You pay your individual long-term disability insurance premiums on time, every time. You expect that insurance will be there for you when you need its support. For many people, however, that does not happen.
Insurance companies are in the business of making money and they do everything in their power to not pay out your claim. Many times, their actions cross the line into bad faith unreasonable practices.
If you think your individual long-term disability insurance company is dealing in bad faith, speak with a bad faith insurance lawyer right away. The clock is ticking on you to protect your consumer rights and remedies. Contact DarrasLaw today to get started.
Bad Faith Defined
Bad faith occurs when an individual long-term disability insurance company fails to deal in good faith and unreasonably or without proper legal cause delays or wrongfully denies your disability benefits. Remember that your insurance policy is a contract and if your insurance company does not honor their obligations under the contract, they could be acting in bad faith and you may be entitled to damages in addition to the contract.
The most obvious example of bad faith occurs when the individual long-term disability insurance company denies your claim unreasonably. While this happens frequently, many people simply move on and do not question the insurance company’s wrongful denial. Remember, when your insurance company acts this way, you have legal rights worth protecting.
Bad Faith Acts
The most frequent way an individual long-term disability insurance company acts in bad faith is when they deny your claim without proper legal cause. Insurance companies must provide you with a written reason when they deny your claim. But that is by no means the only way an insurance company may act in bad faith.
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Unreasonable Delay in Paying Out Your Claim
When an individual long-term disability insurance company approves your claim, they must timely pay your claim. If they delay paying your claim or give you excuses as to why your claim is taking a long time to pay, they may be acting in bad faith.
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Unreasonable Delay in Responding To or Properly Investigating Your Claim
When you file a claim, your individual long-term disability insurance company must timely investigate your claim with an eye towards payment. They need to do this because, over time, evidence can go missing and the investigation may not be complete. To avoid this, your insurance company must start its investigation right away. If they do not, they may be acting in bad faith.
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Refusing to Pay Your Approved Claim
If the individual long-term disability insurance company has approved your claim, they must pay you. If they refuse to do so, especially if they do not give you any legitimate, timely reason, the insurance company could be acting in bad faith.
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Failing to Fully Investigate Your Claim
Even if your individual long-term disability insurance company starts the investigation, they have to complete it in a timely, thorough, fair manner. Sometimes, the insurance company will start and then not do anything else. If they do not conduct a thorough complete investigation, your insurance company may be acting in bad faith.
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Refusing To Provide You A Comprehensive, Legitimate Reason For Denying Your Claim
Long-term disability insurance companies must provide you with a reason when they deny your claim. If they do not provide you with a written reason, you do not know why they denied and are left in the dark. This might be their intent. If your insurance company does not provide you with a reason for denying your claim, they may be acting in bad faith.
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Misrepresenting Facts
When individual long-term disability insurance companies call you to discuss your claim, they may tell you things that just aren’t true. This is why you need an award-winning individual disability lawyer who can tell you what your policy covers and what it does not. That is where we can come in, review your policy, and advocate on your behalf. Contact DarrasLaw today for more information.
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Lying to You About Your Policy or The Law
Long-term disability insurance companies will not just lie to you about what your policy covers, they may also lie to you about the law. They may say that the law does not require them to give you any more than vague references as to why they denied your claim. They may tell you other lies, all of which are evidence of them acting unreasonably and in bad faith.
While some of these acts borders on despicable, long-term disability insurance companies commonly act this way. Remember, insurance companies want to protect profits over everything else, and that behavior can lead them to act in unreasonable and sometimes unlawful ways.
Getting Compensation
If your disability insurance company acted in any of the above ways, you might recover compensation from them for their bad faith acts.
In addition to your benefits, your lawyer might try to recover compensation for:
- Emotional distress
- Late credit charge payments, repossessions, and foreclosure sales
- Attorney fees
- Punishment damages
Speak With A Bad Faith Insurance Lawyer Today
Dealing with long-term disability insurance companies can infuriate you. Your insurance company may lie, mislead, and ignore you. Most of the time, combating billion-dollar insurance companies requires the help of an aggressive bad faith disability insurance lawyer. That is where DarrasLaw can help.
Together with our award-winning legal team, you can hold your long-term disability insurance company to its obligations under your policy. To learn more about how DarrasLaw can help you, contact us today online or at 800-898-7299.
