Texas Bad Faith Insurance Claim Lawyer

Bad Faith Insurance Claims We Handle

Insurance companies can mishandle any type of claim, including those filed by the policyholder and those filed by someone damaged by the policyholder. Some examples of claims we handle include:

• Property Damage (Homeowners Insurance, Commercial Property Insurance)
• Business Interruption Claims
• Health Insurance Claims
• Life Insurance Claims
• Fire Damage Claims
• Wind Damage Claims
• Water Damage Claims
• Flood Damage Claims
• Hail Damage Claims
• Car Accident Damage Claims
• Hurricane & Tornado Damage Claims

Understanding Bad Faith Insurance Claims in Texas

Every insurance company must deal with two competing interests. First, insurers must follow the terms of their policies and state insurance laws that require them to investigate all claims and pay those that are valid. Texas has adopted a version of the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act that tells insurers what they must do to meet their duties of good faith and fair dealing.

At the same time, insurers do not make a profit by paying claims. They make a profit by collecting premiums and investing the money. When they deny claims, they have more money to invest.

Most of the time, insurers uphold their duties and handle the claims process in good faith. But occasionally, they deny claims simply to avoid paying insurance benefits. They may use tactics like unreasonably denying coverage, refusing to negotiate, or delaying their communications with the claimant to increase the pressure on them to settle for an amount well below their losses.

When insurers use bad-faith tactics when dealing with claims, they become liable to the claimant.

Bad Faith Insurance Lawsuits

Bad faith insurance lawsuits do more than force insurers to pay valid claims. When an insurance company acts in bad faith, it becomes liable to the claimant. For example, suppose that a tornado hits your house. The insurer is liable to you based on the insurance policy and its duties under Texas insurance laws.

When an insurer refuses to investigate and pay your valid claim, it becomes liable to you for its actions in a bad faith lawsuit. If the lawsuit is successful, you will get paid for the losses caused by the tornado and the losses caused by the insurance company. The insurance company exposes itself to paying you much more due to its bad-faith tactics.

The nature of your bad faith claim will depend on your relationship with the insurance company.

First-Party Bad Faith Claims

First-party claims happen when you are the policyholder and the claimant. For example, suppose that you buy a homeowner's policy and suffer wind damage in a tornado. If the insurer refuses to investigate the claim fairly, you have a first-party claim based on a breach of the insurance policy and bad faith handling of your claim.

Third-Party Bad Faith Claims

Third-party claims happen when you are not the policyholder but simply a claimant. This typically happens when the insurer issues a liability claim to someone who injured you. For example, a malpractice insurance company might improperly handle your claim against a doctor. Texas does not recognize third-party bad faith claims.

Examples of Bad Faith Tactics

Insurers use many bad-faith tactics during the claims process:

• Denying a claim without conducting an investigation;
• Unreasonably delaying your claim;
• Failing to acknowledge or respond to your communications;
• Reducing the amount of your claim without a reasonable basis;
• Deliberately trying to get you to miss the statute of limitations deadline;
• Refusing to negotiate in good faith;
• Failing to accept or deny coverage within a reasonable time;
• Providing no reasonable explanation for denying a claim;
• Misleading you or lying to you;
• Using procedural delays, like changing adjusters, to slow down your claim.

Remember, a bad faith insurer wants to frustrate you into dropping your claim or accepting a subpar settlement. These are just some of the tactics insurers can use. Other actions that breach your policy or violate the insurer's legal duties might rise to the level of bad-faith tactics.

If you feel you are being treated unfairly, document your interactions with the insurer and talk to a lawyer. Many insurers know to walk up to the bad faith line without crossing it.

What Kind of Damages Can You Receive from a Successful Bad Faith Claim in Texas?

If the insurance company improperly denied a valid claim, a court can order the insurer to pay the value of your claim. But the insurer has also damaged you through its actions. Some losses you may have incurred due to the insurance company's bad faith include:

• Attorney fees for hiring a lawyer to pursue your bad faith claim
• Financial losses due to the delays in paying your claim
• Emotional distress if the insurer was deliberately trying to frustrate you into accepting an undervalued settlement
• Out-of-pocket expenses you paid since you did not receive your insurance benefits

You may also pursue punitive damages if the insurance company acted so outrageously that the court feels the need to punish the insurer's behavior. These damages could be substantial because they are meant to deter the insurer from engaging in bad-faith tactics in the future.

An insurance company can act in bad faith even if you end up losing your claim. This is because the insurer's actions could harm you beyond the value of the claim.

How Can Our Bad Faith Claim Attorney Help You?

Dealing with bad faith claims requires a two-pronged approach. First, we try to get the insurer to pay the claim. We will:

• Evaluate your policy and claim
• Work with experts to appraise your losses
• Respond to claim denials with evidence and arguments
• Point out the insurer's bad-faith tactics so the insurer knows the risks it faces

Second, we gather evidence of the insurer's behavior and tactics. Bad faith claims are not easy to prove. The best evidence of the insurer's tactics and motives will be recorded in internal memos and emails. We can pursue this evidence during discovery in a lawsuit. In the meantime, we will:

• Document your communications with the insurer
• Create a timeline for your claim
• Assess the reasonableness of any settlement offers from the insurer
• Investigate whether the insurer has any complaints against it filed with the Texas Department of Insurance

Our goals will be to either get your claim paid fairly or document the insurer's actions in preparation for litigation.

How Much Do Our Services Cost?

We charge a contingency fee for handling bad faith insurance claims. This means you only pay after we win or settle your claim against the insurer. If we do not win, you owe us no legal fees.