If your insurance claim has been wrongfully denied, you may be the victim of bad faith practices. Many situations can result in a bad faith insurance claim, including a delayed claim investigation or delayed payment of a claim. A bad faith action helps protect insured individuals when dealing with insurance companies. However, just be cause your claim has been denied does not mean you have a bad faith insurance claim. If you believe your claim has been wrongfully denied, contact an insurance law attorney today to determine if you have a valid bad faith insurance claim.
Louisiana Insurance Defense Lawyers
Since 1948, the New Orleans, Louisiana, based law firm of Bienvenu, Foster, Ryan & O'Bannon, L.L.C. has provided quality insurance defense services in cases throughout the state. Our clients are some of the most recognized names in the insurance industry. We have extensive experience with first and third party actions and have handled cases in nearly every category of insurance.
Contact our office to learn more about our services and how we can help you. You can reach us by phone at 866-459-6002 or via e-mail.
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Contact the New Orleans, Louisiana, based law firm of Bienvenu, Foster, Ryan & O'Bannon, L.L.C. to learn more about our insurance defense services and how we can help you.
The attorneys at Bienvenu, Foster, Ryan & O'Bannon, L.L.C. have extensive experience in a wide variety of insurance defense matters. Contact us to learn more about our firm and our services.
Coverage and Bad Faith Insurance Claims
A bad faith insurance claim may arise when an insurer has wrongfully failed to pay the claim of an insured. In a bad faith claim, often the insurance company believes the claim is not covered under the insurance policy and denies the claim. Many situations can result in a bad faith insurance claim, including a delayed claim investigation, insufficient claim investigation, unreasonable delay of payment and unreasonable denial of claim benefits.
Most states have adopted a bad faith cause of action in efforts to further protect insured individuals in their interactions with insurance companies. A bad faith cause of action is a combination of a tort and a contract claim. This action is based on a fundamental principal of contract law that there is an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing on both sides of every contract. In addition, bad faith claims generally require that both the insured and insurer act reasonably.
If you believe your claim has been denied in bad faith, pursuing a bad faith insurance claim may be appropriate. Contact Bienvenu Foster Ryan & O'Bannon LLC in New Orleans, Louisiana, to schedule a consultation with an attorney to discuss your bad faith insurance claim.
Avoiding Claim Denial
Just because your claim has been denied does not mean you can file a bad faith claim against your insurance company. One of the easiest ways to avoid a bad faith claim is to file your claim promptly. If you wait too long to file your claim, your insurance company may deny your claim based on timeliness. If you have not met the time constraint guidelines detailed in your insurance policy for filing a claim, your insurance company can rightfully deny your claim. Another easy way to avoid denied or bad faith claims is to educate yourself about what your insurance company considers bad faith. As a policyholder, you are responsible for obtaining copies of your policy, reading your policy, and understanding the terms of your policy.
In all claim situations, insurance companies must act reasonably and in good faith in accordance with an insurance policy. If insurers fail to do so, a bad faith insurance claim can result.
Compensation in Bad Faith Lawsuits
If a bad faith claim occurred and a lawsuit is pursued, victims of bad faith may receive compensation in the form of monetary compensation equal to the value of their claim plus interest, as well as any other expenses that resulted from the wrongful denial of the claim. In addition, compensation for pain and suffering and punitive damages may also be awarded.
Good Faith Practices
Insurance companies can also take steps to avoid bad faith actions. Insurers have the duty to look for ways to cover your claim under your policy rather than looking for ways to deny your claim. By following this approach, an insurance company is acting in good faith by putting the interests of the insured before its own. In addition, insurers have the responsibility to respond promptly to all claims filed by policyholders and proper investigative protocols and claim-handling procedures must be followed. If a claim is denied, the insurance company must generally state specific reasons for the denial and notify the insured of those reasons within a reasonable time.
Learn More
If you believe that you have an insurance bad faith claim, contact Bienvenu Foster Ryan & O'Bannon LLC in New Orleans, Louisiana, to schedule a consultation with an attorney.
