Bad faith is, is tough to prove, and as we explained in other videos, there’s certain examples of bad faith, and bad faith is very specific to the cause of action. http://www.wkw.com
But the remedies are very expansive. Not only do you get consequential damages such as medical bills, if you have a judgment against you, that’s paid off.
You also get damages for the anxiety and distress that you feel by being dealt with in bad faith by the insurance company. That feeling of being left hung out to dry, that you’ve been denied coverage wrongly, that’s compensable.
Not only that, there’s something called punitive damages that are also assessed against the insurance company that you recover in part to deter the insurance company from acting that way again.
Finally, you’re also entitled to your attorney’s ees, so if your attorney reserves a fee for representing you, the insurance company also has to pay for that. So, as I said, although bad faith is very hard to prove, normally when you are able to prove it, the recovery is pretty expansive.
Insurance bad faith claims usually arise out of a dispute between the insurance company and a claimant over the obligations of the insurance company to pay a claim under the terms of the policy contract. Insurance companies have a duty under the law to deal fairly and in good faith with their clients.
Wilson Kehoe Winingham has tried or settled several cases against insurance companies for unfair denial of large claims, ranging from fire losses and roof collapse to disability claims made by physicians and other professionals. Firm partner Bill Winingham has argued before the Indiana Supreme Court to continue to ensure that Indiana holds insurance companies accountable for their lack of good faith in denying claims.
For more information, contact Wilson Kehoe Winingham at http://www.wkw.com/areas-of-practice/insurance-bad-faith/.
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