Oxnard Bad Faith Insurance Lawyers

Standing Up to Insurance Companies on Your Behalf

Insurance companies have an obligation to pay insurance claims that meet the requirements of the policies they sell. Any attempt to dishonestly withhold the benefits of an insurance claim from a claimant may constitute bad faith insurance, which is a severe violation of a policyholder’s rights.

Have you been in an accident and need financial support from your insurer, only to be given an unreasonably difficult time or an unexplained denial in return? Our attorneys can use years of insight and legal experience to challenge bad faith insurance in all of its forms, pursuing fair and maximized compensation on your behalf.

Call (805) 470-1628 now to connect with The Schurmer Firm in Oxnard. We offer free case evaluations. Schedule yours today.

5 Ways Bad Faith Insurance is Often Conducted

Unexplained Delays

Investigating an insurance claim and deciding whether to pay the claimant or not does take time. Yet the time it takes to handle an insurance claim cannot be unreasonably long.

More importantly, any delays to the process should be explained to the claimant. Some insurance companies may be tempted to buy themselves time to avoid making a payout by delaying related processes as much as possible and never telling the claimant a valid reason why.

Lowballed Values

Insurance adjusters are tasked with determining how much money will be required to correct or repair all damages related to a filed claim.

Intentionally undervaluing the damages to try to pay as little as possible to the claimant is a form of bad faith insurance. To help catch an insurance company lowballing a claim, it is useful for claimants to hire their own third-party appraisers.

Incorrect Denials

Every insurance policy allows for claims that do not meet qualifications to be denied. Bad faith insurance happens when a denial is made for no valid reason.

When a claimant is sent a letter that notifies them of their denied claim, it is crucial to pass that letter along to an attorney, along with a copy of their insurance policy, to look for any discrepancies that would prove the denial was unjustified.

Inadequate Investigations

Insurance companies have a duty to carefully investigate claims to determine which should be paid and which should be denied.

Investigations can focus on:

• Liability
• Total damages
• And more

Not conducting a thorough investigation in order to try to escape the responsibility of paying a claimant is a bad faith insurance tactic.

Misinterpreted Policy Language

In some instances, an insurance company will intentionally misinterpret the language of their own policies in order to construe a new reason to deny or undervalue a claim. All claimants should know the fine details of their own insurance policies to avoid this trick.

What Constitutes Bad Faith Insurance Claim?

Simply having your insurance claim denied is not enough to constitute bad faith insurance. There must be evidence that shows you were owed benefits as part of your insurance policy and that those benefits were withheld for invalid reasons.

When you get the help of our Oxnard bad faith insurance attorneys, you can leave the fine details of your claim to us, including the investigation of why your claim was denied. Using our extensive legal knowledge and understanding of various insurance policies, we can locate the signs of bad faith insurance and take steps accordingly.