Shortly after an event has occurred where someone has been hurt or there has been damage to property, insurance companies become involved in proceedings. The primary goal of the insurance company is to settle the claim as quickly as possible for the lowest financial amount possible. Despite their assurances, the primary obligation that insurance companies have is to their shareholders, not to their clients.
Have you been pressured by an insurance company to sign documents or provide a statement about an event that caused you to be injured and/or suffer property damage?
At Phillips Law Group, we have been helping to protect injury victims against large corporations like insurance companies, for decades. Our legal team are aware of the tactics that insurance companies use and we can help to be a barrier between insurers and victims during the ligitation process.
To learn more about how we can help you, call us today or fill out our “Free Case Evaluation” form and let us review the details of your incident. There are no upfront fees if we take on your case and we only get paid when we obtain a recovery on your behalf.
Free Consultation. Ph: 602-222-222 .
What Types of Insurance Are Available?
Insurance companies exist to generate revenue for their shareholders. They do this by investing a small amount of the money that they receive from annual premiums, and often put those funds into low risk investments.
To ensure that they keep their balance sheets looking healthy, they employ teams of lawyers, investigators and other staff members to discredit the claims of those that attempt to recover funds from their policies. Some of these policies may include:
- Automotive Accident Coverage – Most states require drivers to have auto insurance. In Arizona, it is mandatory. Auto insurance policies are often used by plaintiffs to claim financial compensation after they have been injured in a collision with an at-fault driver. Commonly, these policies are heavily defended by lawyers working either for – or on the behalf of – insurance companies.
- Home / Rental Insurance – In the event that a home is burglarized or perhaps damaged in a storm, these types of policies can be useful. However, often buried in the fine print of the insurance policy, are clauses that can permit the insurer to not pay when a claim is filed. An example of this is water damage in a storm coverage policy. The policy may cover wind damage but should any water cause damage (which is likely in a rain storm), that damage may not be covered. It may also be argued that water caused all the damage, thus making the insurer not pay anything to settle the claim.
- Health Insurance – The majority of health insurance policies in the United States have very high deductible rates. This means that policy holders must meet a certain threshold of fees, before the policy begins to cover medical costs. For many families, this can mean paying hundreds to thousands of dollars each month just to maintain coverage and then needing to spend thousands more to reach their deductible… which resets every year.
- Disability / Income Insurance – These policies commonly offer wage supplements in the event that a worker cannot work for a given reason. In most instances, it is approximately 60% of the workers wage.
- Life Insurance – There can be many loopholes in life insurance policies which enable insurance companies to not pay the value of the policy – or even a percentage of it. In many instances, insurers will only offer term-limited policies and as policy holders get older, the insurance company increases the monthly price of the policy, while making the minimum health requirements more stringent.
- Long Life Care Insurance – These policies cater to those that are looking to offset the costs that are often not covered by health insurance policies. Commonly, insurance companies will not offer a long-term life insurance policy after an applicant has already had a negative change in their health.
Understanding the details of your policy can be an important part of the compensation recovery process. At Phillips Law Group, we welcome the opportunity to review the details of your damages claim and charge no upfront fees if we take on your case.
How Can A Claim Be Denied?
Any time an insurance claim is denied, a reason must be provided by the insurance company as to why it was denied. While there can be many different reasons depending on the type of policy and what it covers, some common reasons for denied claims include:
- Disputed Liability – Following an incident that has resulted in injury and/or property damage, the insurance company may deny a claim on the basis they believe the plaintiff may be liable for the incident – or that their client (the insured person), was only partially to blame. In either event, the result can be that the available compensation is significantly less than the original amount claimed.
- Failure to Notify – After an accident, insurance policy holders are obligated to notify their insurance company of the incident. The exact deadline can vary from policy to policy and from company to company however, in the event that a claim is made and the insured has not notified the insurer, the claim may be denied.
- Lapsed Policy – In the event that the insured has not paid their policy premiums at the time of an accident, there may be a lapse in policy coverage. If so, the insurance company may state that there was no coverage at that time. It’s important to note that from the perspective of a plaintiff, if this issue arises, there may still be an opportunity to make a recovery.
- Policy Exclusions – Often, buried in the fine print of an insurance contract are specific conditions in the policy that are not covered. Insurance companies know these fine details very well and will use them to avoid paying a claim.
- Pre-existing Conditions – In certain personal injury compensation claims, an insurance company may argue that the plaintiff had an existing injury and that injury is the cause of the pain that they may be experiencing – not the incident that is being discussed in the claim. This is why it is important to have detailed records of the event and any medical treatment that the plaintiff may have received following the incident. A reputable lawyer will obtain this information to dispute the allegation of the insurance company.
- No Treatment at Time of Injury – Should an accident victim decide not to receive medical treatment at the time an injury was sustained, an insurance company may deny a claim on the basis that the injury was not serious enough to receive medical treatment. It many instances, accident injury victims often feel the effects of a collisions days after an accident has taken place – an example of this may be in a rear end car accident, where the victim didn’t feel injured at the time of the crash but started to feel a sore neck days after the event.
Dealing with insurance companies can be a complicated and deliberately time-consuming process. Most insurance companies know that claimants usually do not have the time to compile medical records, police reports and other documentation to validate their claim – nor do they have time to sit on the phone waiting to speak to an insurance company representative.
At Phillips Law Group, we have a team of support staff that work with our attorneys to help gather the information we need to build a strong argument for your potential case. If you have been injured in an incident that was not your fault and need help dealing with an insurance company, contact us today.
Have Some Questions? We Have Answers. Call 602-222-222 .
What Is Bad Faith?
Insurance policies are a contract between the insurer and the insured. The insurer agrees to offer coverage in exchange for the insured to pay the policy premiums.
Commonly, both parties enter this agreement in good faith – which means that both sides have honest and sincere intentions where the insured should only file a claim when he/she has a legitimate reason, and the insurer can only deny the claim with a legitimate reason.
However, in the event that an insurance company denies a claim when it is aware that the insured person was at fault, that may be considered to be acting in bad faith.
Contact A Mesa, AZ Insurance Claim Attorney Today
Having represented more than 155,000 consumer clients over the past 27 years, at Phillips Law Group, we deal with insurance companies on a regular basis. We understand the strategies that they use in an effort to discredit claims, and we have a thorough knowledge of the laws that relate to damages claims.
If you believe you have been unjustly denied a claim or perhaps if you need advice before you file a claim, we encourage you to contact our team of legal professionals today.
We charge no upfront fees if we take on your case and your initial consultation with a lawyer at our firm, is free.
Need Help? Call Us Today. Ph: 602-222-222
Available 24/7