How to Know if Your Insurance Company Acted in Bad Faith in MA

Unfortunately, insurance companies tend to employ unsavory tactics when dealing with injured victims, sometimes verging into acting in bad faith. To protect your access to damages and keep an insurance company in line, it’s important to learn how to know if your insurance company acted in bad faith.

There are a few telltale signs that a Massachusetts insurance company may be acting in bad faith. Things like bad communication, victim blaming, and offering low settlements can indicate that your insurance company may be trying to trick you. If you recognize that your insurance company is acting in bad faith, you can hold it accountable in a lawsuit. That said, doing so can be complicated for Massachusetts victims, so hiring an attorney to help you through the litigation process is crucial.

Our lawyers are dedicated to helping victims throughout Massachusetts hold selfish insurance companies accountable. For a free case evaluation with the Massachusetts personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan, call today at (617) 925-6407.

Signs an MA Insurance Company is Acting in Bad Faith

Unfortunately for Massachusetts victims, insurance companies are notorious for acting in bad faith and making recovery difficult. Because insurance companies are so practiced in this behavior, it can be difficult for Massachusetts victims to identify the unsavory tactics these companies may employ. Instead of guessing, hire a Boston personal injury lawyer to help you recognize signs that your insurance company is acting in bad faith.

Bad Communication

While it’s possible that insurance adjusters are busy with multiple claims and investigations, your case should get sufficient attention. Sometimes, Massachusetts insurance adjusters may intentionally miscommunicate with victims to confuse or frustrate them. Insurance companies may be unresponsive to a victim’s questions or communicate ineffectively. This type of behavior can be purposeful and indicate that a Massachusetts insurance company is acting in bad faith.

Lowball Settlements

Generally, an easy way to tell that a Massachusetts insurance company is acting in bad faith is by evaluating settlement offers. Insurance companies will often intentionally put forth a settlement offer that’s far less than what a victim deserves, hoping a Massachusetts victim will accept it. That way, an insurance company will be off the hook for additional damages. After all, once you accept compensation, the subject is closed.

That is why having an attorney is so important. Massachusetts victims may be unable to properly evaluate their damages and the settlement offer they deserve. They may also be unaware that insurance companies can act in bad faith and intentionally offer lowball settlements.

Victim Blaming

The insurance world can be complicated, full of strange words and phrases unknown to many Massachusetts victims. A common tactic employed by insurance companies is to use such confusing phrases to trick victims into accepting fault. Once this happens, insurance companies might have sufficient reason to deny victims’ claims.

A Massachusetts insurance company may attempt to trick you into accepting fault by using leading language or pretending to be in your corner. Unfortunately, victims may misspeak, be unaware of the consequences, and mistakenly accept fault for damages they didn’t actually cause. Because of Massachusetts’s no-fault insurance laws for car accidents, victims may believe accepting fault doesn’t matter. In reality, your damages may still be reduced.

Illegitimately Denying Claims

Suppose you have a legitimate claim, and your insurance company denies it without grounds. In that case, it may be acting in bad faith. If you don’t have a Massachusetts attorney, it can be difficult to ascertain whether or not an insurance company legitimately denied a claim or not. Before deciding a claim’s outcome, an insurance company must thoroughly investigate it. Say your insurance company lost paperwork, canceled your plan, or simply denied your claim without providing a reason. In that case, it may be acting in bad faith.

Other Signs

While there are certainly some clear sign of an insurance company acting in bad faith, other examples may be less obvious to Massachusetts victims. For example, an insurance adjuster losing records or delaying a claim may seem innocuous to victims at first. Seemingly harmless conversations can coincide with underlying motives that victims may be unaware of. Then, there are more overt instances of insurance companies acting in bad faith, like threats or instructions.

The bottom line is that if a Massachusetts insurance company’s behavior during the claims process makes you uncomfortable, tell your attorney. An insurance company may be acting in bad faith, wrongly inhibiting your access to damages.

What Can You Do if Your MA Insurance Company Acted in Bad Faith?

In Massachusetts, insurance companies are required to act in good faith, meaning they cannot fraudulently deny a claim or use otherwise unsavory tactics against you. If your insurance company chooses to act in bad faith, you can file a lawsuit for compensation in Massachusetts.

Since insurance companies are required to act in good faith, doing the opposite can result in a lawsuit. Massachusetts policyholders are entitled to file a lawsuit against an unethical insurance company for acting in bad faith and denying a claim or making recovery unnecessarily difficult.

That said, distinguishing between acting in bad faith and just being stubborn can be challenging. Filing a bad faith insurance lawsuit in Massachusetts can be quite complicated. Injured victims may be unaware that their insurer was acting unethically. Or, if you feel something is wrong, you may not know how to proceed.

That is why hiring a Cambridge personal injury lawyer is crucial. An experienced attorney can analyze your insurance policy and Massachusetts’s laws to determine whether or not your insurance company acted in bad faith and in contrast to its promises. Your Massachusetts personal injury lawyer can identify unethical behavior on behalf of an insurance company, whether during settlement negotiations or after your claim has been denied, and help you recover the compensation you deserve.

Call Our Attorneys if Your MA Insurance Company Acted in Bad Faith Today

If you’ve experienced the consequences of a Massachusetts insurance company acting in bad faith, our attorneys can help. For a free case evaluation with the Wakefield personal injury lawyers at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan, call today at (617) 925-6407.