Insurance Bad Faith
Has Your Insurance Company Wrongly Denied Your Claim?
Zach Smith Law will help you review and submit your insurance claims for free. Call (918) 933-0123 to schedule a free consultation and review of your policies today.
Under Oklahoma law, “insurance bad faith” is a type of tort claim that can be made against an insurance company for behavior on their part that is done in “bad faith”. This is because an insured has a contract with their insurance company, and as a result, there is an “implied duty to act in good faith and fair dealing”. “Bad faith” typically arises whenever an insurance company improperly denies a claim, doesn’t properly follow the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) rules and regulations, and/or the insurance company offers to pay much less than the claim is worth.
4 Requirements To Establish Bad Faith
- The insured’s loss was one that was covered by his or her policy issued by the insurance provider, and thus the provider was required to take reasonable actions in handling the claim.
- The insurance company’s refusal to pay the claim was unreasonable under the circumstances because the company did not i) perform a proper investigation, ii) did not properly evaluate the results of an investigation, iii) it had no reasonable basis for the refusal to pay the claim, or iv) or the amount it offered to settle the claim was unreasonably low.
- The insurance provider failed to deal fairly and act good faith with the insured when handling the claim, and
- The insurance provider’s violation or breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing directly caused damages to the insured.
Why do Oklahoma insurance companies commit bad faith?
Insurance companies in Oklahoma are in the business of making money, and as a result, their desire to profit may exceed their commitment to their duty to act in good faith and deal fairly with their policyholders. This is typically to “save money” or prevent spending more of it, however, if an experienced insurance bad faith lawyer gets involved, it can cost the insurance company a lot more than if they had just paid the claim originally.
Many experienced attorneys don’t even understand how insurance bad faith works, but Zach Smith does. If you feel your insurance company has denied your proper claim, call Zach Smith, insurance bad faith lawyer in Tulsa for a free consultation. Allow Zach to review your information before doing anything else, and this could prevent you from being denied proper payment or adding an extreme delay.
Testimonial
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I was injured in a car wreck, and a relative who has been good friends with Zach since college referred me to him. Initially, the insurance company convinced me over the phone to accept $750.00, but I spoke to Zach just in time. He told me I didn’t have to accept what the insurance adjuster was telling me, and he told me what to do about the pain I was experiencing. As it turned out, I had a tear in my rotator cuff that went undiagnosed at my original hospital visit. Because I needed surgery, I missed work and racked up large hospital bills. Zach was able to get the maximum amount liability policy available from the insurance company of the person who caused the wreck, as well as money from my own insurance company because I had Underinsured Motorist coverage. What was originally a $750.00 settlement offer from the State Farm turned into almost $100,000.00.
— Stacey
Examples of Insurance Bad Faith
- Lying to and/or Misleading the Policyholder About the Coverage Available
- Intentionally Refusing to Pay a Valid Claim
- Not Taking Prompt Action in the Payment of a Claim
- Intentionally Offering Amounts Lower Than the Claims Value
- Forcing the Policyholder to File a Lawsuit Needlessly
- Refusing to Follow the NAIC Rules and Regulations
- Cheating or Defrauding the Policyholder
- Leveraging the Policyholder’s Desperation Against Them
- Unreasonably Ignoring the Policyholder’s Requests for Information
- Ignoring the True Facts of a Claim in Order to Pay Less Money
- Telling a Policyholder They Are Out of Time When They Are Not (Whether for Filing a Lawsuit or a Claim)
Although not an exhaustive list, the courts view wrongful, unreasonable actions as rising to the level of ‘insurance bad faith’. While insurance companies aren’t required to be perfect, and they do make reasonable mistakes at times, it has become far too common now they are intentionally refusing to pay legitimate claims. That is the entire purpose of insurance bad faith laws. Call Zach Smith, an insurance bad faith lawyer to help explain how you can submit a claim.
Links to Insurance Bad Faith Opinions
In a landmark opinion, the Oklahoma Supreme Court established the parameters of insurance bad faith law in Badillo v. Mid Century Insurance Company, 2004 OK 42 (OK 6/8/2004), 2004 OK 42, No. 98136 (Okla. Jun 08, 2004).
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