Signs That Your Auto Insurer Could Be Acting In Bad Faith

When a motorist is injured in a car accident, he or she will likely need some sort of insurance coverage to pay for medical bills, property damage, and lost wages. In Florida, this coverage almost always comes from an injured party’s own PIP insurance provider, regardless of who actually caused the accident. Unfortunately, insurance companies often prove less willing to help policyholders than claimants expect and could even try to prevent them from receiving the coverage to which they are entitled. Keep an eye out for these five signs, which could indicate that an insurer is engaging in bad faith practices.

Avoiding Your Calls

One of the most obvious signs that your insurer is engaging in bad faith practices is when you try to call or email them and they simply don’t respond. If you’re consistently unable to get a hold of your insurance adjuster, they may be ignoring you, a tactic that is prohibited under state law, which requires insurers to respond promptly to concerns from claimants.

Rescheduling

In other cases, an insurance adjuster may respond to your calls or emails, but may continue to push an investigation into, and a decision regarding, your claim further and further out, even delaying it indefinitely. Rescheduling the same appointment multiple times should alert you that something isn’t right, as Florida auto insurers are required to deny or accept a claim within 30 days of submission, or carefully explain the reason for the delay, in writing.

Misinterpreting Your Policy

Auto accident victims should be sure to read their policies carefully, especially before filing a claim. This will give you a better chance of recognizing when an adjuster is deliberately misinterpreting a policy as a means of denying or undervaluing a claim. The legal jargon that insurers use means that this happens a lot more than most people realize, which is why it’s so important to have an attorney on your side who can hold the insurer accountable.

Delaying Payment or Sending an Incorrect Amount

Once a claim has been approved, you should receive a timeline, explaining when you’ll receive your settlement. Unfortunately, insurers don’t always abide by this schedule, or could send an amount different than what was agreed upon. While this could be the result of a clerical error or other mistake, it could also be evidence of bad faith insurance practices.

Increasing Your Premiums

Bad faith insurance practices can affect car accident victims even after their cases are resolved. An insurer could, for instance, significantly increase a person’s PIP insurance premiums. This, however, is not allowed under Florida law unless you were found at-fault for your car accident.

Call Today to Set Up an Appointment

No one deserves to be taken advantage of by an insurer, especially when they are trying to recover after a serious car accident. At Boone & Davis, our dedicated Florida auto accident lawyers can work with your insurers, so you can focus on your recovery. Call 954-566-9919 or send us an online message to schedule your free consultation today.

Sources:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0627/Sections/0627.736.html

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0626/Sections/0626.9541.html