Floods. Fires. Winds. Mud. These are ways of life in Alabama, and homeowners have insurance to ensure they’re not devastated by something beyond their control. The problem is, sometimes insurance companies fight you on what you deserve when you file a claim. The fight could be completely legitimate or not; that depends on whether an insurance company is acting in bad faith.
What is NOT bad faith insurance coverage?
An insurance company is not acting in bad faith if they try to spend as little money as possible to pay your claim. Some of these actions may seem upsetting, but they are perfectly legal:
· Providing a minimal quote
· Relying on a list of contractors
· Decreasing the quote based contributory negligence
· Denying a claim
These are all standard practices for an insurance company. It might seem like they are throwing hurdles in the way of your recovery, but insurance claims often take work on the homeowner’s behalf to receive compensation.
Recognizing bad faith
Bad faith insurance is very similar to normal insurance practices. The distinction is that an insurer acting in bad faith has no intention of ever paying for the claim. They’ll use the same tactics. They make the same decisions. In the end, the difference between a bad faith insurer and an insurer simply working for the best result for the company doesn’t look all that different from each other.
Bad faith or not, advocacy is the only solution
Since it’s impossible to tell if a company is acting in bad faith or simply working according to their financial duty, the only option is to be aggressive. An adversarial relationship with your insurance company when it comes to the claims process is more productive.
Alabamans might have a reputation for an impressive amount of charm in the face of adversity. However, Alabamans do not have a reputation for simply rolling over when they’re being mistreated.
