When you pay for insurance, you expect your provider to keep their word and honor valid claims. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. If your insurer has acted unfairly or denied your claim without a valid reason, you may need the help of a bad-faith insurance lawyer in Wichita. At Brian & Brian Pistotnik Law, we understand how these situations can leave you feeling helpless, and we’re here to guide you through your options. Our firm handles these claims only when pertaining to an injury claim. And, the interesting part is that our involvement is to get the negligent driver’s insurer to act in good faith by paying their full bodily injury coverage limits, rather than making a bad offer or low-ball offer for the injury victim’s injury case.
What Is Bad Faith Insurance?
Bad faith insurance happens when an insurance company fails to fulfill its legal duty to its policyholders. This could include delaying claim payments, denying valid claims, or offering significantly less than what a claim is worth.
For example, if you have accidentally been in a car wreck wherein others are injured due to your negligence and your insurance company is failing to pay to settle the claims of the injury victims, you are at risk financially. The insurance company can work to protect you if they offer their policy limits to get you released from the claims against you. If your insurance company doesn’t get the claim settled, you can be sued. If the value of the injury claim ends up being more than your coverage limits, the injury victim’s attorneys can come after your unprotected assets.
If you suspect your insurer is acting in bad faith, and they are failing to settle claims against you, consulting a bad-faith insurance attorney can help protect your rights. That attorney can put pressure on your insurance company to offer their policy limits of coverage to help you get released from your possible financial risk. Our law firm generally does not get involved in representing the negligent party or provide a defense to those claims. Our firm works to put pressure on the insurance company to pay their policy limits to assist the injury victims we represent.
How to Sue an Insurance Company for Bad Faith
In the context of bad faith with respect to an insurance company not protecting you when an injury claim is being made against you, on occasion it benefits you to work with the injury attorney to help them build a bad faith claim against your own insurer. Building a claim against an insurance company for bad faith starts with gathering evidence. This includes documentation like your insurance policy, correspondence with the insurer, and the reasons they gave for denying your claim or failing to try and settle the claim. A skilled injury bad faith lawyer in Wichita can help provide you with options when your insurance company puts you at financial risk.
As an example, if the injury victim’s lawyer gets a judgment against you for more than your coverage limits, one option is to assign your case against your own insurance company to the injury victim and that allows the injury victim’s lawyer to go after that insurance company for the excess part of the judgment. Another option is the injury victim’s lawyer can garnish your insurance company to try and collect the full judgment (not just your policy limits) from that insurance company. If successful in getting a recovery from your insurance company for the full judgment, you would no longer be at financial risk.
Recognizing Signs of Bad Faith
Insurance companies may send you a letter to inform you that claims are being made against you for amounts of money higher than your coverage limits for someone’s injury claims. You may get a letter advising you that you can seek an opinion from a lawyer to protect your own interests.
Common signs of bad faith include:
- Denying a claim without explanation
- Delaying the claim process unnecessarily
- Offering an unreasonably low settlement
When these signs surface, you need to be aware that the attorney hired by the insurance company to defend in the case is being paid by the insurance company, and getting an attorney on your own can help put pressure on the insurance company lawyer to get the case settled to protect you.
Take the Next Step
Dealing with an uncooperative insurer can add stress to an already difficult situation. Speaking with an insurance bad faith lawyer in Wichita can alleviate your concerns and help you take the necessary steps to hold your insurance company accountable.
Insurance disputes can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to face them alone. If you have an injury and the insurance company for the negligent party is acting in bad faith by failing to take action, we can help. If you have questions about your injury case or want to discuss your options, reach out to us today, and we’ll help you move forward with confidence.