In California the phrase “insurance bad faith” generally refers to insurance company abuse where the carrier unreasonably denies or delays payment of a valid claim made by an individual or business.
When an insurance company is acting in “bad faith” it can mean withholding policy benefits that the policyholder has paid for, including an insurance company’s refusal to defend a policyholder when the policyholder is sued.
Insurance bad faith and coverage dispute litigation against an insurance company is legitimate when an insurance company unreasonably withholds policy benefits – fails to deal fairly and act in “good faith” towards policyholders, as required by law.
In California, when an insurance company acts in bad faith they can be sued for breach of contract and for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. This means that in such cases, a policyholder may recover his or her out of pocket costs, attorney fees and may be compensated for the emotional distress suffered as a result of the insurer’s bad faith conduct.
The Los Angeles law firm of Viau & Kwasniewski is devoted to helping individuals and small businesses victimized by insurance bad faith, aggressively litigating, prosecuting and successfully taking cases to trial.
Contact our Los Angeles bad faith insurance lawyers at
(213) 842-8164, complete our online Contact Us Form, or contact us by email at gkk@vklawyers.com if you believe your insurance company is acting in bad faith.
