When Your Insurance Company Acts in Bad Faith
Insurance is one of the few things in life people purchase never hoping to use. But they make the investment because bad things happen to individual and business policyholders every day. Unfortunately, when it comes time to file a claim for insurance coverage, many policyholders find out that the faith they had that their insurance company would be there for them in their time of need was sorely misplaced.
It is one thing for an insurance company to be wrong. It is something else entirely when they choose to be wrong. That is unacceptable, and as a legal matter it's called insurance bad faith.
At Goldstein, Gellman, Melbostad, Gibson & Harris, LLP, individuals and businesses in the Bay Area and throughout Northern California find the experienced, dedicated legal help they need to overcome acts of insurance company bad faith. To learn more about your rights, your options and what our lawyers can do to help, call our San Francisco offices at 415.673.5600 or contact us online.
Our attorneys have extensive insurance bad faith litigation experience in both state and federal courts and an equally long track record of successful judgments and confidential settlements against insurance company goliaths such as AIG, Fireman’s Fund, Aetna, St. Paul Travelers, State Farm, UnumProvident, Prudential, New York Life, CIGNA, Allstate, Chubb and Liberty.
Insurance Bad Faith Litigation
Insurance companies have a legal obligation to act in good faith and to deal fairly with customers when issuing policies, in handling claims and in the termination or denial of benefits. Frequently however, they do not. Some of the more common examples of insurance company bad faith we have seen over the years include:
- Making fraudulent misrepresentations with regard to policy terms, premiums, coverage, etc.
- Failing to defend an insured against a claim
- Failing to promptly or thoroughly investigate a claim
- Unreasonably delaying payment
- Issuing an unreasonable denial of benefits
- Terminating benefits despite there being no change in an insured's status
- Using unreasonable interpretations of policy language
- Refusing to settle a case
- Refusing to pay or underpaying claims or refusing to reimburse the entirety of a loss
- "Revising" policy terms after a loss
- Canceling or rescinding a policy after a claim (post-claim underwriting)
We offer free initial consultations and handle bad faith insurance claims on either an hourly basis or on a contingency basis. To schedule a free consultation, call us at 415.673.5600 or contact our offices online.
