Bad faith insurance practice refers to the intentional denial or delay in paying a claim without a legitimate reason for doing so.
An insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance provider. There is an implied obligation of good faith and fair dealing to you, the policyholder. As long as you pay the premium, the insurer is obligated to uphold their responsibility to pay valid claims covered by the policy.
Unfortunately, there are many cases when insurance carriers put their own profitability above their policyholders’ best interests. Insurance companies are multi-billion dollar corporations motivated by profit. Insurance providers have developed sophisticated methods of delaying and denying legitimate claims in order to protect their bottom line.
There are several ways insurance companies unreasonably deny claims, including:
- Refusing to pay a claim with no arguable basis to do so
- Denying a claim without conducting a reasonable investigation into the claim
- Causing unreasonable delay in processing a claim
How Can I Fight a Bad Faith Insurance Action?
As a policyholder, there is definite action you can take. You do not have to accept the initial denial as the final answer. You must fight for your rights. This means that no matter how persistent the insurance company is in its scheme to unfairly deny and delay benefits, you must be even more determined.
