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Insurance bad faith refers to the acts of an insurance company in the handling of your claim that have been below the standard of care for the insurance industry and have caused you damage.
Unlike the other types of claims discussed, this type of claimm does not necessarily require physical injuries. The damages for a bad faith claim are usually economic in nature.
For example. Let's say you have a flood in your home due to a broken water pipe.
You have a valid home owner's insurance policy, so you contact your agent to make a claim for the damages caused by the water pipe (like ruined carpet).
Your agent does not get back to you for a week. Once you finally are contacted by a representative, he promises to send out the appropriate repair people that day, but he doesn't actually send anybody out for another two weeks.
When the proper people finally do show up and perform the repair work, your insurance company disputes certain charges by saying they are not covered by your policy -- even though they are.
Hence, you are forced to pay for a large portion of the work.
Because of the delay of the insurance company in having the repairs done, you were forced to live with moldy carpet in the house for several weeks and were then forced to pay for portions of the repair that you shouldn't have been required to.
The above scenario would give rise to a claim for insurance bad faith and you would be entitled to damages for the inconvenience and emotional stress caused by the negligence of your insurance company.
There are many other types of insurance bad faith claims.
If you feel you are the victim of an insurance bad faith claim, you need to immediately contact The Law Offices of Allan S. Field to ensure the proper procedures are initiated to investigate the facts and properly notify the company to protect your rights.