During our representation of current clients in personal injury, malpractice and business litigation, we sometimes represent insured business owners or individuals who have (1) had a valid insurance policy in place (or are covered under someone else’s policy; (2) suffered a substantial loss; (3) have properly reported the loss to the insurance company; and (4) their claim has been wrongfully denied.
The wrongful denial of an insurance claim can take many forms. Often, the insurance company attempts to deny the claims and asserts that the policy under which the claim was made had been previously cancelled. In this type of situation, the burden is on the insurance company to prove that the law regarding notice of cancellation has been strictly complied with. Other times, insurance adjusters unreasonably delay the process and drag things out (many times this tactic is used in order to place the insured into a time crunch, as the time deadline to sue may be fast approaching and the insured is not aware of this).
Insurance coverage disputes often involve the following types of insurance policies:
Insurance claims that repeatedly spur bad faith denials by the insurance companies are:
One of the most commonly litigated insurance coverage issues is the bad faith failure to settle claim. This arises when the insurance company had the opportunity to settle the claim against the insured and fails to do so. By failing to settle in this situation, the insurance company fails to protect the insured form a judgment that may exceed the insurance policy limits. If this failure is in bad faith, the insured can sue the insurance company for breach of contract and bad faith. If successful, the insured may be entitled to up to 150% of the value of the denied claim, plus reasonable attorneys' fees. Although, state laws such as the Georgia Civil Practice Act govern most insurance issues, litigation of these matters is conducted in either state or federal court. There are strict requirements that must be met in order to bring a bad faith insurance lawsuit in Georgia and if you don’t meet this satisfy each and every requirement, your right to sue may be forever lost.
Insurance companies involved in claim disputes in Georgia are, among others:
Insurance companies often try the following in order to wear their claimants down in hopes that they don’t have to pay the claim:
Don’t let an insurance company harass or intimidate you into settling your insurance claim for less than it is worth or dropping the claim altogether. We are experienced insurance litigation lawyers who handle a variety of claims in this area for our existing clients, such as bad faith litigation and coverage disputes.
If you suspect that your insurance company has denied your coverage in bad faith or is unreasonably delaying your claim in order to deny it and would like to discuss your case confidence, call (404) 525-5150 or contact us online.