People buy insurance as important protection for their health, homes, vehicles, and other assets. In times of need, we depend on the insurance we’ve paid for to kick in and cover our losses. Maryland law requires insurers to act in good faith when handling legitimate insurance claims. When an insurance company denies a valid insurance claim or uses unfair and unethical tactics to diminish your claim, you have options. One such option would be filing a bad faith insurance claim against the insurance company to seek compensation for your losses.
If you feel your insurance company is not playing fair with you–and might even be acting in bad faith–a Dundalk bad faith insurance lawyer can help. At WGK Personal Injury Lawyers in Dundalk, our attorneys will fight back against insurance companies that try to take advantage of their insured customers. Contact our law office today at (410) 837-2144 to learn more and schedule a free consultation.
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How WGK Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You in a Bad Faith Insurance Claim
After any type of injury or loss, you’ll turn to your insurance company for much-needed help in a time of personal crisis. When your insurance company lets you down or acts in bad faith, you don’t need to battle them on your own. You can trust the dedicated Maryland bad faith insurance attorneys at WGK Personal Injury Lawyers to help you each step of the way.
Your Dundalk personal injury attorney will investigate the facts involved with your claim and your insurance company’s response. An attorney experienced in these matters will have a full understanding of bad faith insurance laws in Maryland and will also have the time and resources to confront an insurance company.
Our lawyers will give you the legal guidance needed to hold an insurance company responsible for damages in a bad faith insurance claim. To accomplish your goals, we will conduct a detailed investigation into the facts of your claim to determine if the insurer has either breached their contract with you or violated Maryland’s insurance laws.
Perhaps most importantly, we will work side by side with you and answer any questions you have during this complex and frustrating process. Contact our team today to learn about how we can help you.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Bad Faith Insurance Lawyer in Dundalk, MD?
In cases based on personal injury, lawyers will typically work on a contingency fee basis. This means attorney’s fees are taken from your final financial settlement, and you do not pay upfront. In a contingency case, you do not pay legal fees unless you win.
Alternative fee arrangements can include hourly rates billed against retainers paid in advance or flat-fee legal services. Contact our law office to learn more about contingent fee agreements and how we can help you without having to pay a large retainer fee in advance.
What is Bad Faith Insurance?
Maryland law aims to protect consumers from illegal, unfair, and deceptive practices by Insurance companies issuing policies in the state. Despite these legal protections, insurance companies will still seek to deny or undervalue claims to protect their own bottom lines. Often, this happens without consumers even noticing they’ve been shortchanged.
Bad faith insurance practices happen when an insurance company diminishes, delays, or denies an insurance claim for any reason not supported by the terms of their policy.
Legitimate denials of insurance claims could be based on:
- Expiration of insurance coverage;
- The loss was not covered under the policy;
- An at-fault driver was not insured;
- Contributory negligence;
- Intervening causes of your injuries;
- Lack of evidence to prove your losses due to an accident.
Even if your claim was denied for a valid reason, you should expect a written explanation of the denial. If your claim was denied and the insurer can’t explain why, you’ll need to look into the denial further.
If the insurance company will not promptly acknowledge your claim or follow-up questions about the claim, fails to investigate the claim with all involved parties, fails to approve or deny a claim in a reasonable time frame, or commits an act that could be unfair or illegal, you should seek legal help.
Examples of Bad Faith Insurance Practices
It is not always easy to spot when an insurance company is acting in bad faith. Professional insurance adjusters are far more sophisticated than most consumers when it comes to the ins and outs of an insurance claim. Some examples of bad faith insurance practices can include:
- Not acting in a timely and reasonable manner during a claim investigation;
- Unusual delays in claims processing or payment;
- Misrepresenting a policy’s terms;
- Advising the insured against hiring an attorney or seeking a legal opinion;
- Denying a claim without a valid reason;
- Making a “lowball” offer in hopes you’ll accept much less than your claim is worth;
- Making threatening, harassing, or insulting statements;
- Requiring a customer to complete unnecessary paperwork or steps not required under the policy;
- Misrepresenting the law;
- Refusing to communicate with an insurance claimant;
- Changing policy terms without notice or authorization;
- Policy cancellations without proper cause;
- Using unethical or fraudulent investigative techniques;
- Using aggressive tactics to pressure claimants into accepting a low offer.
Unfortunately, insurance companies will use tactics and maneuvers that claimants will assume must have been legitimate. Remember, insurance companies are for-profit corporations, and do not maximize their profits if all claims are paid out in full up to policy limits.
If you suspect anything is unusual or problematic during the insurance claim process, you should immediately seek legal assistance. After a serious accident or devastating injury, you can not afford to accept less than what your claim is worth.
First-Party vs. Third-Party Insurance Claims
First-party claims are claims you’d file with your own insurer. For example, if your home is damaged by a storm, you can contact your home insurance provider to start a first-party claim. Once your claim is received, your insurer should investigate the damage and apply the policy terms that apply. There should be no need for lengthy delays or withholding of payment in a typical first-party insurance claim.
Third-party insurance claims are filed by individuals other than the policyholder. Often, a third-party claimant will be the victim of an accident caused by the policyholder. Insurance companies must still use care when investigating a third-party claim and cannot delay or deny a claim simply because a third party is making the claim. Maryland’s statute does not cover third-party bad faith insurance claims, but an accident victim can still have claims against the insurer under other grounds.
How Can I Prove Bad Faith?
If you think an insurance provider is not acting in good faith, you should take immediate steps to protect your interests and legal options. Some steps to take can include:
- Double-check deadlines to make sure your obligations have been met and that no deadlines are still looming. Missed deadlines give insurance companies easy excuses to deny claims. If you’ve met all deadlines and still are not receiving updates, you should investigate further.
- Pull together all documentation related to your claim. Keep copies of what you’ve filed, emails sent back and forth, and other proof related to your insurance claim.
- Keep a timeline of all steps involved, from the date of your accident to the present. It helps to keep notes, use a spreadsheet, or document activity on your claim in any other way that’s useful.
- Contact an attorney as soon as possible. While you might suspect something is amiss with your claim, attorneys with insurance experience will know when something is not right. A knowledgeable bad faith insurance lawyer can explain where you stand with the insurer and what your next steps should be.
To prove a bad faith insurance claim in Maryland, you will need to prove two key elements:
- The insurance company did not have a valid basis or reason to deny your claim;
- The insurer knew or should have known they had no valid basis or reason to deny your claim.
Alternatively, you could file a claim if the insurer simply failed to investigate or process the insurance claim properly.
It is not enough that you are unsatisfied with the claims process or disappointed in the settlement offer made by an insurer. You will need to prove some conduct by the insurance company that amounts to bad faith. Bad faith insurance claims in Maryland can be highly complex. However, you should not hesitate to seek legal advice when you feel bad faith has occurred. Failing to pursue a bad faith insurance claim in a timely manner can permanently cut off your legal rights to justice in a bad faith insurance claim.
Contact Our Dundalk Bad Faith Insurance Lawyers Today
If your insurance claim has been delayed or denied, or if you simply have questions about a possible bad faith insurance claim, contact our Maryland law office to speak with an experienced Dundalk bad faith insurance lawyer. If you have concerns, the time to take action is now. Your chances of success in a bad faith insurance claim are higher if you act promptly and have skilled legal help on your side. Call our legal team today to schedule your free consultation.
