Houston Insurance Claim Attorney
Protecting You From Bad Faith Insurance Practices
Insurance companies have a right to investigate hurricane insurance claims made by homeowners and businesses. However, when their treatment of a claim becomes unfair and unreasonable, their conduct may cross a legal line and become a "bad faith" or "unfair" insurance practice that is prohibited by state laws. The Houston lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP are experienced in holding insurance companies accountable for their unethical or illegal conduct and in obtaining successful verdicts and settlements on behalf of those throughout Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida who have been harmed by their insurer's unfair practices. Allow us to put our skills, expertise and extensive resources to work for you.
Unfair Insurance Practices
A person may bring suit against an insurer who has caused him or her actual damages by engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practice. For example, the Gulf Coast has been hit hard by hurricanes and tropical storms in recent years. Due to the volume of claims being filed by homeowners and businesses, insurance companies have seen their profit margins take a hit as well. Facing the pressure to reduce their losses, some insurers and their agents, brokers and adjusters have turned to prohibited practices such as:
- Misrepresenting a material fact or policy provision relating to coverage
- Failing to make prompt, fair, and equitable settlement of a claim after the insurer's liability is established
- Failing to promptly and fairly settle one portion of a claim to influence the settlement of an additional claim
- Failing to promptly provide a reasonable explanation of the basis for a claim denial or for an offered compromise
- Failing to affirm or deny coverage of a claim within a reasonable time
- Attempting to enforce a full and final release of a claim when only a partial payment has been made
- Refusing to pay a claim without conducting a reasonable investigation
- Delaying a claim solely because there is other insurance available
- Requiring a claimant, as a condition of settlement, to provide their federal income tax returns for examination or investigation unless the claimant is court-ordered to do so, the claim involves a fire loss, or the claim involves lost profits or income.
Bad Faith Insurance Claims
Insurance companies that unreasonably deny claim coverage are acting in bad faith. Not every denied insurance claim is bad faith, but if you have been denied coverage or have been offered a reduced settlement without a proper explanation, you may be entitled to bring a bad faith insurance claim against your insurance carrier.
Bad Faith Insurance Practices
- Unwarranted denial of coverage
- Failure to communicate pertinent information
- Refusal to pay the claim without an investigation
- Failure to conduct a reasonable investigation of your claim
- Failure to deny or pay the claim within a reasonable period of time
- Failure to confirm or deny coverage within a reasonable period of time
- Failure to attempt to come to a fair and reasonable settlement when liability is apparent
- Offering a settlement substantially smaller than the true value of the claim
- Failure to promptly provide a reasonable explanation for claim denials
- Failure to enter into settlement negotiations
- Failure to respond to a time-limit demand
- Failure to disclose policy limits and/or exclusions
Contact a Houston insurance claim lawyer from our firm!
If you are a business or
homeowner who has suffered hardship as the result of an insurance company's unfair or deceptive practices, contact the Houston-based hurricane insurance lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP to learn more about your options. We know the deceptive tactics that insurance companies will sometimes utilize and we are dedicated to doing everything that we can to helping our clients obtain the just outcome that they truly deserve. You can be confident knowing that should you choose to work with us that we will do everything possible to provide our clients with the high-quality level of service that they deserve.
If you are suffering from bad faith insurance practices, please contact Arnold & Itkin today!