Salina Kansas Insurance Claim Lawyers

Insurance companies fight hard to resist paying claims. Inconsistent testimony by the insured or among witnesses will raise doubt regarding the veracity of a claim. Documentation that is missing pages or sections has lines remaining blank, or appears to be altered will cause an insurance investigator to either refuse the claim or offer an inordinately low dollar figure in a settlement. Patterns of previous and similar claims can call current claims into question. Pre-existing conditions blur the line defining current damages.

In any claim, these and other issues may arise through no fault of the insured and will require extra measures to receive the claim in full, which might include litigation. Filing a claim against a refusing insurance company might induce the company to make a settlement and therefore avoid costly litigation along with the possibility of losing the case and paying the claim in full. If a bad faith claim is made against a health insurance company, the burden of proof will fall on the company to prove that they acted fairly and in accordance with procedures.

Typical Insurance Cases

Auto

Police reports are of paramount importance in an auto claim, and carry tremendous weight in assigning fault in accidents involving two opposing motorists. Despite this, even trained and astute police investigators might arrive at flawed conclusions based on the evidence available at the time of the investigation. Insured parties suffering erroneous assignments of guilt might need to gather evidence including photographs of the scene, a testimony of witnesses, or any other relevant information. Auto claims might include components of personal injury along with property damage and this raises the value of the claim at stake. Car accidents can be very serious and should not be taken lightly when personal injury and property damage are involved.

Personal Injury

Personal injury cases constitute one of the most common types of fraudulent insurance claims in part because injuries within a person’s body can be difficult to prove nonexistent. In such cases, pre-existing ailments or injuries and previous claims of the same injuries will give rise to doubt and raise levels of investigational diligence on the part of the insurer.

Health Insurance

Common types of actionable bad faith on the part of health insurers are failure to investigate properly and thoroughly, not responding to claims in a timely manner, and refusing claims or settlement.

Homeowners and Weather Damage Claims

As with any contract, a thorough reading of a homeowner or weather damage policy is the best way to ensure proper insurance coverage in case of need, as well as to avoid obstacles in receiving money in a claim. Often, difficult to understand language might mislead the insured party to enjoy a false sense of security regarding range and types of coverage. Verbal statements and handshakes should not replace print within an insurance contract, and purchasers of home insurance must exercise due diligence in determining that coverage extends to all desired scenarios and types of weather-related damage. If language is ambiguous, request to have it changed to terms that are more readily understandable or seek counsel from a legal professional prior to signing. Even after signing, ambiguity or lack of clarity might be remedied by litigation, especially if the language can be demonstrated to be so by design.

Life Insurance

Life insurance claims come at times of extreme distress for the claiming parties. Often, the mental state possessed by those who should benefit from a life insurance claim is one of disabling bereavement. Extreme grief can cause dampened capacity for critical thinking and weakened ability to dispute and reconcile bad faith practices on the part of life insurance companies. Parties requiring receipt of such claims are sometimes induced to agree to smaller settlements than to which they are entitled.

Get Legal Assistance

If you believe an insurance company is using bad practices, or otherwise refusing a valid claim, learn your rights to gain full payment on the policy by contacting the office of Neustrom & Associates for a free and confidential initial consultation. You can contact our office in Salina by calling 785-825-1505.