When Should I Fight an Insurance Company?

Small run-of-the-mill claims with an insurance company, such as a homeowner's insurance company, or a car insurance company might not be big enough to warrant contacting an experienced lawyer. However, when there is more at stake for both the insurance company and you, there is a higher chance of a dispute, and this makes it even more important to retain an attorney to fight an insurance company.

These can include complex or expensive claims, large claims such as damage to your home after a fire, claims where the fault is very difficult to establish, claims where the other party in a vehicle accident is alleging that you're responsible, and claims when you and the insurance adjuster clearly see things differently from early on. In those situations, you're more likely to need legal help to fight an insurance company. Before speaking with an insurance representative or trying to work things out on your own, it is recommended that you contact a lawyer first.

Certain personal injury lawyers focus on claims involving insurance companies, such as those where the insurance company is accused of acting in bad faith or violating your rights. In these cases, the insurance company is counting on you not to know your rights and not to protect them so that they can try to minimize or deny your claim altogether.

One common kind of insurance lawsuit relates to allegations of bad faith. This term refers to dishonest dealing. It is most frequently used in connection with an insurance lawsuit. This means that you are saying the insurance company owes you responsibility and is refusing to follow through. If you are a policyholder who has paid your premiums and took out the policy with the purpose of protecting yourself, bad faith involves actions done by that insurance company to avoid their legal obligation. 

The company must, for example, investigate your claim within a reasonable period of time. Unfortunately, however, many insurance companies attempt to use these delay or ignore tactics as a first step in bad faith. Bad faith issues can apply to any type of insurance policy such as health insurance, car insurance, life insurance, and homeowners insurance.  If the insurance adjuster fails to provide reasonable support for their findings, this could become the basis of your bad faith lawsuit. Mistakes that are minor in nature and are corrected quickly are not indications of bad faith, but many Insurance policyholders are not aware of the fine line between these issues and should instead consult with the offices of an experienced bad faith insurance lawyer.  For an insurance company to avoid acting in bad faith, the carriers must explain why they refused to cover the entirety of a claim.

There are state laws in place to protect those policyholders who believe that their insurance carrier is involved in bad faith dealings. State laws are also known as unfair claims practices acts. The laws that impact your claim will vary based on your state location and the specific inference rules in that area. For example, some laws require insurance carriers who are found to have acted in bad faith to compensate the victim for having their claim denied in the first place. This can involve additional compensation beyond the payment of the original claim. 
 
If you’re not sure whether your case involves a claim of bad faith, review the specifics of your individual policy and meet with an attorney. Filing a lawsuit to fight the insurance company might be the only way for you to further your right to recover on this individual claim or even to hold them responsible for bad faith. You should not have to commit any more of your time to this situation; allow a dedicated lawyer to be the next step if the company has crossed the line into bad faith.

One of the biggest challenges for anyone who is going through a serious insurance claim such as severe damage to their home, following an incident or a car accident claim that left them with substantial damages is whether or not a lawyer should be engaged to fight the insurance company after the insurance company is ignoring your calls. You have a lot at stake in these situations and deserve to be kept up-to-date. In some cases, the insurance company might be trying to delay resolution for you or deny you benefits altogether, simply by not communicating with you.

In these cases, it is their hope that you will give up and simply move on without fighting for the justice that you deserve. This is a prime example of a time when you should hire a lawyer to fight the insurance company.

You deserve to know the status of your case when you have a pending claim. If the company won’t give you details, they might respond when you bring in a lawyer to fight the insurance company.

Your insurance carrier has a vested interest in gathering as many details about the incident in question, as soon as possible. This means that they might try to get you on the record or to sign paperwork to release medical records or to accept a settlement agreement. In the heat of the moment, a settlement offer or filling out this paperwork might seem like the easiest course of action, but it might mean that you give up access to important benefits that you could have obtained if you continued fighting.

Of course, following a serious insurance claim, you don't have the time or energy to continue keeping up with the insurance company. And it can be hard to tell based on the specifics of your case if the insurance company is indeed taking advantage of you. This is why you should hire a lawyer to help you evaluate and then fight the insurance company if necessary. Early pressure to sign a settlement agreement often means that the company is low-balling you and is hoping you will take the settlement offer and disappear.

In the heat of the moment, it's hard to see the long-range view of what your injuries or the damage might cost doing. Some research and engaging a lawyer can help you protect your rights significantly. Do not sign anything or agree to anything with the insurance company until you have had a chance to speak to your lawyer. This is even more important in claims involving substantial damages or in which you were certain that you were covered for a specific event, but where the insurance company has denied your claim in total.

It is vital that you contact a lawyer before proceeding to fight an insurance company. These insurance companies often have strong legal teams and lots of experience in handling these types of cases. They will work hard to fight against you, and will often hope that you simply give up and accept the facts of your case as the insurance company has presented them to you. You're better off to fight an insurance company with the help of a lawyer.

You might feel like you’re up against a strong opponent if you have to take the insurance company to court. Thankfully, there are legal teams who make it their mission to represent the interest of unfairly targeted victims. 

If you’re exploring options to handle a disagreeable insurance company, you can fill out a simple contact form in under a minute, and receive a free, no-obligation case evaluation from the experts at Morgan & Morgan to get started.