Insurance Attorney in Medford

Knowing the difference between legitimate insurance investigation and settlement practices and refusal to settle valid claims or improper delays is extremely important. In many cases, victims may not be able to determine this on their own. In some cases, you may be eligible for double or even triple damages in addition to attorney fees for bad-faith insurance practices. For any aspects related to an insurance dispute, you need a Medford, Massachusetts, lawyer to help you.

You'll want to find a law firm with the right experience in handling insurance disputes. Some insurance disputes lawyers such as those at Morgan & Morgan have extensive experience in the realm of wrongfully denied property insurance or car insurance claims. In many cases, hiring the right lawyer can send a firm message to the insurance company of your intent to protect your legal rights and may help you fast-track your results toward getting a covered claim.

Insurance issues can be associated with many different types of legal cases, including denied homeowner's insurance claims, wrongful death claims and litigation, and even car accidents. Most people dealing with the fallout of an insurance bad faith situation are unsure of their legal rights and may simply accept a settlement amount from the insurance company, even if it does not fully cover your losses.

To the best of your ability, it's a good idea to take photos and videos of the property damage after an accident. The same goes for if you're filing a lawsuit in the realm of personal injury, since this will allow you to present a strong case as to how your life was affected or your property was damaged in the incident. In many cases, people will argue with your insurance companies about the settlement amount or the total value of the damages included.

The sooner you can gather all of this information and keep it organized in advance, the easier it will be to proceed. You may need to return to this information multiple times over the duration of your claim, but showing that you made your best effort to gather all information and to provide it to the insurance company early on in the claims process is recommended. Once your claim has been accepted by the insurance company, you will receive a notification that it has been assigned to an adjuster. An adjuster is someone who helps to manage your claim through the investigation and approval process.

At some point, your insurance company will communicate with you about their decision either to approve or to deny your claim. If you believe that your claim has been undervalued, you need to communicate with an insurance lawyer in Medford immediately.

If your insurance claim is denied, it is important to take action quickly. Hiring an insurance lawyer in Medford, Mass, will help you to verify what your policy states regarding your amount of compensation. You may believe that the amount of compensation offered to you by the insurance company is inadequate. Your insurance policy is viewed as a contract open to court interpretation.

Engaging the services of a Morgan & Morgan insurance lawyer in Medford, Mass, can help you determine when the insurance company has stepped over the line into bad faith insurance practices and what types of damages you may be entitled to in the future. You can bring an insurance bad faith claim against your professional homeowners, auto, medical, professional, personal, or even life insurance company. Before you accept any settlement amounts in these situations, it is strongly recommended that you first hire a lawyer who can walk you through what to expect and some of the common mistakes made by people in insurance dispute claims.

If you think you were wrongfully denied benefits in your insurance claim, you can hold the insurance company accountable. Plenty of policyholders assume that their insurance company has their back in the event of a covered event, especially after you've been making on-time payments for your insurance policy for years. The truth is that the insurance company is primarily motivated by protecting its own bottom line, which means you and the insurance company may have distinct interests when it comes to a settlement.

Certain behaviors undertaken by the insurance company—or policy responsibilities they failed to take—may be included in a bad faith insurance lawsuit. Hiring a Medford, Massachusetts, insurance lawyer can be the first step towards holding these companies accountable and righting the wrong in your case.

Some of the most common causes of action in insurance dispute cases include unfair business practices, untimely payments, failure to fairly or fully handle complaints, denial of claims without a full investigation, and more. Insurance companies and adjusters who are acting in good faith, on the other hand, will attempt to find options to pay claims promptly and properly. Insurance companies engaged in bad faith, however, will look for ways to disprove or diminish claims, deny claims entirely, or even delay payment, even when liability issues are clear. Many insurance companies are looking out for their own profit margins, which puts you at odds with the insurance company.

Insurance companies that fail to fairly deal with other parties or their own policyholders could face liability in a bad faith lawsuit. They may be determined accountable for the full amount of damages, which may exceed policy limits. Penalties for these bad faith actions can also include attorney fees, loss of business license, monetary damages, and injunctive relief. You may be eligible to file a bad faith insurance lawsuit against another person's insurance company or your own insurance company. It is not a good idea to move forward with a bad-faith insurance claim on your own. You need to be clear about the statute of limitations and your grounds for pursuing a Massachusetts bad faith lawsuit.

There are two statutes in Massachusetts law that shield consumers from bad-faith insurance practices. The first of these is MGL 176D, which spells out deceptive/unfair practices or actions in the insurance. The other one is MGL 93A, which focuses on the regulation of business practices for consumer protection.

Per MGL 176D, unfair settlement claim practices include things such as misrepresenting the truth or policy provisions associated with available coverage, forcing policyholders to file a lawsuit to receive damages by trying to settle a claim for far below its actual value, failing to respond in a timely manner to auto insurance claim communications, failing to adhere to timely investigation standards for insurance claims, delaying approval or denial of coverage in a reasonable time period after all details have been submitted, refusing to pay claims without completing a thorough investigation, informing claimants about internal policies about appealing arbitration amounts in order to discourage them from pursuing other opportunities and delaying payment of a claim or an investigation.

If you believe that your insurance company is currently engaged in bad faith practices or has denied a claim that your policy should cover, speak with the insurance lawyers in Medford, Mass, at Morgan & Morgan.

You can get started for no cost and with no obligation. Contact us today for a free case evaluation to learn more.