Insurance Bad Faith/Denied Claims

You may have been hurt in a car collision or suffered fire or flood damage to your home.  All you want is to get better and move on; but there is one problem, the insurance company is refusing to pay your claim.  Unfortunately, such a story has played out many times before.  Bad faith insurance law exists because in the past insurance companies have mistreated clients and refused to pay legitimate claims. 

Why would a insurance company refuse to pay a legitimate claim? Insurance companies are first and foremost a business, and as a business their goal is profit. What is best for you is likely not what is in their best interest.  Their goal is to pay out the least amount possible for every insurance claim in order to maximize their bottom line for their investors.

Fortunately, most states define what is fair claims handling.  Both Missouri and Kansas each have their version of an Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act.  If your insurance company has purposely refused to process your insurance claim in compliance with that standard, you may have a claim for bad faith.  Not every act of an insurance company with which you disagree is a basis for a bad faith claim, but sometimes an insurer’s reason for not paying is difficult to understand and unfair. You depend on your insurance carrier to pay you the benefits for which you have been paying premiums for years.  You have a right to receive the benefits stated in your insurance policy when you have suffered a loss.

When an insurance company unreasonably denies claims for benefits, the Law Offices of Peter A. Jouras, Jr. is there to represent those who have been wrongfully denied or mistreated by their insurance company. 

For more information and a free consultation, contact the Law Offices of Peter A. Jouras, Jr. at (913) 677-1999.