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Insurance Bad Faith

Bad faith claims arise when a company with whom you have a contract fails to act within the terms of that contract. In the case of your insurance company this may happen if it fails to promptly or properly defend or pay a claim. An insurance company has a duty to deal fairly with its customers, giving more consideration to its insured customers than to its own interest. Whenever your insurance company fails to honor its obligations in its contract with you, you may have a claim for bad faith. An insurance company is required to investigate all claims and find out information about anything that might support their insured’s claim.

Insurance contracts are written to reflect current case law. Terms which seem self-evident to the insured may actually have special interpretations know to the insurance company and not to the insured. All insurance contracts are interpreted in a court to carry out the reasonable expectations of the insured party. The contract will be studied to obtain its meaning, and such meaning must be clear and unmistakable. Generally, any terms which are not clear will be interpreted to benefit the insured. You do not have to prove that the company intended to cause harm, only that they failed to honor their agreement and had no cause not to pay the claim.

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Web Site Disclaimer: The Illinois personal injury, worker's compensation, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, product liability, mass tort drug litigation, consumer fraud, business litigation, environmental litigation, social security law, and/or other legal information offered herein by Chicago Illinois Personal Injury Attorneys is not formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney client relationship. Our Illinois law firm handles law suits in the areas of and around Chicago, Moline, Rock Island, Quad Cities, Champaign, Rockford, Peoria, Springfield and East St. Louis - Illinois; Davenport, Bettendorf, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, - Iowa; Beloit, Madison, Milwaukee - Wisconsin; St. Louis - Missouri and in select areas of Indiana.

The determination of the need for legal services and the choice of a lawyer are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely upon advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise. This disclosure is required by the Supreme Court of Iowa. Memberships and offices in legal fraternities and legal societies, technical and professional licenses, and memberships in scientific, technical and professional associations and societies of law or field of practice do not mean that a lawyer is a specialist or expert in a field of law nor do they mean that such a lawyer is necessarily any more expert or competent than any other lawyer. All potential clients are urged to make their own independent investigation and evaluation of any lawyer being considered. This notice is required by the rule of the Supreme Court of Iowa."
See Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility OR 2-101(A), OR 2-101(C), OR 2-105(A)(3)(c) (1997).

Copyright © 2002-2004 VanDerGinst Law - The People's Firm - personal injury lawyers, worker's compensation attorneys, medical malpractice lawyers, nursing home abuse attorneys, product liability lawyers, mass tort drug litigation attorneys, consumer fraud lawyers, business litigation attorneys, environmental litigation lawyers, social security law attorneys serving Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. All rights reserved.

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