Insurance Bad Faith and Unfair Insurance Practices

New Haven, CT Bad Faith Insurance Attorneys

When you pay for insurance, you expect your insurance carrier to treat you with dignity and respect. In fact, common law in Connecticut states that an insurer has a duty of good faith and fair dealing with its insureds. In addition to the common law requirement of good faith, Connecticut also has its own set of statutes including C.G.S. § 42-110b, 38a-815 and 38a-336 which regulate what constitutes unfair insurance practices and unfair trade practices by insurance companies. Unfortunately, all too often the insurance companies act in bad faith and violate the above statutes by violating the Connecticut Unfair Insurance Practices Act and Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.

Bad Faith and Unfair Insurance Litigation Lawyer New Haven

If you believe you have been the victim of unfair insurance practices or that your insurer has acted in bad faith, you may be able to file a bad faith and unfair insurance practices claim.

What is Bad Faith Litigation?

There are a variety of ways in which an insurer can act in bad faith. A common scenario is when an insurer wrongfully denies coverage for an insured’s claim or significantly undervalues an insured’s claim when liability is clear, and damages have been concretely established. Another example is if an insurer fails to settle a claim against its insured within the policy limits when it is obvious that the reasonable value of the claim is more than the policy limits. As a result, the insured is exposed to a potential judgment that exceeds the insured’s policy limits.

Although not every case presents a situation where there is a viable bad faith claim, the ones that do require extensive litigation. These claims are considered to be complex litigation.

An insurer may be acting in bad faith if it has unreasonably delayed claim processing for no valid reason.

An insurer may be acting in bad faith if it has intentionally and maliciously undervalued a plaintiff’s claim causing the plaintiff to expend money in filing lawsuits and paying court costs and expert fees.

An insurer may be acting in bad faith if it has failed to respond to a plaintiff’s communications in a timely fashion.

An insurer may be acting in bad faith if it has unfairly failed to effectuate a prompt, fair and equitable settlement of a plaintiff’s claim causing the plaintiff to institute litigation before recovering benefits clearly due under the policy.

Unfair Insurance Practices: How We Can Help

Not every insurance claim denial or low settlement offer is in bad faith. However, if you believe that your insurance carrier has violated the terms and conditions of your policy and has indulged in bad faith and unfair insurance practices, it is possible you may have an extracontractual claim.

Call New Haven Insurance Bad Faith Attorney for free consultation

At D’Amico Law, LLC, in New Haven, Connecticut, we offer a free initial consultation to discuss your insurance claim dispute and we explain your legal options. Consult with Attorney Michael P. D’Amico who has extensive experience in handling bad faith litigation. He will fight to get you fair and just monetary compensation for both your underlying claim and, if appropriate, punitive damages for bad faith conduct.