INSURANCE BAD FAITH
Ohio law
requires insurance companies to treat their customers fairly in handling
claims. If your insurance company denies your claim without "reasonable
justification", you may have a claim for insurance bad faith.
Questions
You Should Ask an Attorney
What To Do
Following Insurance Bad Faith
Consumers buy insurance to protect themselves and their families from
natural disaster, fire, injury, sickness, disability, accident, or death. When
tragedy strikes, the last thing a policyholder deserves is to have their own
insurance company deny a claim for no good reason. Under Ohio law, insurance
companies cannot refuse to pay a customer's claim without "reasonable
justification". This means that an insurance company must engage in a
reasonable investigation and pay legitimate claims in a timely manner. If an insurance
company fails to handle its customer's claim properly, it may be liable to pay
additional damages, over and above the amount of the original claim. Insurance
bad faith can arise from the mishandling of claims under many different types
of insurance policies, including:
- Health Insurance
- Automobile Insurance
- Disability Insurance
- Homeowner's Insurance
- Life Insurance
Case Examples
We have handled a wide variety of insurance bad faith cases, including:
- Our client was seriously injured by an uninsured
motorist. Our client purchased automobile insurance with uninsured
motorists coverage. Even though the insurance company knew that our client
was entitled to more than the maximum amount of the policy, the insurance
company still refused to pay, claiming that our client should first make a
claim under another insurance policy. The insurance company still refused
to pay even after the court determined that no other policy applied. We
argued that the insurance company was engaging in legal "bad faith"
for failing to pay our client in a timely manner. As a result of the bad
faith claim, the insurance company ultimately agreed to pay double the
maximum amount of the policy.
- Our client suffered from a severe and permanent bone
disease that required expensive medical treatment. Her HMO wrongfully
refused to pay for her medical bills. The burden of the unpaid bills
eventually forced her into bankruptcy. We brought a lawsuit against the
HMO for insurance bad faith, and secured a settlement to ensure that she
would receive appropriate medial care and to help reestablish her
financial security.
Damages
If an insurance company is found liable for bad faith, it may be held
accountable for resulting economic losses, including lost wages, interest on
money the insured borrowed to cover expenses while insurance benefits were
wrongfully withheld, and loss due to damaged credit. The customer is also
entitled to recover for emotional distress caused by the bad faith failure to
pay a claim. If an insurance company's mishandling of a claim shows a
"conscious disregard" for the rights of its insured, the company may
even be required to pay punitive damages as punishment for the misconduct.
