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Insurance Company Denied Claim, Failed to Conduct an Investigation

May 2nd, 2016 by admin

Ever feel like your insurance company has denied your claim without doing any kind of investigation? Did the insurance company talk to any people? Did it request any documents or information? Did the insurance company come to your house to see the damage, did it go to the scene of the accident, or have an investigator come to the location of a fire, or ask for a medical authorization so it can independently obtain medical information regarding your insurance claim?

It may seem like your insurance company is putting its head in the sand, ignoring the facts and refusing to search for information that would permit it to promptly and fully pay your claim. If so, your insurance company’s failure to conduct its own independent investigation of your claim may be a breach of its duty to deal fairly, meaning it could be committing bad faith. Insurance companies shouldn’t be permitted to pretend that they cannot process and pay your claim because they supposedly don’t have enough information, especially when they know how and where to obtain needed information.

“A claim must be paid promptly unless the insurer has a reasonable belief that the claim is legally or factually insufficient.” Willis v. Midland Risk Ins. Co., 42 F.3d 607, 611-12 (10th Cir. 1994).” To determine the validity of the claim, the insurer must conduct an investigation reasonably appropriate under the circumstances. An insurer owes a duty to conduct an investigation as part of its duty of good faith to its insureds, and failure to conduct an adequate investigation is evidence of an insurer’s unreasonable, bad faith conduct in withholding payment. Willis v. Midland Risk Ins. Co., 42 F.3d 607, 612 (10th Cir. 1994); Oulds v. Principal Mut.Life Ins. Co., 6 F.3d 1431, 1442 (10th Cir. 1993).

Contact Reams Law if your insurance company has denied your claim without conducting an investigation of your claim.

Ask for Austin

REAMS LAW
9208 North Kelly Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73131
(405) 285-6878
(800) 593-1974
conactus@reamslawifmr.com

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