My Insurance Company Denied My Claim: Now What?
If your insurance company denies your claim, don’t panic. It is not uncommon for an insurance company to mishandle or outright deny your claim, whether it is health insurance, auto insurance, homeowner’s insurance, or even life insurance. Even if you’ve paid all of your premiums on time, there are many gray areas within the policy and the law that an insurance company can use to find a reason to deny your claim. Your insurance company may also be acting in bad faith by denying, mishandling, or clearly undervaluing a claim. Whatever the reason, getting a South Carolina insurance claim denial attorney to represent you may be the best way forward. An experienced bad faith insurance attorney can guide you through the process of addressing an insurance claim denial.
Call us today at 803-400-8277 for your free consultation and read on to learn more about what to do if your insurance company denies your claim.
1. Call A Bad Faith Insurance Attorney
If you believe that your insurance company is mishandling or has baselessly denied your claim, your first step should be calling a bad faith insurance attorney. Your insurance company is not advocating for you, and may be misinterpreting the policy and/or South Carolina insurance law to you. In addition to outright denials of a claim with no basis, there are many ways in which an insurance company can act in bad faith. Here are a few:
Knowingly misrepresenting pertinent facts or policy provisions to you;
Failingly to promptly communicate with you;
Failing to promptly investigate your claim;
Failing to negotiate and settle your claim in good faith;
Substantially undervaluing claims; and
Invoking or threatening to invoke policy defenses without grounds to do so
2. Ask Your Insurance Company for a Reason For the Denial
If your insurance company denies your claim, don’t just accept it and move on. Demand that the basis for the denial be detailed in writing. If the claims adjuster cannot provide you with a valid reason for denying your claim, your attorney can further use this as evidence of bad faith. If a reason is provided, but it is not an appropriate reason to deny your claim, your attorney can also use this as well. If you retain one of our bad faith insurance attorneys, we will communicate with the insurance company on your behalf.
3. Gather All Documentation
Once you hire a bad faith insurance attorney, your own work isn’t over. Your attorney will need you to help by collecting all the documentation you can find related to your claim. This may mean medical reports or bills for a health or auto insurance claim denial, property damage reports for an auto insurance or homeowner’s insurance claim denial, or proof of death and the circumstances surrounding it for a life insurance claim denial.
In South Carolina, the burden of proof is on you, the plaintiff, to prove that your insurance company acted in bad faith. Our insurance claim denial attorneys at HHP Law Group are experienced in proving that insurance companies acted in bad faith on the basis of evidence provided by our clients and through expert testimony in different types of insurance claim denials. We need documentation of every aspect of your case in order to make the best possible case on your behalf.