When you file an insurance claim, whether for property damage, for defense of a liability action filed against you, or for another covered loss, you expect your insurance company to treat you fairly. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. If your insurer unreasonably delays, underpays, or denies your claim, you may have a claim for bad faith against your insurance company.
Understanding your rights is the first step in standing up to unfair treatment by an insurer. In this post, we’ll explain what a bad faith insurance claim is, how to file one, and what to do if your property insurance claim was mishandled. If you’re feeling frustrated or ignored by your insurer, you’re not alone – and you may have legal options.
What Is a Bad Faith Insurance Claim?
- A bad faith claim against an insurance company arises when an insurer acts wrongly in the handling of your claim. This can include failure to timely communicate, improperly denying a claim, asserting that your recoverable damages are far less than they actually are, or otherwise shirking one of the insurer’s many responsibilities under the law.
- At Levy | von Beck | Comstock | Chastain, we have represented many clients who, despite having timely paid all of their premiums – often for many years – find that when they finally make a claim, their insurer does not act in a timely manner, ignores them, lowballs them, or wrongly denies a claim – including without ever performing the necessary, thorough investigation.
Signs Your Insurance Company May Be Acting in Bad Faith
- Unreasonable claim denials.
- Delayed investigations or payments – or no investigation at all.
- Misrepresentation of policy language in such a way as to unfairly favor the insurer; i.e., by providing a supposed “basis” under the policy for denying a claim that actually should be covered.
- Lowball settlement offers.
Your Rights in a Property Insurance Claim
- The Washington Administrative Code, the Revised Code of Washington, and case law all set forth the clear and extensive duties of good faith with which your insurer should treat you throughout the claim process.
- Despite these clearly defined duties under the law, we regularly see insurer come up with “estimates” for repairs that are prepared by an adjuster rather than a contractor, and that are invariably far below the actual reconstruction costs. We also see adjusters looking for ways to deny coverage rather than doing what they should be doing: searching for coverage wherever possible.
- The Insurance Fair Conduct Act (“IFCA”) here in Washington can provide a means to collect three times your damages plus attorney fees if you prevail at trial against your insurer.
- But IFCA claims require timely pre-suit notice and they are typically litigated in federal court, so you need attorneys with experience in that venue. We have it.
How a Bad Faith Insurance Lawyer Can Help
- Do not hesitate to contact a lawyer experienced in bad faith claims if you think your insurer is mistreating you. Insurers in Washington have very well-defined obligations when handling a claim.
- Be sure not to sign any type of release without first consulting with a lawyer.
- Do not assume that the insurer is referring you to the most qualified contractor just because the company happens to be on the carrier’s own “preferred contractor” list. We have handled numerous bad-faith insurance claims over the years, and we love to pursue claims against misbehaving insurance companies.
Get Help with Your Bad Faith Insurance Claim
- As with every legal claim, time is not your friend. Your insurance policy has a “suit limitation clause” that probably limits the time in which you can bring your claims against your insurer to two years or less after the date of loss.
- So DO NOT DELAY, call or email us today to discuss your concerns about how your insurer is handling your claim.
If you suspect your property insurance claim was mishandled, contact us to explore your bad faith insurance claim options.