New Orleans Bad Faith Insurance Lawyer

Property insurance is a necessity in New Orleans, especially due to storms like Hurricane Katrina and Ida. However, sometimes insurance companies try to avoid paying claims by engaging in suspicious tactics. If you are going through something like this, work with a New Orleans bad faith insurance lawyer to make sure your rights are upheld.

Experienced Bad Faith Insurance Lawyers in New Orleans

At Marcelle Robertson Mestayer LLC, we’re here to represent our clients instead of spending time advertising and taking on more clients than we can handle. Our attorneys are experienced in a wide range of topics and are well-versed in the scope of damages storms can bring to the New Orleans area. Our dedication can help you obtain the compensation you deserve.

What Is a Bad Faith Insurance Claim?

The general premise of most insurance contracts is that companies have to act in good faith. This includes general honesty and transparency in working with your claims. If this is not done, the company is considered to be acting in bad faith.

Even if you suspect that an insurance company is acting in bad faith, it can be difficult to call them on their behavior without legal help. Hire a bad faith insurance lawyer to obtain the support you need.

Types of Bad Faith Actions

Any action that a company takes that denies someone coverage on purpose is considered to be a bad faith claim. Some common bad faith actions include:

• Denials. If an insurance company denies you compensation, they need to have a reason why based on the language of your insurance policy. This also includes offering an extremely low amount without explaining the logic behind it.
• Taking too long to pay. Louisiana law places tight timelines on insurers to pay you after a loss. If the insurance company takes too long after having enough information to pay your claim, this is often grounds to pursue bad-faith damages against your insurance company.
• Cherry picking evidence. An insurance company should review all the available evidence for a claim, not just evidence that adds doubt to your claim. Sometimes companies try to hide the evidence that proves that you deserve payment.
• Lying about terms. The terms of an insurance policy are sometimes difficult to understand, especially for people not familiar with legal contracts. Insurance companies sometimes use this to their advantage to unfairly deny your claim. They can claim that a clause applies to your claim, even though it doesn’t.
• Claim investigation. Insurance companies often send adjusters out to evaluate a situation for the company. These investigations can be rushed and not include important evidence. They could also refuse to investigate at all, leaving your claim up to you to prove, making it easier for them to deny it.

Hurricane Ida was estimated to have caused $95 billion in property damage in 2021. Damage from a hurricane can be incredibly expensive. If an insurance company chose to insure the property involved, then they have a duty to compensate the owners.

What Do I Do if My Property Insurance Claim Is Denied?

It can be disheartening to do all the work to file an insurance claim only to receive a denial from the insurance company. However, this does not have to be the end of the process.

The first thing you should do is examine your insurance policy. Verify the amount of coverage you have and review potential exclusions that could apply to your case.

If the insurance company does not give you an explanation as to why they denied you, ask for this in writing. They are not allowed to deny your claim without a reason. This can give you more information to utilize when you try to appeal or negotiate.

Try to gather as much proof as possible that supports your claim. This includes documents outlining the scope of the damage as well as photos. Any bills or receipts documenting the damage can be used, including receipts for things that were lost.

Finally, speak to a seasoned bad faith insurance lawyer. They can review your claim to see if the company is operating in bad faith.

If possible, they can help you persuade the company to reverse the decision. If it’s possible, they can even negotiate for a higher amount.

Sometimes these negotiations do not go well. This can be for a variety of reasons, but sometimes it’s the insurance companies that refuse to play fair. If they do this, a New Orleans bad faith insurance attorney can file a legal claim against them to obtain compensation for property damage.

Why Hire a Bad Faith Insurance Lawyer?

One of the most powerful things you can do in a bad faith situation is to act quickly and aggressively. An attorney can require an insurance company to respond and increase the stakes for the situation.

Most people do not really understand the details of their property insurance policies. An attorney is familiar with these policies and can review the document itself. Sometimes, there are clauses or benefits that the victim did not know about that can help your claim. Insurance companies often rely on people not knowing enough about their policies to fight back.

Sometimes it takes an experienced negotiator to be able to work with insurance companies. Attorneys know how to do just that. We are able to settle your claim as quickly as possible. If they still do not want to cooperate, we can confidently take them to trial.

Why Choose Us?

At Marcelle Robertson Mestayer LLC, we are dedicated to your claim. We do not ask for compensation up front. Instead, we only get paid if we win your case. We believe that if we do our jobs well, we will be appropriately compensated for the work we do.

We Don’t Give Up

Experiencing hurricanes is an unfortunate risk of living in New Orleans, so it is wise to prepare now. Schedule a consultation with Marcelle Robertson Mestayer LLC to learn what your options are when working with an insurance company after hurricane damage.