How to sue an insurance company?

by ty_ger88 » Fri Sep 14, 2007 02:20 pm

Many a times you may be unhappy with your insurance company for not paying you your dues or for delaying your payments or for any other reason. Your insurance company does not always have the upper hand. There are laws to protect you if you have a dishonest insurer.

When can you sue your insurance company?

You can sue your insurance company on grounds of:
  • Bad faith and
  • Breach of contract

If your insurer tries to trick you by not paying up a legitimate claim you can put up a civil suit against the company for having acted in bad faith. A company shows bad faith when it unreasonably denies a legitimate claim. This may mean that:
  • The company has failed to carry out proper investigations
  • Undue delay in processing a claim
  • Disregarding the rights of the policyholder
  • Inadequate compensation provided against claim filed

You can sue your insurance company for the full amount of benefits that has been denied to you as well as for any economic loss or emotional distress that you may have had to suffer as a result of the refusal. If your insurance company has been dishonest you may also get punitive damages. This is a means to make the insurance company behave more responsibly in future correspondences.

It is good to keep all paper works organized so that you can find them as soon as you need them. You may think of an old receipt as unimportant but it might hold great importance when you have a case standing against your insurer for bad faith or breach of contract.

Related Readings

I'm confused, please help. Here's my story and question. I'll try to make it short. My car was hit about a month ago. I was not in the car. It was parked on the side street. The driver of the truck that hit me left a note with all of his information. Now, it has been almost a month, and his insurance is not doing much. At first, they promised to have the damage estimated, but then nothing was sent to the car shop where my car located. I ended up going through my own insurance company. The problem is before I went with my insurance company, I had rented a car and had discussed this with the other insurance company. They said they would reimburse me all the fees. Now, they're not answering my calls. They keep on telling me that the agent is busy and will get back to me. It has been 4 days since I faxed in my car rental bill. What can I do? Can I sue them? Would you tell me how to sue an insurance company? The bill was paid for by my credit card, and I don't want to owe interests on it. Please help. Thanks.

Total Comments: 380

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 08:27 pm Post Subject: Can I sue my insurance company

My fiance was involved in a hit and run accident while driving my car. She followed the car that hit her and called 911 and gave them the license plate off the car. Of course the license plate didn't match the vehicle and they got away. I contacted my insurance company and immediately they asked me if my fiance lived with me. I told them that she did not and then they asked was anybody hurt.They asked for the case number off the police report and I provided it to them. They filed a claim and later contacted her and asked her if she can show proof of her address. It took them 6 days to come out and look at my vehicle.

A week later my fiance spotted the car who hit her and called 911 again. The police came out and she had to identify the hit and run driver. I contacted my insurance again and gave them the update. My fiance provide the information they needed and still two months after the accident they have yet to pay my claim. I get no answer when I call and they do not return my calls. They have yet to go after the person involved in the hit and run accident.

My truck is just sitting. The police report backed up everything I told my insurance company. There has been broken promises on their end. Do I have a cause to sue? Im so frustrated and I really do not have a clue what to do.

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 10:26 pm Post Subject:

First, see my sig.

They have yet to go after the person involved in the hit and run accident.

They won't.... until after they pay your claim. If they don't spend any money they they have no right to ask for any money back.

Do I have a cause to sue?


You can sue anyone you want. Feel free to pay an attorney to represent you and wait 4 or 5 months for the case to move forward...

I always have to question someone who says that they can't get anyone to pick up the phone. I'm betting that _someone_ there has picked up the phone. You leave your adjuster a message the first day. 48 hours later you call and ask for that person's supervisor. If you need to call back in another 48 hours you ask for that supervisors supervisor. Within a few days I see no reason why you won't get someone on the phone. After 4 days you call the Dept of Insurance for your state and file a complaint. You should have people beating down your door to address your claim.

I can tell you right now that they are looking into possibly denying coverage if your girlfriend either lives with you or uses your vehicle often.

Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 04:43 pm Post Subject: claim refusal

My insurer would not pay a $5000 comp claim because I was not living at my adress of record, I am a student/teacher with many adresses as required. My mom carries me on her policy. The insurance company accepted the premiums and have in the past paid a comp claim (same car) for hail damage. What can I do?

