Do I Have Options Available to Me If the Insurance Company Won’t Help Rebuild My Business?
You know your policy covered your damages. You know the insurance company should provide you with full payment according to your policy. The insurance company’s adjuster may even have indicated early on that you were going to get a fully-paid claim. Then, without warning, the insurance company denies your claim. You appealed and provided even more evidence, and they again denied your claim. Do you have options? Yes. Hold the insurance company accountable in civil court. The reality is filing a lawsuit may be a tough choice, since it will take time, effort, and commitment. However, the survival of your business, your livelihood, and your family’s future is on the line. If this is the only option, there’s only one thing to do: sue the insurance company.
Bad Faith Insurance Practices
If your business’ location was damaged or your operations were interrupted due to Hurricane Harvey—and your insurer knew you were entitled to a full payout, and still chose not to honor your claim—you may have grounds for a bad faith insurance lawsuit.
Bad faith requires more than your insurer “getting the facts wrong.” Bad faith occurs when your insurer knew you were entitled to relief, and despite this knowledge, chose to deny your claim.
The penalties for an insurance company denying a claim in bad faith go beyond the four corners of the insurance policy itself. For example, if you prevail on a bad faith claim, you may be entitled to punitive damages for the way your insurance company handled your claim. You also may be entitled to fees for delayed payment and other costs associated with your lawsuit.
As a result, bad faith claims are serious cases. When insurance companies mistreat their clients (which occurs regularly, especially after a significant disaster like Hurricane Harvey), the insurance companies are banking on two things:
- Many of their clients do not know the law relating to bad faith, and
- The majority of their clients will not file suit to hold them accountable for their bad-faith conduct.
Based on these two points, the goal for insurance companies is to use these practices to delay and slow down the claims process for years, in hopes that clients, like you, will take pennies to settle their claims rather than choosing to fight for what they deserve.
Get the Legal Help That You Need. Contact Arnold & Itkin Today.
Arnold & Itkin understands exactly how insurance companies work, and our legal team has had tremendous success holding insurance companies accountable for their wrongful conduct. With tens of thousands of claims all over the greater Houston area, practices like these are unacceptable. Insurance companies know they are severely hindering the recovery of Texas residents, but these insurance companies will not change because this is how they protect their profits.
Our law firm is committed to helping cities like Houston, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Rockport, and Port Aransas get back on their feet. We’re committed to fighting for our neighbors, colleagues, friends, and family. We’re committed to holding insurance companies accountable for the unethical and predatory practices they are using on Texans in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
We’re committed to fighting back—for you, for us, and for Texas.
If you’re ready to hold your insurance company accountable, do not hesitate to call us today at (888) 400-2101 or contact us online to discuss your options and specifically how we can help you, your family, and your business.