Texas First-Party Insurance Claim Attorneys

The insured individual and/or a named or intended beneficiary can sue an insurance company for bad faith practices.

Once an insurance contract is in effect, the insurer must accept and cover legitimate claims. Before making the first payment, some bills and expenses may be excluded, depending on the terms of the policy, but that should not keep you from filing.

In most cases, insurers must respond within 15 business days, informing you whether your claim has been accepted or denied. Unless the insurer has requested an extension to review the claim, and informed you, the long delay is not allowed. It may be considered bad faith.

To prove that an insurance company has acted in bad faith, you must be able to show:

• The insurance policy was valid and paid in full at the time of the loss for which you are filing a claim;
• The insured party complied with the terms of the policy; and
• The insurance company breached the terms of the contract by delaying/failing to make payment.

Most insurance companies retain serious legal counsel right away, so the sooner you secure representation, the better for your case.

Insurance companies must respond to claims quickly. If your insurance company does not respond promptly or does not pay your valid claim, you can sue. If the court finds your insurer failed to meet its obligations, you can file for damages above and beyond policy limits.

Sadly, insurance companies often try to underpay claims because they know they can get away with it when a policyholder is not aware of their rights. This can be considered bad faith if the insurance company fails to pay what they owe to an insured and breaches their agreement.

One of the fundamental ways to know that an insurance company has violated your rights is actually to know your rights. Understanding what is considered bad faith insurance practices can help you quickly take legal action if you have been mistreated.

Some of the most common types of unlawful insurance practices include:

• Intentionally misrepresenting policy provisions
• Failing to respond to claims in an adequate timeframe
• Performing inadequate claim investigations
• Underpaying or denying valid claims

Insurance companies often count on the fact that delaying or denying payment of claims will limit the insured party’s ability to pursue a legal remedy. At Arnold & Itkin, we understand you may be short on funds. For that reason, we work on a contingency basis–our clients do not pay a penny unless we are successful in recovering compensation on their behalf. This gives you 100% peace of mind when you call on us.

In bad faith claims, there are specific damages that may be made available to individuals who have been victims of unlawful insurance practices. The three primary categories of recoverable damages include:

• Contract damages refer to the benefits you were owed under your policy,
• Extra-contractual damages refer to additional compensation based on the insurer’s tortious actions. This may include emotional distress and economic loss suffered by the insured while waiting for the claim to be resolved (such as attorney’s fees).
• Punitive damages are awarded to punish the insurance company for their actions, aiming to curb such actions in the future.

Just because you have paid for insurance does not mean you can expect to have your claim paid in full. Insurance companies are more concerned with profits than with helping their policyholders and will do everything in their power to minimize or deny claim payments. Insurance law can be complicated, and the amount of information and documentation required to prove a claim has been unfairly denied can be overwhelming.

Insurance companies play games with their policyholders, hoping stalling tactics and legal run-around will coerce individuals into settling, if for no other reason than to end their insurance battles. At Arnold & Itkin, we deal with insurance companies on a daily basis in a variety of situations, and we understand what it takes to assist a policy holder in seeking fair payment of covered damages. Our attorneys have successfully handled many first-party insurance claims, from fire damage to losses incurred by hurricanes.