Specializing in Insurance of Bad Faith Litigation
People, businesses, and organizations purchase insurance on the premise of a simple promise. That promise is that their insurer will provide them coverage, security, and protection when they need it most.
Despite the insurance industry’s message that we are in “good hands”, the unfortunate reality is that these companies want to pay you as little as possible—or nothing at all—if they can get away with it.
When insurance companies attempt to wrongly deny, delay or underpay your claim it is known as “bad faith insurance”. The lawyers at Millin & Millin have the experience and knowledge to help you deal with insurance bad faith. Let us get you the justice and compensation you deserve.
The Truth About Your Insurance Company
There are few unpleasant facts as stomach-turning as knowing that insurance companies are not on your side. This is true whether they have malicious intent or not.
The insurance industry is a business, first, foremost, and finally. Raising and retaining profits for owners and shareholders is their ultimate goal. Sometimes companies will use bad faith insurance tactics to reach that goal.
Many policyholders assume that paying premiums in full and on time guarantees receiving timely, quality support from their insurer in a crisis, but that’s not always the case.
Recognizing what an insurance company is allowed to do is the first step towards protecting yourself. Your insurer can do any of the following concerning a policy claim:
- Investigate and question claims.
- Withhold paying claims out until a proper investigation has been completed (but must be done within a time dictated by state statutes).
- Deny a claim for a valid reason.
An insurer that breaches a contract for reasons not found above can be liable for bad faith. But it requires for you to pursue the claim and take action by obtaining legal representation from a qualified bad faith insurance attorney like the Millin & Millin lawyers.
The Basics of Insurance Bad Faith
There are insurance laws in place to help regulate how companies handle insurance claims and to help prevent insurance bad faith violations. While an insurer may have a legitimate reason for denying a claim, bad faith insurance occurs whenever a company acts outside of these laws during the process.
In short, bad faith insurance is anything that qualifies as a “yes” to the following question:
- Do you feel like your insurer has wrongly denied, unnecessarily delayed, or underpaid your claim?
Insurance companies are required by law to act in good faith and deal fairly with the people and businesses that they insure. If you believe that your insurer has handled your claim with “bad faith” practices, you may have a legitimate claim to seek legal action.
Insurance bad faith practices include but are not limited to:
- Delaying the claims process by requesting unnecessary paperwork.
- Retroactively canceling your insurance policy.
- Receiving monthly premiums but never notifying you of a canceled policy until after a claim is made.
- Insurance adjusters ineffectively investigating a claim.
- Claiming a policy does not cover a liability when it does.
- Initially overstating a policy when it does not, in fact, provide the coverage claimed.
- Misleading questions on an insurance claim form.
- Denying a claim without giving a valid reason, if any, why it was denied.
- Refusing to make a fair settlement offer.
These practices are valid reasons for bad faith claims to be filed for essentially any type of insurance, with health, life, auto, and property being the most common.
Your insurance policy is a contract and your insurer is legally bound to meet their obligations as long as you continue to faithfully uphold your end of the pact – which is paying your premiums in full on a timely basis.
Immediately seek out the help of the bad faith insurance lawyers of Millin & Millin to determine if you have a case against your insurer.
Who Is in My Corner?
State statutes require that an insurance company respond to your claim within a certain time limit. Failure to do so constitutes a violation of state law and a grounds for legal action.
Here in Texas, the Texas Insurance Code provides provisions on how insurance carriers must treat first-party claims. Other states have similar systems of regulation in place to protect policyholders.
Additionally, the principles behind bad faith claims are based on the assumption that the individual is at a disadvantage in the claims process and in a lawsuit against an insurer.
Figuring Out the First Steps in Your Fight
It is the responsibility of the plaintiff to prove that the insurance company acted illegitimately and that the insurer did it purposefully.
The first thing you’ll want to do is search through the Texas Department of Insurance website for the proper forms to submit a complaint in writing and to ensure your claim is on record.
As you communicate with your insurer during the claims process, make sure to maintain quality records of all communication that happens between you and the insurance company’s representatives.
This includes recording phone calls and taking effective notes that outline the day, time, and key points in any conversation.
You should also request copies of any and all documentation that they have created for your files.
If there is no resolution to your insurance bad faith complaint, you can count on nothing short of aggressive representation from the lawyers of Millin & Millin.
Our Record of Success and Why It’s Important to You
Should your insurance bad faith claim lead to litigation, your insurance agency is going to have a team of lawyers to dispute the charges.
That’s why you’ll need the comprehensive and peerless representation the attorneys at Millin & Millin provide.
Our bad faith litigators have the technical understanding and experience to help level the playing field with your insurance provider.
The lawyers of Millin & Millin have over 15 years of experience representing clients in bad faith insurance claims and have secured tens of millions of dollars in unpaid benefits.
Our attorneys have successfully represented clients against all the major insurance companies in claims dealing with home, life, auto, and property insurance.
With Millin & Millin representing you, you can count on an unmatched efficiency and swiftness in achieving results. Regardless of the type of denied claim, we can help you recover:
- Statutory damages.
- Statutory interest from the time the claim was denied.
- Attorney fees.
- Emotional distress.
- Economic damages.
Get a FREE case evaluation today.