Bad Faith

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A recent Georgia case1 is an example of a loss that should never have been made into a “bad faith” lawsuit. The policyholder only received an additional $3,512.10 in damages over what the insurance company paid before the lawsuit was filed. In yesterday’s post, Good Faith (WKA Bad Faith) Lawsuits Do Not Always Result in a Policyholder Trial Victory, I noted a number of factors that tend to indicate a good claim practice lawsuit. I also stated:…
Continue Reading A Follow Up To Good Faith (WKA Bad Faith) Lawsuits Do Not Always Result in a Policyholder Trial Victory

I can imagine some readers are wondering why I did not simply title this post with the words “Bad Faith” rather than “Good Faith.” The reason is that an insurance company owes a duty for “good faith” conduct. It simply is wrong that we refer to these improper claims practice lawsuits as “bad” when the cause of action is for the breach of the duty to act in “good” faith. I noted this in, Insurance Companies Must Perform in Good Faith Regardless of Their Customer’s Imperfect Actions:

It is unfortunate that we call these cases ‘bad faith’ cases when they are really ‘lack of good faith’ cases. Just read the ethical rules that historically called for insurance companies and their employees to act in the ‘utmost of good faith and fair dealing’ with their customers.

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Continue Reading Good Faith (WKA Bad Faith) Lawsuits Do Not Always Result in a Policyholder Trial Victory

Yesterday’s blog, Insurance Company Internal Claims Management Documents Should Demonstrate Good Faith Claims Processes, lead to a number of private comments and questions by readers. As a follow up, I ask the question, Why Should Property Insurance Claims Handling Training Programs, Processes, and Incentives Be Secret?…
Continue Reading Why Should Property Insurance Claims Handling Training Programs, Processes and Incentives Be Secret?

Insurance company claims management hates to have outside critical analysis over its handling of property insurance claims. Whether by regulators through market conduct examinations or discovery in claims practices cases by their own customers, the modern trend is to object to turning over these internal documents on every conceivable ground, including “trade secrets.” This has been noted numerous times in this blog, including in Trade Secrets: Dynamite Discovery Decisions, Part 11, where we noted:…
Continue Reading Insurance Company Internal Claims Management Documents Should Demonstrate Good Faith Claims Processes

A recent post, Louisiana Policyholders Deserve Good Faith Claims Treatment—Understanding Louisiana Hurricane Claim Bad Faith Law, discussed fundamental Louisiana law requiring insurance companies to treat policyholders in good faith and properly interpret their insurance policies. What happens if insurance companies delay claims following the recent hurricanes in Louisiana?…
Continue Reading Understanding Louisiana Bad Faith Law When Claims Payments Are Delayed or Paid Too Late

Louisiana insurance law is very different from other states. Louisiana insurance bad faith law is different, makes meaningful definitions about what good faith conduct is expected, and makes insurers accountable for good faith claims treatment when hurricanes damage Louisiana policyholders. Policyholders who have been underpaid or delayed payment should get legal advice about their valuable legal rights. You could lose out on monies owed if you fail to speak with legal counsel and have been subjected to low-ball and slow-paying property insurance companies.
Continue Reading Louisiana Policyholders Deserve Good Faith Claims Treatment—Understanding Louisiana Hurricane Claim Bad Faith Law

The quick answer to this post is to “hire a really good and experienced property insurance bad faith attorney and file a proper Civll Remedy Notice.” It is clearly not business as we used to do it in the first-party good faith claims practice field. What I taught just several years ago as the proper way to complete civil remedy notices (CRNs), which is a requirement for a bad Faith lawsuit, is no longer the best method to do so. Policyholders should not attempt to do this themselves. It has become extraordinarily complex. The Florida legislature has made it that way with newly enacted laws.
Continue Reading What Does a Property Insurance Policyholder Have To Do To File a Bad Faith Lawsuit In Florida?

The genesis for this post is a jury trial that Merlin Law Group attorneys Mike Duffy, Jon Bukowski, and Larry Bache recently won. Jon Bukowski sent me a transcript of the closing arguments with a comment about Mike Duffy’s closing being “the best.”…
Continue Reading Insurance Company Lawyer Tells Jury Insurance Companies Cannot Be Expected to Know Building Codes

Mississippi unfair claims practice law and bad faith actions are unique. Following Hurricane Katrina, I took the Mississippi Bar and represented hundreds of Mississippi businesses and residents with insurance disputes arising from Hurricane Katina. I was honored to represent the grandparents of my co-author in this blog post. As a kid, I lived for three years in Waveland, Mississippi. Merlin Law Group is still being retained on property insurance disputes in Mississippi. Since her interest in property insurance law started with our firm’s work in Mississippi, I look forward to working with Kathryn on those cases after she gets the results from her bar examination.
Continue Reading Understanding Mississippi Unfair Claims Practice and Bad Faith Cases Based on Delay