If something goes wrong at home as a result of fire or water damage, you expect to be able to make a claim on your home insurance policy to pay for repairs.
When the worst happens and your insurer refuses to pay out, is there anything you can do?
If you think that the decision was made in bad faith, you don’t have to accept it. There are steps you can take to challenge the denial.
What does “bad faith” mean?
When an insurance company refuses a claim, it needs to be able to justify the reasons for doing so. If it refuses to provide a proper explanation why it isn’t going to pay this can give way to a bad faith claim by the insured.
Bad faith claims include:
- Unreasonable delays in payment
- Denial of payment without reasonable grounds
- Refusing to carry out a proper investigation
- Concealing or ignoring evidence
How can you challenge a bad faith claim?
If a claim is either refused by an insurer, or there is an unreasonable delay in their dealing with it, you can initiate legal action against them.
This can involve taking the company to trial and asking the judge to decide whether the decision made by the insurer was reasonable. The purpose of litigation is to get you the amount of money you should have received if the claim was paid out in the first place and to compensate you for the improper actions of the insurer.
We know that taking on insurance companies can be intimidating but this shouldn’t stop you from challenging a decision that was made in bad faith. Having legal representation to help you with your claim gives you the best chance of receiving the compensation you’re rightfully due.