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:
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:
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.
- 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
- Suing your insurance company
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- How to sue car insurance company?
- Suing insurance company for bad faith
- Truck driver suing insurance company
- Suing for liability claims
- Sue for breach of contract
- Can you sue for liability claims?
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.
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 08:58 pm Post Subject: Theft Claim
So should we still let our attorney look at the claim or are we just stuck? I know we shouldn't have only relied on the agents to make sure we have the appropriate coverage but it would seem to me that that is their job. Frustrating!
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:55 pm Post Subject:
So should we still let our attorney look at the claim or are we just stuck?
You could, but what good would that do? You didn't have the appropriate coverage, so there isn't much he/she is going to be able to help you with.
I know we shouldn't have only relied on the agents to make sure we have the appropriate coverage but it would seem to me that that is their job. Frustrating!
I'm sure it is. However, you are just as responsible to know what is in your coverage.
Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 07:28 pm Post Subject: suing my insurance for not letiting me keep my dog
How can I tell my insurance that I want to keep my dog and tell them that not all dogs are dangerous. Like how you assume they are.
Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 07:53 pm Post Subject:
How can I tell my insurance that I want to keep my dog and tell them that not all dogs are dangerous. Like how you assume they are.
It's not about _your_ dog... it's about the bred in general. Statistics have shown insurance companies that some dogs are more likely to injure people. With something like this I doubt very much your carrier would make an exception. You can feel free to make the case to your agent and/or obtain insurance through someone else.Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 07:20 pm Post Subject: suing insurance company
I was in a accident, the guy that rear ended me has NO INSURANCE. I have uninsured motorist coverage to the tune of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. I went to the hospital via ambulance and have excruciating pain and numbness of my left arm/hand and jaw, kids have concussions, and I want to be compensated, medically, lost wages, and pain/suffering. Can I get the full amount of $125,000 for myself and 2 kids in accident? Not to mention that my car is a total loss and was 10 months from being paid off. If anyone knows feel free to email me at dictateyours@aol.com.
Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 09:25 pm Post Subject:
Can I get the full amount of $125,000 for myself and 2 kids in accident?
Only if your injuries warrant such a payment. A person who has a scratch on their finger is not going to be paid $25,000 as a settlement. Someone with a bruised lung and kidney damage is probably going to get paid that amount. 25/50 means the most that is paid on any one accident is $50,000... so that is the most that would be paid toward injuries on this claim. It's $25,000 per _person_ and $50,000 per _accident_.You'd need collision coverage to address your vehicle which you should have if you are still making payments.
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 02:43 am Post Subject: Uninsured Motorist
Hi, me again, my above post was about the uninsured motorist. So basically whether my kids and myself sustain 400,000 dollars in medical issues, etc. my company is going to pay a MAX of $50,000 period? Even if 3 people were in accident, it means the MAX is $50,000 to include medical reimbursement, lost wages, physical therapy, pain and suffering, and all? I realize collision will pay for the car, but am wondering about the rest. Also do you know if the hospital, ambulance etc. will be paid by my BCBS insurance first? Or does your health insurance company expect car insurance company to pay first then they pick up whats left? And how will they know when they are billed by the hospital and ambulance company? Thanks for all your help, I'm lost.
Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 03:18 am Post Subject:
my company is going to pay a MAX of $50,000 period?
Correct. You elected to have $50k in coverage per accident.I realize collision will pay for the car, but am wondering about the rest
The rest as in...? Your injuries? This are considered under your UMBI coverage as mentioned.Your health carrier may pay the bills up front but they have a right of recovery against you being paid for those bills.
nd how will they know when they are billed by the hospital and ambulance company?
The hospital bills/notes will state that its from a car accident.You may have to pay back your health carrier, it depends on your state. Some allow you to double dip (collect from them and your auto carrier for the same medical bills).
Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 05:52 am Post Subject: legal queston?
my insurance company failed to send in my sr-22 reportive insurance to the secretary of state, so my license was suspended, is that grounds to file a lawsuit?They admitted over the phone that it was they're fault and i have papers showing that i have missed no payments.
Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 05:33 pm Post Subject: uninsured motorist
I was reading the above persons post. What they may not know is that some states (mine is Alabama) allows you to "stack" UM coverage. I am currently fighting almost the same scenario. My UM coverage was 25/50 but has 2 cars on the policy so my max allowable is $100,000. She may need to look into this. With 2 kids with concussion and her with numbness and lost wages, etc. I'd say she'd meet the claim of $100k EASILY for pain and suffering alone. Keep in mind though, that IF you get an award settlement, your health insurance probably will come after you to collect. I hope this helps, and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but first I'd find out if you live in a stacking state.
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