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 03:17 am Post Subject: Greatly Alarmed with State Farm

My fiance and I have started a mobile food business in Seattle WA. we ordered our custom built trailer from a company in GA and hired a Transport Company we found online through USHIP.

I did my due diligence before paying the Transport Company including having them send me a copy of their policy number and phone contact to their provider State Farm.

I called the State Farm GA. local division and left a message. the next day a female representative called me back. I told them who i was, and that i was potentially hiring one of their customers to tow my concessions trailer across country but i wanted to make certain that she was covered to do so. She asked me for the policy number and when she pulled it up, laughed out loud, "YES (transporters name) we know her, she's a real sweet-heart." I said "oh good so she is fully covered then, for how much?" she responded "i am not allowed to discuss specific numbers but i can say yes she is a customer and a good-lady, we all know ( transporters name) i felt reassured and got off the phone and immediately paid the transporter via PayPal.

Two days later the transporter said she swerved to avoid hitting a deer and rolled her truck and my trailer 3 times. I've seen the pictures it was a terrible mess. she's lucky to have walk away from it.

I called the SAME insurance division that i had spoken to only a few days earlier and first they asked me the price of my trailer (which was just around $15,000) they put me on hold then came back saying the transporter wasn't insured to do a commercial trip and they didn't think my trailer would be covered but they would have an adjuster call me. two days later, no adjuster.

I spoke with the wrecking yard where the transporters truck and my trailer were taken and they said State Farm has already called them and said that they are not responsible for my trailer.

The transporter is broke, the State Farm agents KNEW what she was doing and never told me OR reported it once i told them she would be doing it for me. I cannot afford a good lawyer because ALL of my savings went into my dream which was this business and the trailer.

this just happened on Monday, somebody PLEASE tell me what to do.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 03:22 am Post Subject: Greatly Alarmed with State Farm

My fiance and I have started a mobile food business in Seattle WA. we ordered our custom built trailer from a company in GA and hired a Transport Company we found online through USHIP.

I did my due diligence before paying the Transport Company including having them send me a copy of their policy number and phone contact to their provider State Farm.

I called the State Farm GA. local division and left a message. the next day a female representative called me back. I told them who i was, and that i was potentially hiring one of their customers to tow my concessions trailer across country but i wanted to make certain that she was covered to do so. She asked me for the policy number and when she pulled it up, laughed out loud, "YES (transporters name) we know her, she's a real sweet-heart." I said "oh good so she is fully covered then, for how much?" she responded "i am not allowed to discuss specific numbers but i can say yes she is a customer and a good-lady, we all know ( transporters name) i felt reassured and got off the phone and immediately paid the transporter via PayPal.

Two days later the transporter said she swerved to avoid hitting a deer and rolled her truck and my trailer 3 times. I've seen the pictures it was a terrible mess. she's lucky to have walk away from it.

I called the SAME insurance division that i had spoken to only a few days earlier and first they asked me the price of my trailer (which was just around $15,000) they put me on hold then came back saying the transporter wasn't insured to do a commercial trip and they didn't think my trailer would be covered but they would have an adjuster call me. two days later, no adjuster.

I spoke with the wrecking yard where the transporters truck and my trailer were taken and they said State Farm has already called them and said that they are not responsible for my trailer.

The transporter is broke, the State Farm agents KNEW what she was doing and never told me OR reported it once i told them she would be doing it for me. I cannot afford a good lawyer because ALL of my savings went into my dream which was this business and the trailer.

this just happened on Monday, somebody PLEASE tell me what to do.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 06:33 pm Post Subject: OVERPAYMENT

My insurance company for years charged me separately for premiums even though the premiums were escrowed for homeowners. Where can I find a good lawyer in central New York?

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:41 pm Post Subject:

i filed a claim and my vehicle was a total loss. i have full coverage insurance and we came to an agreement on how much they were going to pay off for my vehicle. they said they had to send a power of attorney letter to me which would take three to five days then i send that back signed and they send a check. it has been over 2 weeks i havent received a letter and they will not return my calls how would i go about suing them and do i even have a case

Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 05:29 pm Post Subject: help

I was hit by someone on phone and went through red light. I missed over 7 months of work and amassed lots of medicical.bills. Is there a way I can get some of my money I am going broke. This happened about 15 months ago. :?:

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2012 07:56 am Post Subject: Denial of Life Ins, Claim

I live in Texas where my husband died on May 1st, 2008, with a $50K Universal Life Policy from a major provider. We were separated when he died but, suspicious of his failure to continue paying on his policy - something I had always done when we lived together - I checked with the local agent, just weeks before my husbands death, & spoke to his office manager, who assured me everything was fine & that the policy was still in force & the payments up to date. As a result, upon his death, I filed a claim within days however, weeks later, the same office manager called me back & sheepishly informed me the policy had lapsed 4 years earlier due to non-payment of a loan made against it, years ago. I was the owner of the policy & never authorized the loan my husband supposedly took out.

