Experienced Bad Faith Insurance Attorney: Protecting Your Rights

You need an experienced attorney to hold them accountable.

Insurance companies, by the nature of their business, deal with people in need. When a company says that they will provide benefits under certain circumstances, we expect them to make a good faith effort to follow through on their promises. You’ve faithfully paid your premiums for years, and you should receive the benefits you are owed when you are eligible to receive them.

However, insurance companies are also for-profit businesses. In some cases, that desire for profit drives them to treat their customers unfairly. When that happens, the insurance company is said to have acted in bad faith. In those situations, you need someone who will fight for you, who knows how to work with your insurance company to get the help you need to make you whole again. You need an insurance denial lawyer.

At AEL, we’ve been helping people who were wronged by insurance companies for decades. Here are some examples of bad faith insurance cases we’ve seen over the years:

• Not responding to a claim in a timely manner.
• Not doing due diligence to investigate a claim.
• Denying benefits without giving cause.
• Trying to settle a claim for an unreasonably low amount.
• Requesting a burdensome amount of documentation not required by the policy.
• Deliberately misinterpreting or misrepresenting the policy language.
• Intentionally or irresponsibly withholding information.
• Altering a policy without informing or receiving the consent of the insured person.
• Threatening to take legal action against the insured without cause.

You may be entitled to punitive damages

When an insurance company acts in bad faith, the stakes are high. That’s because insurers who act in bad faith can, in many cases, be held liable for punitive damages. In other words, a jury may order the insurance company to pay out significantly more money than they would have paid had they approved the claim in the first place. This is partially to compensate for any losses you may have incurred due to the delay in payment, and partly to send a strong message that acting in bad faith will not be tolerated.

Because these cases are so critical for the insurance companies, they’ll have teams of well-paid attorneys on their side. You need your own advocate to stand up to them and get the compensation you deserve to move forward. AEL has been handling complex insurance cases for decades. Our attorneys have extensive experience reviewing insurance policies and making sure our clients get all of the compensation they are owed.

Did You Lose A Loved One In An Accident?

Our insurance denial attorneys can help with your AD&D claim.

Accidental death and dismemberment (ADD or AD&D) is a type of insurance that pays benefits when the insured is killed or loses a limb, vision or hearing in an accident. This type of coverage is like life insurance, but much more limited in scope. While life insurance provides coverage when the insured person dies under nearly any circumstances, AD&D only provides coverage when the insured person dies because of an accident.

In principle, AD&D should protect your family under the worst possible circumstances: when a loved one passes away suddenly, leaving you struggling to find a way to move forward. Unfortunately, if you’ve lost a loved one who was covered under AD&D, your family may be in for a difficult battle with the insurance company. Because AD&D is limited to such specific circumstances, the insurance company will look for every possible way to deny your claim. And because most AD&D policies are provided by an employer with no opportunity to shop around, the policy holder often isn’t aware of all the terms and exclusions – a fact that the insurance company will absolutely use to their advantage.

That’s why you need an experienced accidental death denial lawyer. Reach out to AEL today.

We understand the complex rules surrounding AD&D cases.

In order to collect accidental death benefits, you will need to show that your loved one’s death was due to an accidental cause. Often, the insurance company will dispute whether the death actually resulted from an accident. For instance, if a medical problem contributed to a car crash, the insurance company may argue that the cause of death was the medical issue rather than the car crash itself. Likewise, if the insured person died on a surgical operating table after an accident, the insurance company may argue that the cause of death was a surgical error, which again is not covered under AD&D.

Moreover, every AD&D policy carries “exclusions” – causes of death that are specifically not covered. These vary from policy to policy, but some of the most common exclusions are:

• Injury or death sustained while intoxicated
• Suicide or attempted suicide
• Certain high-risk activities such as skydiving
• Physical or mental illness
• Drug or alcohol use

In principle, insurance companies are required to pay out within 30 to 60 days of the accidental death. In practice, that’s rarely the case. The insurance company may argue that they do not have enough information to determine whether the death was accidental. They may claim that the death was a suicide or other non-covered cause, and they will try to put the burden of proof on you to show that it really was a covered accident. If the insurance company is disputing your claim, you need to contact us right away.

Our attorneys have extensive experience handling the complex circumstances surrounding AD&D denial cases. We know how to review policy language and determine whether an exemption really did apply to your loved one’s case. We understand the arguments that your insurance company will make – and we know how to beat them.

We’ll also explore your other legal options in the event of an accidental death. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, we may be able to file a wrongful death claim against the person who caused the accident. If your insurance company acted in bad faith by denying the accidental death claim, we’ll work to hold them accountable.

We understand that you may not want to involve an attorney. But the sooner you get experienced legal help on your side, the easier it will be to move forward after an accidental death. That’s why we encourage you to reach out to AEL right away. Call (206) 623-7520 for your free consultation.

Did You Lose A Loved One In An Accident?

An experienced lawyer can help you handle the insurance company.

Insurance is one of the biggest moneymaking industries in the United States today, and for good reason. Without insurance, you’d be paying out of pocket for medical expenses. You would be taking an incredible risk every time you get in your car, with no recourse to get compensation for a potential accident. For most people, insurance companies provide an essential, even lifesaving service.

But at the end of the day, insurance companies are for-profit companies, not charities. They’re in business to make money. Like any business, they’re always looking for ways to increase their profit margins. Unfortunately, that means reducing or denying claims for policyholders like you.

That’s not right, and it’s not something we’ll allow. AEL has been standing up to insurance companies that put profits ahead of people for decades. Contact us if you’ve wrongfully been denied any of the following benefits:

• Long-Term Disability
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment

When insurance companies won’t take care of you, we’re on your side.

Insurance companies deny claims because they make more money – and because they know they can get away with it. Because the fine print of any insurance policy is so complex, many people just take the insurance company’s word for it when they are told something is or isn’t covered. The reality is that in the insurance world, it’s common practice to reward employees who deny claims regardless of whether those claims have merit. And conversely, employees who routinely approve claims may be in danger of losing their jobs.

Even if your claim is approved, insurance companies often stall or delay payment for as long as they can. This can be a serious problem if you’re injured or disabled and need that money now. Getting paid months or years down the road won’t help you if you’re out of work and can’t pay your rent, medical bills or other expenses.

That’s why you need an attorney on your side. That’s why you need us. We’ll review your insurance policy, investigate your claim and deal with the insurance company on your behalf. Sometimes, just knowing you’ve retained an attorney is enough to get the insurance to pay up. Other times, they’ll push back, and we need to take legal action. If we find that your insurance company has acted in bad faith, we may be able to pursue a claim for punitive damages in addition to the benefits you were already entitled to receive.

Don’t believe the insurance companies when they tell you that you don’t need a lawyer – remember, they’re going to call their lawyer as soon as they’re done talking to you. Reach out to AEL right away. Call (206) 623-7520 to schedule your free consultation.