Insurance Bad Faith
An insurance company acts in bad faith when it does not honor its legal obligation to act in good faith by placing the interest of it insured before its own interest. This commonly happens when an insurer has an opportunity to settle a claim against its insured for an amount within the insured's policy limits and considering all the circumstance should settle the claim, yet it fails to do so.
To illustrate this idea suppose someone is seriously injured in an auto accident and the insurance company of the at-fault driver has a $25,000 policy limit for liability coverage. The at-fault driver's insurance company refuses to make a good faith settlement offer. As a result, the attorney for the injured person sues the at-fault driver and obtains a $150,000 judgment against him. The at-fault driver is now responsible for $125,000 in damages above the $25,000 insurance policy limit. In a case like this, our attorneys will pursue the insurance company for extra-contractual damages - here the amount in excess of the policy limit - $125,000 and other associated damages - for refusing to make a good faith effort to settle the claim. Insurers may be liable for extra-contractual damages in the Third Party Claim outline above and in claims brought by the insured referred to as First Party Claims under such coverages as uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance,
Insurers can act in bad faith in a number of ways including:
- Failing to promptly and thoroughly investigate a claim
- Failing to keep their insured fully advised
- Delaying or denying crucial medical care
- Delaying or denying payment
- Giving an unreasonably low offer to compensate justified damages
- Using unreasonable interpretations of their policy language
- Refusing to settle the case or reimburse you for your whole covered loss.
- Failing to comply with the Civil Remedies Statute, the Fair Claims Practices Act and other statutory and regulatory requirements
- Attempting to gain an advantage by "leveraging" one part of the policy against another
- Failing to Indemnify or Adequately Defend an insured when a claim is brought against them
- Fraud or Misrepresentation in the insurers communications with you
- Generally by acting in any manner that attempts to gain an unfair advantage over the insured or by failing to act in the insured's best interest.
Contact the Kane Law Firm, P.A.
Insurance coverage attorneys at the Kane Law Firm, P.A. in Orlando, Florida have spent years representing insurance companies all over Central Florida before representing people against insurance companies. The Kane Law Firm knows how the insurance companies think, how they make decisions, and what gets them to change their position. Let us put that inside knowledge to work for you.
Please call us now if you are having problems getting your insurance claim paid quickly and fairly. A lawyer will examine your case to see if we can help return you and your family to your normal lives as quickly as possible. The sooner you begin, the sooner you and your family will be on the road to recovery.
If you or a loved one has a bad faith insurance claim, please call the Central Florida Automobile Accident Attorneys at the Kane Law Firm, P.A. in Orlando, Florida at (407) 898-9130, submit a contact form on our website, or email us at Info@KaneInjury.com.
We offer a free initial consultation, and if we agree to take your case, we will work on a contingency basis. This means we will get paid for our services only if there is a monetary award or recovery of funds.