenge the denial.
What does “bad faith” mean?
An insurance provider must be able to explain why it denied a claim when doing so. The insured party may file a bad faith claim if the insurer refuses to present a valid justification for why it isn’t going to pay.
Bad faith claims include:
- An unreasonable delay in paying out
- Denial of payment without reasonable grounds
- Failing or refusing to carry out a proper investigation
- Concealing or ignoring evidence
What are the ways you can challenge a bad faith claim?
You can file a lawsuit against an insurer if they deny a claim or take an unreasonable amount of time to process it.
This may involve suing the company and asking a judge to rule on the reasonableness of the insurer’s decision. Litigation is meant to compensate you for the insurer’s improper actions and to get you the money you should have received if the claim had been paid out in the first place.
While going up against insurance companies might be daunting, you shouldn’t let that deter you from contesting a bad faith judgment. The best chance of getting the compensation you’re entitled to is to have legal assistance with your claim.