San Antonio Bad Faith Insurance Lawyer

When you make a claim against another person’s insurance policy, the law requires a certain degree of fairness. This does not mean your claim will automatically be approved and you will receive a payout. Insurance claims are denied for valid reasons every day.

What good faith means is that the insurer must quickly look into your claim, honestly determine whether it is valid or not, and then make a reasonable attempt to negotiate a settlement with you. All of this is laid out in the Texas Insurance Code, Chapter 541 – Unfair Methods of Competition and Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices, and Chapter 542 – Processing and Settlement of Claims.

If you are the insurance policyholder and you are dealing with a third-party claim against your insurance, then your insurer’s duty toward you is known as the Stowers Doctrine. Are you unsure if this concept applies to you? Consider this example: you and another vehicle were in a crash. The other driver blames you for the accident. They are asking your insurance to cover their property damage and injuries through an auto insurance claim. That other driver is the third-party claimant. You are the policyholder, and your insurer has to investigate the crash and determine whether that person’s claim for compensation is valid.

The definition of bad faith is when an insurer fails to uphold its duty to respond to a claim with good faith and fair dealings, and in doing so, violates one or more provisions of insurance law in Texas.

Texas law specifically requires an insurer to treat you with good faith and fairness. Whenever an insurer fails to do this, it may amount to bad faith. When an instance of bad faith causes you harm, you may have a legal claim against the insurer.

However, you should never assume that you can sue an insurer and win. Insurance companies are well-versed in insurance law, and they know how to toe the line or work in the grey areas. What they did may have been unethical, but it may not have been enough to prove bad faith in court.

To determine if you have been the victim of bath faith, call a San Antonio insurance bad faith attorney for advice.

Our insurance attorneys at The Law Giant, Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers have handled many bad faith claims over the years.

Examples of bad faith include:

• Delayed investigations without reasonable justification.
• Failure to conduct efficient and appropriate investigations.
• Unreasonably delaying processing a claim.
• Unreasonable demands on claimants for duplicate information and documentation.
• Unreasonably transferring claimants among several adjusters to delay the claims process.
• Misrepresentations, misinterpretations, and lies regarding policy language and coverage.
• Misrepresentations and misinterpretations of Texas law to avoid liability.
• Alteration or cancellation of a policy after a claim is filed.
• Denied claims without proper investigations.
• Denied claims in violation of the policy.
• Denied claims without reasonable justification in writing.
• Unreasonable accusations of fraud against claimants.
• Threatening or inappropriate statements made to claimants.
• Not resolving claims within a reasonable period of time.
• Not maintain reasonable communication with claimants.
• Bad faith insurance settlement negotiations.
• Harassing claimants to accept unreasonably low settlement offers.
• Unreasonably delayed settlement payments.

If you believe an insurance company is not properly handling your claim or a claim made against your policy, call an experienced insurance claims attorney right away.

If you are dealing with a third-party claim against you, it is important not to rely on the lawyer the insurer provided for your defense. That lawyer is looking out for the insurer’s best interest. They may be part of or aware of the insurer’s bad faith conduct.

Instead, you should hire an independent San Antonio insurance claims attorney from The Law Giant to thoroughly review the circumstances of your situation.