New York City Bad Faith Lawyer
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Insurance companies in New York have an obligation to consider claims in good faith. If you’ve submitted a claim for benefits and believe it’s been wrongfully denied, you may have a legitimate claim for damages. The NYC bad faith lawyers at the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers can help you fight to hold the insurance company accountable for their wrongful actions.
When you hire our law firm, you get a former insurance defense lawyer on your side. Attorney Jay Knispel knows how insurance companies operate and understands what’s necessary to put together a successful bad faith action.
Contact our law offices in New York City or give us a call at (212) 564-2800, NY to learn more by scheduling a free consultation. Our team is always available to take your call – 24/7/365.
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Insurance companies tend to have the upper hand when it comes to injury claims for benefits. They know the claims process and understand that injury victims tend to be overwhelmed, stressed, and confused. They’ll do anything they can to use these things to their advantage – including engaging in conduct that’s less than honest.
If you suspect that your insurance claim has been lowballed, delayed, or rejected without a legitimate reason, it’s important to get an experienced NYC personal injury lawyer involved immediately.
At the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel Personal Injury Lawyers, we level the playing field and force insurance companies to play by the rules. When we suspect bad faith practices, we take additional steps to not only make them pay the original claim but compensate our clients for the harm they’ve caused.
When you trust us to take on your bad faith action in NYC, we will:
Contact our legal team, led by award-winning attorney Jay S. Knispel, to learn more about how we can help you fight for the compensation you rightfully deserve.
When you purchase an insurance policy, you enter into a contractual agreement with the insurance provider. You pay premiums in exchange for protection in the event of some type of accident or disaster.
For instance, in New York, you’re legally required to purchase car insurance if you own and operate a motor vehicle. You find a provider, agree to terms, and pay them a monthly (or semi-annual) premium so that they’ll cover damages if you’re involved in a car accident.
This is a contract between you and your car insurance company. When you get into an accident, the company is legally obligated to hold up its side of the bargain – as long as you’ve held up yours.
This means that the insurance company has to accept, review, and consider your claim in a timely fashion and pay up if your claim is legitimate. This is known as considering a claim in good faith.
Bad faith means that an insurance company has engaged in some behavior that breaches the terms of your contract in some way. Typically, it results in withholding, delaying, or denying benefits that a claimant (you, the accident victim) rightfully deserve.
Examples of bad faith insurance practices might include:
There can be a gray area between what might be appropriate or unavoidable during the claims process and what’s done in bad faith.
Bad faith practices are typically intentional and done with the intent to cause a claimant to give up and walk away without the benefits to which they’re entitled.
Absolutely. Not every claim that’s submitted will be successful – and there are a few reasons why that could be the case. Just because a claim is denied or delayed for some reason doesn’t automatically mean that an insurance provider has acted in bad faith.
An insurance company might reject a claim for benefits if:
Insurance companies are also only responsible to pay up to the policy’s limits.
Let’s say you were in a car accident in New York City and suffered a traumatic brain injury. As a result, your medical bills and related costs currently exceed $100,000. You opted to go with the state minimum when purchasing your insurance policy – which means that you have $25,000 in bodily injury protection. Your provider is only responsible to pay up to $25,000. You can submit a claim for $100,000, but the insurance company can come back and say that they’ll only pay $25,000 – and still be acting in good faith.
New York is a fairly pro-insurance industry state. Most often, courts will consider “bad faith” practices as breaches of contract. Companies can be sued and forced to comply with the terms of a contractual insurance agreement.
But, what about punishing the insurer for its intentional or reckless wrongdoing and compensating the claimant who has suffered? In New York, bad faith actions are typically seen as quests for punitive damages – and can be quite challenging to win.
Courts have held that, in most instances, bad faith claims should only be successful – and damages awarded – when it’s clear that:
In other words, damages in bad faith actions are typically only awarded when insurance companies do something so clearly wrong that it’s necessary to punish them as a deterrent.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider a bad faith action if you’ve had insurance benefits withheld or denied or if an insurance provider has made the process a nightmare for you.
The best first step involves speaking with an NYC bad faith insurance attorney who understands the insurance industry. At the Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel, we’ll carefully review the specific details of your case and determine the best course of action. That strategy may very well involve strong legal action to not only recover the benefits you’re legally entitled to under the terms of your insurance policy, but also an action for additional damages to hold the insurer accountable for their actions.
Whether you’re dealing with your insurance company (first-party claim) or someone else’s provider (third-party claim), you deserve to have your claim considered in good faith. If an insurer tries to get out of paying you the money you rightfully deserve without justification, then it’s important to take prompt legal action.
At the very least, you can file a lawsuit and demonstrate your legitimate case to a New York City court. If the insurer’s conduct is particularly reprehensible, you may also be able to secure additional damages through a bad faith action.
The Law Offices of Jay S. Knispel can help you navigate these difficult and stressful times. Let our NYC bad faith insurance lawyers handle the legal challenges you’re facing. Contact our law firm to discuss your options and rights today. Your initial case evaluation is 100% free.
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450 7th Ave #1605, New York, NY 10123
(212) 564-2800
(516) 715-5944
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New York, NY 10123
(212) 564 2800
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Brooklyn, NY 11242
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