Your insurance company must act in good faith in dealing with your insurance claim. If your insurance company denies your claim for no legitimate reason, you may qualify to file a bad faith claim and get your claim paid plus damages.
If your insurance company denied your claim or refuses to handle your claim in good faith, call an insurance bad faith lawyer in Florida at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine at 1-800-747-3733 for a free consultation.
Determining if You Have a Claim Against Your Insurance Company for Bad Faith
You pay a monthly, quarterly, or annual premium for your insurance policy, but when you file a PIP claim, property claim, or other type of insurance claim, your insurance company will not pay.
You have a remedy if your insurance company does not investigate your claim, delays acting on your claim, or does not pay your claim without a legitimate reason.
Duties Your Insurance Company Owes You When You File a Claim
- Your insurance company must investigate your claim.
- Your insurance company must not delay acting on your claim for an unreasonable amount of time.
- Your insurance company must have a legitimate basis for denying your claim.
- Your insurance company must defend you if someone files a claim against you.
Determining When Your Insurance Company Acted in Bad Faith
- You report your claim to your insurance company, but you hear nothing back.
- You are not given instructions on how to proceed with your claim.
- Your calls to your insurance representative go unanswered or you receive an unhelpful response.
- You have no indication that your claim is under investigation.
- You receive excessive or unreasonable requests for documentation.
- Your claim is not investigated in a timely manner.
- The insurance company offers a settlement that you consider unreasonably low.
- The insurance company denies your claim and gives no reason or gives a reason you consider unjustified.
If you think your insurance company denied your claim for no legitimate reason or did not treat you fairly, contact an insurance bad faith lawyer at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine. Our lawyers will investigate your claim and help you hold the insurance company liable for bad faith.
Process for Filing a Bad Faith Claim Against Your Insurance Company
Our attorneys can review the letter denying your claim and determine if the denial has a legitimate basis. We can read your policy to see if the insurance company’s interpretation of the policy is reasonable. If you have no letter of denial, you can request one.
If your policy allows an appeal of the denial, our attorneys will follow the procedure. If the appeal is unsuccessful and your insurance company has acted in bad faith, we can file a legal claim against the insurance company.
There are two types of bad faith insurance claims in Florida:
- A first-party insurance bad faith claim when an insurance company unreasonably denies your claim or acts in bad faith in investigating your claim. For example, a PIP suit if the insurer does not pay you what you deserve under your personal injury protection policy.
- A second-party insurance bad faith claim when someone files a claim against your policy and the insurance company fails to defend you or settle the claim within the policy limits.
Contact an insurance bad faith lawyer in Florida at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine. Our attorneys will investigate the claim and go after the insurance company for its bad faith denial of a claim or refusal to defend a claim.
Compensation That You Can Recover in an Insurance Bad Faith Lawsuit
Our attorneys will investigate your case and document how the insurance company failed to act in good faith in investigating or handling your insurance claim.
Per Florida Statutes §624.155, you may be entitled to recover compensation for:
- The value of your claim: For example, if you suffered an injury in a car accident, you can get compensation for your injuries up to the limits of the policy.
- Financial costs or losses: You may recover what you had to pay because the insurance company delayed or denied your claim. You may have paid for a rental car or transportation costs to and from work. In Florida, consequential costs include court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
- Punitive damages: In some cases, you may recover punitive damages, damages intended to punish the insurance company for its conduct. You can only recover punitive damages when the insurance company’s conduct is willful and malicious or in reckless disregard of your rights.
If your insurance company denied your claim for no legitimate reason or is otherwise treating you unfairly, call an insurance bad faith lawyer in Florida at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine at 1-800-747-3733 for a free consultation.
We Can Help.
