When Missouri residents are injured or suffer some sort of property damage, they hope that their insurance companies will be there to help them receive compensation. Insurance exists to help people who’ve been injured or who have experienced some sort of property damage recover compensation for their losses. People pay into insurance plans so that if something does happen, they don’t suffer major financial losses. When the system works properly, insurance can be an incredible lifeline. When there’s suspected fraud or dishonest behavior on the part of the insurance company, the insured are dealing with something called bad faith tactics.
Bad faith tactics are those actions that insurers undertake to avoid paying claims so that they can pay a reduced amount for a claim or avoid paying the claim at all. This type of activity can be very destructive for a claimant who’s already going through the process of trying to heal from an injury or recover losses related to property damage. This can put the victim in a position where they’re unable to pay their bills.
There are several examples of bad faith tactics on the part of insurers.
- An insurer could increase the amount of time it takes to decide whether it’s going to pay a claim in the hopes that the claimant will just give up. There are laws on the books in most states that limit the amount of time an insurer can take to approve a claim.
- Some insurers take advantage of claimants’ ignorance of the rules regarding deadlines for filing claims. They may not tell a claimant that a deadline is approaching, causing the claimant to lose the right to any compensation.
- Some insurers offer to settle claims for much less than they’re worth, cheating the claimant out of money they deserve.
People who are dealing with bad faith insurance tactics on the part of their insurance companies may be able to get help by working with law firms that have experience with insurance law. They may then have a better chance of having their claims settled satisfactorily.