When an insurance company acts in bad faith, they are trying to get out of paying on your policy. They are contractually obligated, since you bought the policy and expected that level of coverage when necessary. But it may be very expensive, and the company is trying to cut costs by getting out of that payment.
Naturally, this can be very frustrating. Perhaps you’re a homeowner and you have extensive damage to your house. The insurance company is refusing to fix it and so the damage and exposure to the elements is just getting worse. You may not be sure where to turn. The good news is that you do have options because insurance companies are not supposed to act in bad faith toward their policyholders.
How do they do it?
Every situation is going to be unique, depending on the factors of your claim and the policy that you bought. But here are some examples of ways than insurance companies can act in bad faith:
- Making it unreasonably difficult to contact them, such as ignoring your calls.
- Dragging the process out and otherwise not responding in a prompt manner.
- Refusing to pay for services that were covered under the insurance policy.
- Intentionally paying out less than the policyholder will actually need to have the repairs done.
- Being dishonest or manipulative with the policyholder.
This doesn’t mean that insurance always has to cover everything that homeowners believe it should cover. But your insurance company is obligated to work with you and abide by the contract that you signed. When they refuse to do so, then it’s time to start looking into the legal options you have.
