Dealing with insurance companies can be frustrating after an accident or claim. You expect fair treatment and coverage, but sometimes providers deny or delay legitimate claims. If you feel your insurance company is treating you unfairly, this post covers key signs you may need to hire a bad faith insurance attorney to get the compensation you deserve. Knowing what constitutes mistreatment – like unjustified denials, lowball offers, and ignored evidence – can help you recognize when to take action. With legal representation, you can pursue the coverage you’re rightfully entitled to.
Sign #1: Delayed Communications
It’s normal for insurance companies to take some time to respond to inquiries and claims after an accident. However, excessive delays beyond a couple of weeks can become unreasonable. If phone calls go unreturned for over a week or requests for claim status updates are ignored for months, this likely constitutes unfair treatment. Reasonable communication is key in the claims process. If your insurance provider drags their feet responding to basic questions and requests, this behavior may signal bigger problems with how they are handling your overall claim. don’t let extended silence go unchallenged.
Sign #2: Denied Claims Without Sufficient Investigation
Insurance
companies often deny claims without gathering enough evidence or information from all involved parties. For example, they may use only their own insured’s statement to deny fault without contacting police or interviewing witnesses. Or they may write off injuries as preexisting conditions without requesting medical records or having their own doctor examine them. Refusing to look at important documentation like police reports, doctor evaluations, and repair estimates is also unfair. Denials citing causes that don’t seem plausible given the accident circumstances may indicate insufficient investigation. Don’t let your claim get brushed off without closer review – be prepared to push back.
Sign #3: Unreasonable Requests for Information
Insurance companies may make excessive and unreasonable demands for information beyond what is required to fairly assess your claim. This includes requiring numerous redundant forms, insisting on invasive medical exams unrelated to your injuries, or requesting you submit to multiple interrogative interviews. If the insurer’s documentation and access requests feel overreaching, discuss the situation with a property damage lawyer. You may not have to comply with improper information fishing expeditions.
Sign #4: Lowball Offers
Don’t settle for less than you deserve. Insurance companies may pressure you to accept unusually low settlement offers to save themselves money. Tactics like exaggerating doubts about liability, inflating possible trial costs and making temporary low offers that will supposedly “expire” soon are meant to get you to agree to insufficient compensation out of frustration or fatigue. Consult with an attorney before accepting any settlement a property damage lawyer can help you negotiate or challenge unfair offers.
Sign #5: Changed Reasons for Denial
Beware if your insurance provider keeps changing the stated reasons for denying your claim. For example, first, they may reject fault due to a policy technicality. But after you prove eligibility, they switch to questioning damages. This moving target approach aims to frustrate claimants. It becomes nearly impossible to properly address concerns if new denial rationales continually arise. Make sure you document all reasons given for claim denial.
Sign #6: Ignoring Evidence
If you have provided relevant documentation like police reports, medical evaluations, repair estimates, and your insurance company does not account for this evidence when denying your claim, that constitutes unfair treatment. For instance, they may continue citing “insufficient proof of injuries” after you’ve submitted doctor examination records. Make sure you follow up if important claim support materials are not being considered. An attorney can help ensure your evidence gets proper attention.
Sign #7: Misrepresenting Policy Terms
Do not let your insurance provider misrepresent the terms of your policy when denying coverage. Dishonest tactics include quoting unpublished internal rules you had no access to or improper interpretations that contradict policy language. If the reasons given for claim rejection don’t align with your understanding of your coverage, consult your policy documents closely or seek outside guidance from a legal professional. You may need help from hail damage attorneys Texas to push back against unjustified denials.
Conclusion
If you are experiencing delays, denials, lowball offers, ignored evidence, or other mistreatment from your insurance company, take action. The signs outlined in this article indicate you likely need to involve a bad-faith insurance lawyer to pursue the fair claim compensation you deserve. Unreasonable behavior should not stand – fight back. Consult with an attorney who can aggressively negotiate on your behalf or take legal action if needed. Don’t settle for less than fully justified. Call our office today to schedule a free consultation and get the insurance claim representation you need.
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