Auto insurance companies are accountable for acting in bad faith

After paying premiums on time, renewing a policy faithfully and resisting making frivolous claims, a person in Pennsylvania may find that his or her insurance company may still not pay for the claim one submits after an accident. Maybe the adjuster is asking for more paperwork or telling the policyholder that the accident has not yet been investigated. Worse than that, perhaps the auto insurance company has already sent a letter saying it has denied the claim.

A policyholder might read and re-read the policy, and be certain the claim is covered. However, the adjuster assigned to the case explains the wording in the contract in a very different way from how the policyholder understood it. This is called “bad faith.”

If a car insurance claims adjuster disagrees with an assessment of the damages or makes a mistake, this is not considered bad faith. The adjuster must be purposely acting in a way to prevent the policyholder from receiving a payment to which a he or she is entitled because of the language in the policy and the circumstances of the claim. When this happens, policyholders are fortunate to have dedicated lawyers they can turn to.

An auto insurance company is required to examine the facts and provide compensation for those claims that are covered in one’s policy. A personal injury attorney in Pennsylvania will seek to hold the insurance company accountable by filing a bad faith claim in the name of anyone who is wronged. Many driver’s find that by having the assistance of a lawyer, they are able to recoup their damages and sometimes even punitive awards.

This blog entry was posted on behalf of [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″], and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the firm or its attorneys. The information presented in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice.

Source: investopedia.com, “Bad Faith Insurance Definition“, Accessed on Dec. 16, 2016