How to Prove Bad Faith Insurance
Posted on Sunday, March 10th, 2024 at 9:00 am
When an insurance company acts in bad faith, such as delaying investigating your claim for property damage, denying a valid claim to avoid paying a large settlement, or underpaying what is reasonable for your claim, you have legal options for the redress of your grievances.
Insurance companies have a responsibility to act in good faith toward their policyholders and claimants. If the insurer acts in bad faith, you have the right to file a bad faith lawsuit against the carrier, demanding the value of the initial claim plus the value of any losses you suffered because the claim was denied. However, to get the money from the insurance company, you must prove bad faith. How?
Proving your claim can be tricky to do alone. You should work with bad-faith insurance lawyers who have experience building evidence in bad-faith cases for the best chance of a successful outcome.
Insurance Bad Faith Laws in Kentucky and Ohio
Each state sets its own laws about what constitutes bad faith in insurance claims and violations of the insurance contract on the carrier’s part. Ohio insurance regulation laws outline specific circumstances that are considered insurance company bad faith, including discriminatory practices. Kentucky has its own set of laws, with similar actions that constitute bad faith, such as refusing to pay claims covered by the policy or denying a claim with a lack of reasonable grounds.
Both states also have provisions for customers to file complaints about bad-faith insurance practices.
Filing a Bad Faith Insurance Claim – What You Need to Know
Just as each state has laws covering insurance company obligations towards claimants, they also have their own procedures for filing a bad faith claim. In Ohio, you can call the Ohio Department of Insurance and speak with a representative or file an online claim form. In Kentucky, bad faith insurance claims may be filed online with the Kentucky Department of Insurance.
A bad-faith insurance lawyer can draft your complains and advise you of the strength of your bad-faith lawsuit if you’re stuck when filing a claim.
How Do I Prove an Insurance Company Acted in Bad Faith?
Filing a complaint may prompt an investigation by your state’s Department of Insurance. However, if you suffered additional financial losses because your initial claim was denied, then the best recourse may be a lawsuit.
For a successful outcome, though, you and your bad faith insurance claim attorney must prove that the insurance company acted in bad faith. You will need to provide the jury with more than just your word that you were treated unfairly.
Your lawyer must prove that the insurance company acted in an unreasonable manner and that it knew it was doing so. Your lawyer must also prove that you suffered losses as a result of the insurer’s actions. Losses could include financial losses or emotional distress.
You can settle bad faith claims outside of court or through a lawsuit.
Evidence you may use in your bad faith lawsuit can include:
- Estimates of the property damage conducted by independent assessors that show a significant difference from your insurance adjuster’s cost estimate to prove that your claim was underpaid
- Documentation of your claim being wrongfully denied. You may need to provide a written denial reason and a copy of your policy to support your claim.
- Threats to drop complaint or coerce into accepting lower settlement in emails
- Your lawyer may use the insurance company’s claim policies to prove that your treatment didn’t follow the correct protocol
- Documentation of delays in your claim’s investigation
- Your claim was improperly taking care of, according to third-party witness testimony
- Photos or a video showing the extent of the damage
- Photos or a video of an incomplete repair if the insurance company only covered part of the damage
- Documentation of your repeated requests for a valid reason for the claim denial and the insurance company’s responses
Call Us Today for a Free Consultation
Do you need a lawyer for bad faith against your insurance company for property damage? We can help and are ready to take on even the largest Ohio and Kentucky insurance carriers. We can analyze the details of your case and work with you to gather proof of the insurance company acting in bad faith and a deep knowledge of Ohio and Kentucky insurance laws and can pinpoint when unscrupulous insurance companies have deviated from them. Call Lawrence & Associates at (513) 351-5997 today. Our team of attorneys offers a free consultation.
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