As discussed in earlier posts, insurance is not a gamble taken by a policyholder. Instead, the policyholder buys insurance to protect himself from the risk of a loss, whether it be a medical bill, damage to the policyholder’s property, an untimely death or a liability claim made against the policyholder by a third party. The
Most of us define insurance by what it does for us under the policies we have purchased. If asked “what is insurance?,” most people would say “it pays for damage to my car” or “it pays my medical bills if I get sick” or something to that effect. These are good working definitions, but a
As a policyholder who has experienced a loss, you might think it goes without saying that an insurance company must tell you all the coverages in place under your policy that might apply to your claim. While insurance companies often do so, it is certainly not unheard of for an applicable coverage to be “overlooked.”
The answer to this question is not as simple as it might seem. In fact, it can be downright confusing. I’ll try to explain. First, the easier part. An insurance company owes its own policyholder a duty of good faith and fair dealing and all claims asserted by the policyholder. This kind of claim it
Remember the awful accident the “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” comedian involving Tracy Morgan? As you might imagine, it led to high-stakes lawsuits by the people injured, but what you might not know is it also led to insurance bad faith litigation between Wal-Mart and its insurance companies.
The accident happened on a highway
Most of us are well aware of the basic provisions of our automobile insurance policies. For example, we know that if we back into something in a parking lot and damage our bumper, insurance will fix it. We also know that if we have an accident that’s our fault and cause damage to someone else,
What happens in a situation where a policyholder (an individual or a business) is alleged to have caused damage to someone else? What if there is an auto accident and the other driver claims the policyholder caused it? Or what if a customer comes in to the policyholder’s place of business, trips and falls and
Uninsured/Underinsured motorist or “UM” coverage is one of the most important coverages a person can buy. State law requires all drivers to carry liability insurance, which is there to pay for property damage and personal injuries caused by the policyholder. However, plenty of drivers violate that law every day and operate vehicles on the roads
There are three basic categories of damages a policyholder can recover if she wins a bad faith case. Bad faith cases can be worth significant amounts of money. In fact, a meritorious bad faith case can result in far more money being paid to the policyholder than what she was entitled to recover under the
The “legitimate dispute” defense is asserted in many, if not most, bad faith cases. As noted in a previous post, using this defense, insurance companies often argue there is a “legitimate dispute” with the policyholder about the insurance claim in question, and there can therefore be no bad faith liability. Policyholders often argue in response