HOUSTON INSURANCE LAWYER

Houston Bad Faith Insurance Claims Lawyer

Investing in an insurance policy can serve a number of uses. These will vary depending on the type of policy you select and the reasons for which you require insurance coverage.

Typically, after getting into an accident-suffering property damage or loss at no fault of your own, insurance carriers are usually able to file an insurance claim with their provider in order to receive fair compensation. This is based on the coverage requirements, as well as other stipulations that will be detailed in the individual insurance policy. 

Filing an insurance claim for damages due to an environmental catastrophe, property damage, or another accident for which you’ve been insured is both reasonable and common. Without insurance, these accidents can result in a significant financial burden, on top of mental and sometimes physical distress. However, securing the compensation you’re owed from big insurance companies isn’t always easy.

Sometimes, insurance companies act in bad faith. They undervalue, underpay, deny or even mismanage claims. In high-stress situations, this is the last thing clients need or deserve.

Speaking to an experienced Houston insurance attorney for your insurance claim can give you a better idea of what your options are and avoid the bad faith tactics used by insurance providers.

Insurance Claims

Many different types of insurance claims exist. These are based on the nature of the situation and whether claimants are filing on behalf of themselves or for a business. 

A common characteristic that crosses all types of big insurance companies is how extremely frustrating is is to deal with adjusters and the other points of contact within the company, regardless if they’re acting in bad faith or not.

While most insurance providers boast of taking care of their policyholders, in practice, numerous clients we’ve represented can state otherwise. 

Common Types of Insurance Claims

Many types of valid claims you can may with your insurance company. Insurance policies vary widely in nature, and because insurance companies seek to make the most profit possible, they offer an array of insurance options.

This means that insurance policyholders should expect a fair dealing when opening any of the following claims:

• auto insurance claims for car accidents
• business interruption claims
• VA disability claims
• government and municipality claims
• fire insurance claims
• flood insurance claims
• health insurance claims
• hurricane insurance claims
• life insurance claims
• long-term care insurance claims
• property insurance claims
• homeowners insurance claims
• commercial property insurance claims
• condominium insurance claims
• hotel insurance claims
• restaurant insurance claims

Why Did My Insurance Company Deny My Claim?

Your insurance company may cite a variety of reasons why they’ve denied or seemingly undervalued your claim, avoiding the legal obligations to pay you. For clients who are lawfully seeking adequate compensation for damages, this can be a tricky situation to sort through. 

Insurance companies know that it is almost impossible for their clients to know if they’re acting in bad faith or not. They use this to their advantage more than they’ll ever admit.

When policyholders receive an unexpected denial or low payout offer during the claims process, they often ask questions along the lines of:

• Is my insurance claim request unreasonable?
• Did I overestimate how much my insurance claim should be worth?
• Is there any reason why the insurance company may consider me liable for covering my own damages?

Of course, there are reasons why an insurance company may deny a claim that was filed by a policyholder. Depending on the language used in the specific insurance policy and the types of insurance coverage they offer, adjusters may interpret an insurance claim to be ineligible or interpret the insurance coverage in a way that reduces the payout owed to the policyholder. 

Insurance bad faith isn’t always at play, but for most insurance companies, you really won’t get fair dealing upfront, unless you work with an insurance lawyer, unfortunately.

Common Reasons Insurance Companies Deny or Undervalue Claims

• The insurance provider determined that the loss wasn’t included in your insurance coverage.
• Their adjusters determined your losses were ineligible for coverage or excluded from your insurance policy. 
• Your damages fall below the insurance policy deductible.
• Their adjusters claim the damages are less that what you’re claiming.

Insurance Claim Mismanagement

Sometimes, policyholders find themselves facing a mismanaged claim, or unnecessary complication of the claims process. They’re provider acting in bad faith.

Insurance companies are meant to act in good faith and provide fair judgement when they respond to claims filed by their policyholders. However, insurance companies seek to make profit. And, as companies that have a financial stake in preserving cash reserves, sometimes the insurance providers act in bad faith, unfairly denying valid insurance claims. In fact, this deceptive behavior is illegal in the state of Texas.

Denial And Underpayment Claims

In the past few years, our Houston office has represented thousands of plaintiffs throughout Texas against large insurance companies for acting in bad faith, denying and underpaying claims.

Reich & Binstock have extensive experience representing those with homeowners insurance, not only in Houston, TX, but throughout the country, with first-party insurance bad faith claims involving Hurricane Ike damage claims that have been mishandled or wrongfully denied.

Our trial attorneys also devote significant resources to helping business owners, apartment property owners and churches resolve issues in getting the money they deserve for their hurricane claims and other insurance claims surrounding real property damage .