Do You Have a Valid Bad Faith Disability Insurance Claim?
Many States allow a person to sue an insurance company for a “bad faith” denial or termination of an insurance claim. If bad faith lawsuits are recognized by the law of your State and your insurance company deliberately decided to deny or terminate your long term disability claim without valid reasons, you may be able to recover money for things like emotional distress, financial harm caused by the insurance company’s conduct, and even punitive damages (to punish the insurance company).
Typically, to establish such a claim, a plaintiff must show that the insurance company had no reasonable basis to deny the insurance claim and the company knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that no reasonable basis existed for denying the claim. An insurance company, however, may challenge claims that are fairly debatable and will be found liable only when the claim was intentionally denied without a reasonable basis. Because insurers may challenge claims that are fairly debatable, if a realistic question of liability exists, an insurer may withhold payment while determining whether there is a reasonable basis for the claim. Insurers will not be liable for good-faith errors in denying or delaying a claim. Accordingly, recovery is possible only if an insurer both errs in denying coverage and does so unreasonably.
In the context of disability bad faith cases, there are many ways in which bad faith can occur. Claim denials or termination for financial reasons is an obvious act of bad faith. While difficult to prove, there are ways to build a circumstantial evidence case against many disability insurers. Another example of bad faith is a deliberately ignoring valid medical findings and then hiring a biased medical examiner to conclude that there is no disability.
Quadrino Schwartz has a track record of success in pursuing bad faith denials or terminations of long term disability insurance claims. The lawyers at the firm have over 100 years of combined experience and will form a team to vigorously pursue such claims.
To have your claim evaluated, go to www.disabilityinsurancelawyers.com/contact for a free consultation.
