subject: How Do You Prove Insurance Bad Faith? [print this page] The rationale behind insurance is pretty simple and straightforward - you buy a policy and which is basically a promise of indemnity against a particular risk. You pay regular premiums to the insurance company as long as the policy is in place hoping that if the risk materializes the company will promptly compensate you as stipulated in the policy contract. Quite often such risks happen but as many policy-holders are painfully aware, it is never easy to get compensation from insurers.
Insurers blame their reluctance to pay on a fear of fraudulent claims from individuals hoping to make a quick buck. Ostensibly, they have to exercise a lot of caution to ensure that only legitimate claims are paid. Closer scrutiny of most insurance companies has however shown that their motives are more ignoble than they claim. All the unfair practices that insurance companies engage in are collectively referred to as "insurance bad faith".
Proving insurance bad faith is not very easy considering that insurance companies employ seasoned lawyers to advice them. Nevertheless, if you contract a well experienced attorney McKinney TX you can prove to the court that the insurance company has acted in bad faith towards you. Each state has its own standards for proving insurance bad faith although they are broadly similar. In Texas, your attorney McKinney TX will have to convince the court on two grounds.
First, there must be proof that the insurance company has been knowingly unreasonable.
There are literally dozens of behaviors that can imply unreasonable conduct. For instance, an insurance company may demand too much proof from the claimant whilst knowing very well that the claimant cannot succeed in meeting such obligations. Think of a case where you are bitten by someone's dog and you are demanding compensation from the owner. To prove liability on the dog owner's part you need to show that he was negligent i.e. he knew the dog was likely to bite someone but he let it out anyway. The insurance company may demand that you prove this fact, a demand which is clearly untenable. Many insurance companies frequently use such unreasonable tactics to avoid paying claims.
Secondly, your attorney McKinney TX has to prove that the company was negligent in its actions towards you. There are standards against which negligence can be proved. For instance, it is the duty of the insurer to commence immediate investigation of the claim with no unreasonable delays. A company can in this regard willfully allow time to pass knowing very well that vital evidence will be missed as a result.
If your attorney McKinney TX successfully proves that the insurance company has been negligent and unreasonable towards you the court will order immediate compensation for you. At the same time the court can award punitive damages against the company as a form of punishment for its behavior in addition to compelling it to compensate you for the additional anguish it has caused you. If you therefore feel that your insurance company is acting unfairly towards you do not hesitate to contact an attorney McKinney TX for help.
by: Billy Sharp
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