Missoula Auto Insurance Dispute Lawyer
As with most states, Montana has mandatory minimum auto insurance requirements. This required coverage makes it necessary for drivers to carry a set amount of bodily injury and property damage coverage to help defray some of the costs of a crash victim’s injuries or the cost of someone else’s damaged property. Additionally, motorists generally have uninsured motorist coverage tacked on to their policy, which allows a driver to recoup damages if they have an accident with a non-insured car operator.
It’s the experience of each Missoula auto insurance dispute lawyer on our team that you can have problems with even when adequately insured. We’ll delve a bit deeper into the bad faith insurance issues our clients face, specifically related to auto insurance.
How Car Insurance Companies Act in Bad Faith
When clients approach our law firm, Western Justice Associates, PLLC, looking for help, some of the most common issues we find that they’re dealing with include issues where insurers have:
- Not investigated the details surrounding the claim
- Failed to provide a reason for denying a claim
- Not been communicative (i.e., responding to a claimant’s calls)
- Underpaid claims (paid less than what bills add up to or policy limits)
- Delayed in sending out releases of all claims and the settlement check
- Engaged in stall tactics in deciding on claims (i.e., requesting additional records when they already have enough)
It’s important to note that while the different tactics described above would typically be associated with a claim already filed, an auto carrier may engage in bad faith in other ways—even with a subscriber having an outstanding claim. For example, a car insurer may not renew or cancel an insured’s policy. Thus, as we said earlier, no matter what issue you’re facing with your insurance company, it may be in your best interest to run it by an auto insurance dispute attorney to verify if those practices are lawful and what your options are if not.
Legal Remedies Available in Missoula, MT
A common question our attorneys receive centers around what happens after they identify an insurer has done something unethical or unlawful, and they meet with a lawyer who assesses the case and concurs. This is when we’d typically discuss with you your legal options, which, in auto insurance dispute cases, may include:
- Appealing the matter as called for in the terms of your policy
- Trying once more to negotiate with your insurer, giving them notice that if they don’t respond within X amount of days, you’re going to file a bad faith lawsuit
- Submitting a complaint with the Montana Commissioner of Securities & Insurance
- Filing a bad faith lawsuit
Following through with any of the steps listed above is going to necessitate you compiling significant amounts of documentation, such as your actual insurance contract, logs of any contact received from insurers, any denial letters you’ve received, and proof that you appealed the matter.
Compensation Available to Claimants
Depending on which of the steps is pursued and if one of them results in an outcome in your favor, you can expect to receive anything from:
- The benefits you were originally entitled to under the terms of your insurance policy
- Interest on the benefits you should have but didn’t receive in a timely fashion
- Compensation for the added financial impact that deprivation of benefits caused (i.e., you having to take out a loan to cover medical expenses or rent a car on your own because your insurer denied coverage)
Additionally, you may be entitled to punitive damages imposed upon the car insurer, specifically if they engaged in fraud.
When To Get an Attorney Involved in a Dispute
It’s often best to bring a Missoula auto insurance dispute lawyer into the fold to work on your case early on before you’ve initiated any of the escalation steps above to ensure you correctly compile any evidence along the way in case filing a lawsuit and taking the matter to trial becomes necessary. Meeting with an attorney for a case evaluation comes with no risk or obligation, so reach out and schedule that consultation right away.
