Most people shell out hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to pay insurance premiums in order to have some financial protection if something bad happens to them. The typical person has at least automobile insurance, homeowner’s insurance, or renter’s insurance. But it is common to have several other types of insurance as well. For instance, many people have life insurance policies, or insurance on their boats or other large assets, and many professionals are required to carry malpractice insurance. Regardless of what type of insurance it is, when a claim gets denied by your insurance provider, it can be a major inconvenience for you.
Insurance companies make money by not paying out claims, or paying out less on a claim than they really should. This is what motivates insurance companies to deny claims more frequently than is actually warranted. When in doubt, insurance companies will make a denial, which causes the claimant to either let the claim go (and thus the insurance company saves money by not paying out the claim) or fight the denial. Many claimants choose to fight their insurance company’s denial of their claim. An experienced insurance disputes lawyer can help you with your insurance dispute.
Tips For Fighting An Insurance Denial
You do not have to take the insurance company’s denial as the final word on the matter. You can challenge the denial. Below are a few tips for dealing with a denied insurance claim.
1. Verify the denial of your insurance claim: When insurance companies deny a claim, they usually provide a reason for why they are denying the claim. You and your insurance dispute lawyer need to verify that the denial is appropriate. You may find that the
insurance company is not honoring the terms of the insurance policy, and that the insurer is actually obligated to pay out on the claim.
2. Verify all of the policy information: It is possible that the insurance company has you confused for another claimant who holds a different insurance policy. Make sure that the denial of your claim is based on your information and your policy.
3. Use an insurance dispute attorney to handle your denied claim: An insurance dispute lawyer will have experience working with insurance companies, and will be able to tell if the insurance company has made a proper denial of a claim, made a mistake, or is deliberately making a bad faith denial of your claim. Your lawyer will be able to dispute the denial, can negotiation a settlement with the insurance company on your behalf, and can bring legal action against the insurance company for bad faith, breach of contract, and any other applicable claims under the Illinois Insurance Code.
When insurance companies are wrongly denying your insurance claim, you need to fight to hold them accountable for the claim. Please feel free to contact one of our experienced Illinois insurance dispute attorneys today regarding your specific circumstances. Our firm serves the communities of Rolling Meadows, Inverness, Deer Park, Schaumburg, Barrington, Des Plaines, Crystal Lake, Buffalo Grove, Barrington, Arlington Heights.
Source:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs5.asp?ActID=1249&
About the Author: Attorney Ken Apicella is a founding partner of DGAA focusing in the areas of personal injury, employment, insurance coverage disputes, and civil litigation. Ken earned his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 1999. He has been named a SuperLawyers Rising Star and a Forty Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch. Ken has written and lectured for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and regularly serves as a moderator at Northwest Suburban Bar Association's Continuing Legal Education seminars.