Filing a claim with your insurance company just to find out that they have canceled your insurance is certainly a nightmare situation. In some cases, your insurance may have been wrongfully canceled, but how can you make that determination? In Florida, bad faith insurance law is designed to ensure that insurance companies follow a set of “good faith” guidelines once they receive a claim from the insured. They have a fiduciary duty to investigate each claim and do everything they can to fulfill their obligations as an insurer, keeping the insured’s best interest the number one priority.

There are two types of bad faith claims one can make against their insurance company:

• Bad faith refusal to pay money: This is a failure on the part of the insurer to pay benefits without justification
• Bad faith claim handling: This entails reckless handling of claims that results in delays and fraudulent claim handling

Justification for filing a bad faith insurance claim includes situations where the insurer neglected to offer a settlement to the insured in a fair and honest manner. The insurer must offer a reasonable-under-the-facts settlement. Neglecting to perform due diligence and wholly investigate claims within policy limits would be in bad faith on the part of the insurer.

Examples of bad faith tactics include but are not limited to:

• Denial of coverage without investigation
• Taking an unusual amount of time to investigate a claim/purposely delaying the investigation
• Failure to pay the insured within a reasonable amount of time
• Failure to provide written explanation of claim denial
• Withholding information
• Changing adjusters to further delay a claim

If you believe that your insurance provider has acted in bad faith and would like to file a claim against them, contact RLC Lawyers and Consultants. We practice insurance law in Palm Beach County with an office located in Boca Raton.