When you buy insurance, you pay your premiums for months or even years, spending thousands of dollars to get protection in case of an accident or other disaster. You do this because you rely on the good faith of your insurance company to honor the policy and pay as promised when you have a covered loss.
Unfortunately, sometimes insurance companies let you down. When that happens, you can do more than just pursue a breach of contract claim. You can pursue a bad-faith insurance claim to recover more substantial compensation, including punitive damages in some situations.
These cases are complicated ones, though, as you need to prove an insurer acted wrongfully and violated the duty of good faith and fair dealing that is inherent in insurance contracts.
Diaco Law can help you to make your case and pursue a claim to maximize your compensation when an insurer lets you down, so give us a call or contact us online today to schedule your free consultation with a Tampa bad faith insurance lawyer who can help you.
Examples of Bad Faith
Not every insurance claim denial is bad faith. An insurance company acts in bad faith if:
- The company wrongfully denies a claim despite knowing that it should be covered
- The insurer unreasonably delays processing a claim
- The insurer is unreasonable in the requests for evidence or documentation while processing a claim
- The insurer fails to settle a claim within policy limits, despite settlement being clearly the best course of action to protect the interests of the insured
Essentially, if the insurer’s actions demonstrate that the company was acting unreasonably in favor of its own interests instead of following the processes and procedures in its insurance contract or abiding by its policy promises, this could be an example of bad faith.
How to Find the Right Tampa Bad Faith Insurance Lawyer
If you want to pursue a bad faith claim, you need the right Tampa personal injury attorney to help you with your case. You should look for a lawyer who:
- Has extensive experience with bad faith claims. This is a very specific area of law, and you need a lawyer who knows the rules and regulations governing these cases.
- Is very familiar with insurance industry rules and regulations. Your attorney should have a deep understanding of what the policies are regarding insurance bad faith and should be prepared and ready to help you show how the insurance company fell short.
- Understands insurance policy contracts and language. Your attorney should know the ins and outs of your insurance policy contract to understand coverage limitations and protections the policy puts in place.
- Has a history of standing up to insurance companies. Ideally, your insurer will be willing to settle the case and resolve your claim — and if the insurer knows that your lawyer won’t back down and can make compelling legal arguments, it’s more likely you’ll get a satisfactory out-of-court resolution.
- Has courtroom experience. If it becomes necessary to litigate your case, you need a lawyer who is ready to follow the rules of evidence and present compelling arguments in court.
Diaco Law has recovered substantial compensation for clients in many bad faith claims, and we have the necessary experience to fight for you.
Contact Diaco Law Today
To find out more about how our Tampa bad faith insurance lawyers can help when your insurance company has behaved wrongfully during your time of need, give us a call (813) 221-7978 or contact us online today to schedule your free consultation.