Insurance Bad Faith
Insurer bad faith is any unreasonable or vexatious conduct by an insurance company while handling an insurance claim. If insurers delay or deny your claim, they may be guilty of bad faith. Insurance company bad faith includes improper claims practices by an insurer. The lawyers at Meyer and Blumenshine can assist you in dealing with insurer bad faith.
What is "unreasonable or vexatious conduct" by an insurer? What are "improper claims practices" by an insurer?
An insurance company has a duty of "good faith" to its insured. The duty of good faith is essentially the requirement that the insurance company act honestly and fairly in handling a claim, regardless of where the insured person lives, be it Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, Will County, Kane County, Tazewell County, DeKalb County, Grundy County, LaSalle County and other Illinois locations.
In general, insurer bad faith involves excessive claim delay, or wrongful claim denial and can occur whether you live in an urban area such as Chicago, Illinois or in a rural area elsewhere in the state such as Grundy County, LaSalle County, Peoria County or other county.
There is no limit on the types of claims handling insurer actions that constitute unreasonable and vexatious conduct. Specific improper claims practices are listed in the Illinois Insurance Code. Unreasonable and vexatious conduct includes things such as requiring the insured to submit duplicate information like forms, bills or records; failing to respond to phone calls or letters; telling a claimant they do not need an attorney; misrepresenting insurance policy provisions; misrepresenting the law; failing to conduct a proper claim investigation; making low ball settlement offers; requiring the insured to file suit to recover benefits; or requiring the insured to submit their claims to arbitration or lawsuit to recover benefits are all examples of what may
be unreasonable and vexatious conduct.
In Illinois, the Insurance Code provides that a judge may award you attorneys’ fees and penalties if the judge finds the insurance company guilty of unreasonable and vexatious delay.
Scott Blumenshine, a partner in Law Offices of Meyer and Blumenshine, drafted the current changes to the Illinois Insurance Code Bad Faith law. Mr. Blumenshine saw that his clients were often subject to insurance company claim denial and denial. He saw that insurers have lobbyists and clout in the legislature. What became clear was that the government body in Illinois that was resonsible for monitoring insurer conduct was unable and unwilling to penalize insurers for unreasonable and vexatious delay.
Mr. Blumenshine worked with the Illinois State Bar Association and certain State legislators to pass a law that strenghthened the law that penalizes insurance companies for unreasonable claim delay or denial.
If you are encountering difficulty in settling your insurance claim, please consider contacting us at 312-263-1000, or by the website contact form for a free consultation on your legal rights.
What is "unreasonable or vexatious conduct" by an insurer? What are "improper claims practices" by an insurer?
An insurance company has a duty of "good faith" to its insured. The duty of good faith is essentially the requirement that the insurance company act honestly and fairly in handling a claim, regardless of where the insured person lives, be it Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, Will County, Kane County, Tazewell County, DeKalb County, Grundy County, LaSalle County and other Illinois locations.
In general, insurer bad faith involves excessive claim delay, or wrongful claim denial and can occur whether you live in an urban area such as Chicago, Illinois or in a rural area elsewhere in the state such as Grundy County, LaSalle County, Peoria County or other county.
There is no limit on the types of claims handling insurer actions that constitute unreasonable and vexatious conduct. Specific improper claims practices are listed in the Illinois Insurance Code. Unreasonable and vexatious conduct includes things such as requiring the insured to submit duplicate information like forms, bills or records; failing to respond to phone calls or letters; telling a claimant they do not need an attorney; misrepresenting insurance policy provisions; misrepresenting the law; failing to conduct a proper claim investigation; making low ball settlement offers; requiring the insured to file suit to recover benefits; or requiring the insured to submit their claims to arbitration or lawsuit to recover benefits are all examples of what may
be unreasonable and vexatious conduct.
In Illinois, the Insurance Code provides that a judge may award you attorneys’ fees and penalties if the judge finds the insurance company guilty of unreasonable and vexatious delay.
Scott Blumenshine, a partner in Law Offices of Meyer and Blumenshine, drafted the current changes to the Illinois Insurance Code Bad Faith law. Mr. Blumenshine saw that his clients were often subject to insurance company claim denial and denial. He saw that insurers have lobbyists and clout in the legislature. What became clear was that the government body in Illinois that was resonsible for monitoring insurer conduct was unable and unwilling to penalize insurers for unreasonable and vexatious delay.
Mr. Blumenshine worked with the Illinois State Bar Association and certain State legislators to pass a law that strenghthened the law that penalizes insurance companies for unreasonable claim delay or denial.
If you are encountering difficulty in settling your insurance claim, please consider contacting us at 312-263-1000, or by the website contact form for a free consultation on your legal rights.