The local agent’s solution to the problem was an attempt to “walk it through”, as they put it, by simply doing a reinstatement on the policy - which I later discovered can’t be done on a decedent - but, not knowing any better at the time, I sent him the $379.29 he requested. The reinstatement was, of course, rejected since he was already dead - but I subsequently learned that 3 additional payments were posted to my account within 24 hours of them receiving my single payment, which added up to the nearly $1,900 still supposedly due on this outstanding loan. I can only suspect the local agent was involved, in an attempt to cover-up or rectify some error he had caused but, to date, I have no proof.

On August 28th, 2008, I received a notice of denial from their claims division, based on their assertion that the policy had lapsed. However, I placed repeated calls to various customer service reps who looked up the policy info on their database &, each time, they continued to assure me that prior to - as well as after his death - that the policy was still in force until Sept, 2008, 4 months after his death. I hired an attorney who took the case, on a contingency, to sue them for Breach of Contract, among various other charges - but, unfortunately, he left the firm unexpectedly & they declined to carry-on with the case.

Despite over a dozen letters demanding the information, upon which they based their denial, they have never responded - except to continue saying, without providing me supporting evidence, that the policy had simply lapsed - yet, they have never explained why the database showed the policy was still in force months after his death. They have also never acknowledged who made those 3 additional mystery payments - plus they have never returned a dime of the money to me. They did, however, send me an IRS Form 1099-R on my husband - but listing my Social Security Number - which was apparently their attempt to show that he would be taxed for the money he had received & never payed back. Though, after I grilled them on this, they subsequently sent a revised 1099-R back, showing a $zero balance - which would then imply that he had either never received the funds or had already paid them back. My suspicion is that this all began years ago with a simple clerical error when my husband’s name was confused with my SSN, allowing him to appear to be the policy owner & take out a loan without my approval - something they seem to be going to great lengths to conceal.
Unfortunately, I no longer possess copies of the original policies & the photocopies the local agent sent had a blank space in the “Owner” box - even though the policies I purchased for myself and my children, on the same day, show me to be the owner of each.

The original lawyer told me I had a 4-year Statute of Limitations to file for Breach of Contract - but, unfortunately, he never mentioned it was only 2 years for the negligence & various other suspicious actions of the agent & his reps that led to me not taking alternate actions in time. I am now approaching that 4 year mark & cannot afford a lawyer out of pocket & can’t find one who will take the case on a contingency due to the muddled nature of the situation. Even though the original attorney says he sent the carrier a 60-day notice prior to filing suit, I feel I should still send them another one, since they didn’t respond at all to the original - & that was over 2 years ago.

My questions are this:
Do I need to file a notice with the court of jurisdiction that formally requests the additional 75-day tolling period, or is that automatic? - the court clerk won’t say anything fearing reprisals for giving unauthorized legal advice
Since I am filing for simple Breach of Contract, can I still also include the names of the local agent, his office manager & the claims associate who denied the claim but has outright refused to respond to me, in my Original Petition?
Are there any extenuating circumstances under which I could still file on these individuals for negligence & so forth even though the 2 year Statute has passed?

I assure you that any & all assistance & advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated & Heaven-sent, at this point

Thank you, Laurie G.

Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 08:48 pm Post Subject:

Been to EUO for a fire claim that happen in June 2012 n the siu agent keep asking me abt a family members insurance claim history n brought up a pic of a jug I've never seen before n asked me isn't it kinda odd that this coolant jug from advance auto parts is four feet from where your car caught fire n I said its odd but I've never seen it before n all other ?'s I didn't know I said I didn't know because it was another's person claim what's the chances of my claim being denied when I really didn't have any involvement or control of the issue??

Add your comment

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.