How to sue an insurance company?

by ty_ger88 » Fri Sep 14, 2007 02:20 pm

Many a times you may be unhappy with your insurance company for not paying you your dues or for delaying your payments or for any other reason. Your insurance company does not always have the upper hand. There are laws to protect you if you have a dishonest insurer.

When can you sue your insurance company?

You can sue your insurance company on grounds of:
  • Bad faith and
  • Breach of contract

If your insurer tries to trick you by not paying up a legitimate claim you can put up a civil suit against the company for having acted in bad faith. A company shows bad faith when it unreasonably denies a legitimate claim. This may mean that:
  • The company has failed to carry out proper investigations
  • Undue delay in processing a claim
  • Disregarding the rights of the policyholder
  • Inadequate compensation provided against claim filed

You can sue your insurance company for the full amount of benefits that has been denied to you as well as for any economic loss or emotional distress that you may have had to suffer as a result of the refusal. If your insurance company has been dishonest you may also get punitive damages. This is a means to make the insurance company behave more responsibly in future correspondences.

It is good to keep all paper works organized so that you can find them as soon as you need them. You may think of an old receipt as unimportant but it might hold great importance when you have a case standing against your insurer for bad faith or breach of contract.

Related Readings

I'm confused, please help. Here's my story and question. I'll try to make it short. My car was hit about a month ago. I was not in the car. It was parked on the side street. The driver of the truck that hit me left a note with all of his information. Now, it has been almost a month, and his insurance is not doing much. At first, they promised to have the damage estimated, but then nothing was sent to the car shop where my car located. I ended up going through my own insurance company. The problem is before I went with my insurance company, I had rented a car and had discussed this with the other insurance company. They said they would reimburse me all the fees. Now, they're not answering my calls. They keep on telling me that the agent is busy and will get back to me. It has been 4 days since I faxed in my car rental bill. What can I do? Can I sue them? Would you tell me how to sue an insurance company? The bill was paid for by my credit card, and I don't want to owe interests on it. Please help. Thanks.

Total Comments: 380

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 08:38 pm Post Subject:

allows you to "stack" UM coverage

_Very_ good point! There are many, at least a few, states that allow stacking of UMBI coverage.

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 08:38 pm Post Subject: homeowners insurance

Our home was damaged in February by heavy snows. I have pictures of the damage, and my insurer sent a local guy to assess the damage. During this time, we gathered quotes from repair firms. When we received the insurance company assessment, the total was about 1/4 what our estimates were. In one case, the assessment wanted us to reattach a long, long gutter that fell from the house and was twisted, battered, etc. The repair company said that was impossible. A double-pane window was to be "reglazed" (for $50) and the window company said reglazing was very expensive and not practical. The company has low-balled everything and sent us a check. What should we do?

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 08:46 pm Post Subject:

Have those repair companies call your adjuster to discuss.

Posted: Sat Mar 27, 2010 01:04 am Post Subject: insurance

I was in a single car accident on 04/22/2008 in which I sustained a concussion and began having seizures. My insurance policy states that if I am disabled by a doctor, which I am, I am entitled to 80 weeks of disability compensation. So far, to date, the insurance company, AMERICAN FAMILY, has denied my claim, paid me for one weeks disability and offered me a $1,500.00 settlement so I would just 'go away'. I have tried three different lawyers and none would take my case. How can I get my point across and get my disability payments? I can't work or drive because of the car accident.

Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 01:11 pm Post Subject:

Carol, apparently you do not have the medical documentation that PROVES conclusively that the accident caused your seizure disorder...this is a life changing disability...your post of

I have tried three different lawyers and none would take my case.

Leads me to think that there is much much more to this story....

Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 11:08 pm Post Subject: waiting for claim to be approved

i was involved in an auto accident. i was the only car involved. i slid into a curb. i have documented injuries. i filed a claim for lost wages which i have on my ploicy. as far as i can tell, there is nothing left for the ins comp to do except pay. what can i do. it has been two months. no work, no pay,in trouble.

Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 04:20 am Post Subject:

Call them and find out why they have not issued payment.

Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 11:16 am Post Subject:

Call them and find out why they have not issued payment.

I'll second that one! :wink:

Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 11:16 am Post Subject:

Call them and find out why they have not issued payment.

I'll second that one! :wink:

Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 11:18 am Post Subject:

Lori, you don't get double points for double posts. :P

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