Insurance Bad Faith

View our blog posts on insurance bad faith here

Insurance companies owe their customers a duty to provide services fairly, accurately, and quickly. All insurance companies promise this in their TV commercials and radio ads. But they aren’t promising anything the law doesn’t already require — it is called the “duty of good faith.” When insurance companies don’t treat customers fairly, or they delay claims, or they purposely don’t pay what they should, they commit “bad faith,” which is a type of insurance fraud. Here are some examples:

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  • The insurance company unfairly denies your no-fault claim (like underinsured motorist or medical payment benefits) or accuses you of faking

  • Your house gets destroyed because the insurance company didn’t want to pay to repair it right the first time

  • You cause a car wreck and get stuck with a judgment the insurance company won’t pay (if you are worried this situation may happen, click here)

  • Other examples may be found here

Don and Taylor contributed to an article on bad faith written in 2011 for the Arkansas Law Review, which is the law journal published by the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. It lists many more examples of bad faith acts by insurance companies. You can read the article here.

Our law firm believes insurance companies should always do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons, and we’re willing to take them to task when they don’t. If you believe an insurance company has treated you unfairly, give us and call and let us evaluate your claim.