hat Is Insurance Bad Faith?
The duty of good faith and fair dealing is implied in every individual insurance policy and requires an insurance company to act reasonably towards you and give equal consideration to the protection of your interests as well as its own. Insurers are required to communicate honestly and to fairly consider short term and long-term disability claims. It is bad faith for an insurance company to intentionally deny, delay, or fail to process your claim without a reasonable cause. An insurance company can be liable for bad faith even if they pay a claim.
How To Identify Insurance Bad Faith
Under Arizona’s Fair Claims Practices Act, insurance companies or their agents are prohibited from engaging in any of the following practices:
- Misrepresenting important facts, insurance policy provisions, or the governing law relating to the coverage at issue.
- Failing to communicate in a timely manner regarding claims.
- Failing to conduct a reasonable investigation with the information that is available.
- Failing to make a claim decision within a reasonable timeframe after proof of loss has been submitted.
- Not attempting in good faith, to reach fair, prompt, and equitable settlements in claims where liability is reasonably clear.
- Failing to promptly provide a reasonable explanation as to why the claim was denied, which should include references to policy provisions.
- Changing the terms of a policy without notification or imposing terms not provided for in the policy.
- Forcing a claimant to file a lawsuit to obtain benefits.
Need Help With Your Bad Faith Claim? Call Us Now.
The experienced bad faith attorneys at Jerome Gibson, P.C., can help you navigate the legal process to get you the benefits and outcome you deserve. We will fight for your rights every step of the way. Call us at (602) 254-8481 to speak to our team.