Insurance Fraud, The Laws And Where You Stand Legally

Imagine the horror when you have suffered a catastrophe and your insurance company simply won't pay up. It can leave you in a state of emotional and indeed financial ruin. A Riverside attorney states that in some instances there may be a legitimate reason why insurance carriers don't 'cough up the cash'. However in some cases the reasons for not doing so are less than crystal clear.

The term insurance fraud, or 'insurance bad faith' encapsulates a plethora of unlawful acts that are committed by any given insurance company when processing a claim. It can range from a delayed payment or an underpayment, or alternatively it could be a complete denial of a legitimate claim. Strangely and rather bizarrely, there is no federal law to regulate insurance carriers and indeed the industry as a whole. Instead innocent victims have to rely on state laws, in the hope of prevention of any fraudulent activity. Insurance companies have a duty bound right to honor these laws and enter into a legally binding agreement when they sign the insurance contracts that are given to their customers. Unfortunately the commissions who police insurance activity, are to say the least...ineffective and as a result victims need somewhere to turn. For this reason it is wise to call upon the services of an experienced team of Riverside County attorneys who are well versed in dealing with insurance fraud problems, who can explain your rights.

The Types Of Insurance bad faith

The term 'insurance fraud' is by no means limited to non-payment of legitimate claims. On the contrary, the term can also be used for any insurer who is not responding to a claim with speed and efficiency, and also in a reasonable manner. On top of this, insurance companies are disallowed by law to place their own interests above that of a client. Again, when this happens it can be classed as insurance bad faith. So with this in mind, here are some of the more common types of insurance fraud.

• Unreasonable interpretation of an insurance contract
• Insufficient or underpayment of a claim
• Severe delays in payment
• Failure to pay an approved claim
• Outright refusal to pay a legitimate claim
• Denial of contracted benefits that have been outlined in a claim
• Making up false reasons for non payment of a claim

As you can see, there are quite a lot of ways in which an insurance company can commit insurance fraud, and in most cases they are very good at covering their tracks, often citing small print on the legal document for an under or non payment. In most cases insurance documentation is written in ‘legalese’ that simply doesn't make a lot of sense to the ordinary layman and some unscrupulous insurers will use this to cite reasons for the non-payment.

So what do you do if you are faced with the situation of a disputed claim?

Contact an insurance attorney

Firstly, and most importantly, you should speak with a skilled Riverside lawyer who is experienced in dealing with insurance fraud. They can 'level up the playing field' so to speak and can help you go through the small print on your documentation. Reading through your contract will give you a much clearer picture of exactly where you stand.

Dig out all documentation

It is vital that you can dig out all the correspondence between yourself and your insurer. This can be used as evidence should the case go to court. It has been known for a judge to boot out a case simply because the evidence was not sufficient. A member from your representing team of Riverside lawyers should explain the importance of this anyhow.

Formulate a game plan

With all the evidence to hand a skilled attorney can look at a course of action. In general a successful case may simply warrant the insurance company to pay the desired amount. However in some cases the judge may deem that the insurer had acted in a dishonest way and purposefully committed fraud and deception. In these instances then an award for punitive damages may be forthcoming. In order for a judge to award punitive damages the plaintiff has to prove that the insurer acted in a malicious and indeed wilful way. This is something that a skilled Riverside lawyer can do.

The sad news is that insurance fraud is rife, as more and more carriers are trying to cut costs to stay in business. The good news is that by contacting a Riverside attorney with a proven track record, they will tell you that you do have grounds for recourse.