Insurance companies often handle claims in bad faith because they are trying to pay out as little as possible, even for valid claims. Bad faith includes denying claims, delaying payment and a variety of other practices. If you believe that an insurance company has handled your claim in bad faith, the Covington bad faith insurance lawyers at O’Connor, Acciani & Levy can review your claim and fight for your right to the compensation you deserve. Our law firm has decades of combined experience helping our clients obtain fair insurance compensation. Our dedicated insurance attorneys charge no upfront fees, and you pay us absolutely nothing unless we are able to help you obtain compensation. Our legal team offers a free, no-obligation consultation, and our communications with you are completely confidential – so there is no risk to you to talk to us. Contact our law firm today to find out how we can help you with your Covington bad faith insurance claim.
WHAT DOES BAD FAITH MEAN?
An insurance policy is a contract, and that contract says that the insurance company must compensate the claimant if he or she is harmed or affected in a way that is covered by the insurance policy. Unfortunately, many insurance companies break this contract by acting in bad faith, which could include:- Not responding to your calls or emails
- Making threats or being verbally abusive to you
- Denying your claim without a valid explanation
- Trying to pay you a lower amount than the policy states, without a valid explanation
- Delaying payment to you
- Actively making the process more complicated than it needs to be
- Refusing to pay what you are owed
- Treating you unfairly
- Concealing evidence relevant to your claim
- Allowing an unreasonable delay in investigating your claim
WHY SHOULD I HIRE A COVINGTON BAD FAITH INSURANCE ATTORNEY?
There are many benefits to working with a legal team when an insurance company has handled your claim in bad faith. Insurance companies have teams of lawyers who know how to strong-arm claimants to avoid paying compensation or pay out as little as possible. By hiring a Covington attorney, you will have a strong advocate for your best interests who has experience dealing with difficult insurance companies. The first thing an attorney can do is evaluate your situation and determine your options during a free legal consultation. Your attorney will explain all of the steps that may be involved in obtaining fair compensation from the insurance company. If you hire one of our attorneys, we will begin an investigation of your insurance claim and the damages you suffered. This includes gathering and reviewing evidence to help prove the validity of your claim and to establish how much compensation you are owed. Evidence includes:- Medical records from your injury
- Police reports
- Witness reports
- The insurance policy itself
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR BAD FAITH LAWSUITS
All insurance policies in the United States have an “implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.” This means the insurance company is required to act in good faith toward the policyholder. If the policy is breached by the insurance company, the policyholder usually has two years from the date of the breach to file a lawsuit. This deadline is called a statute of limitations. This is why it is so important to have a competent Ohio lawyer by your side, because he or she can determine when the breach occurred and therefore when the statute of limitations began. Figuring this date can be difficult without the help of a skilled lawyer. The seasoned legal team at O’Connor, Acciani & Levy can analyze your claim and help you file your claim within the deadline, so you do not miss your opportunity to obtain the compensation that is owed to you.KENTUCKY LAW ON BAD FAITH INSURANCE
Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 304.12-230, the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act (UCSPA), prohibits certain acts or omissions by insurance companies, including:- Unreasonably delaying a response to a claimant
- Failing to settle on a fair amount for the claimant based on the policy
- Denying a claim without first investigating the incident
- Falsifying facts or misrepresenting portions of the insurance policy
- Failing to settle the insurance claim in a timely manner
- Sending a payment to the claimant without a written explanation of what the payment covers
- Attempting to pay the claimant an unreasonably low amount that does not correspond to the insurance policy
- Attempting to intimidate the claimant into settling for an amount that is too low
- Attempting to settle a claim based on a modified policy without prior notification to the policyholder of the modification
- Failing to comply with the decision made by an independent party that conducted an external review of the claim
- Failing to correct issues of overpayments, payment errors or claim denial
- Delaying the payment or investigation of a claim by requiring both a preliminary claim report and a formal proof of loss form, which provide redundant information
- Failing to maintain reasonable standards for timely investigation of insurance claims
- The policy must state that the insurer must pay the claim under the terms of the claim.
- The insurer did not have a reasonable basis in fact or law to deny the claim.
- The insurer either knew that no basis for denial of a claim existed, or it acted with reckless disregard when handling the claim.
