When your insurance company acts in bad faith

By: Angie Zinzilieta, Partner
You’ve paid your insurance premiums every month.  A severe storms rolls through.  Large, gusty winds, lots of rain, hail.  The storm passes, and you realize you’ve got a leak coming from the roof.  You never had a leak before.  It must have been from the storm.  No worries, you think, this is why I have homeowner’s insurance.  An adjuster comes out and looks around.  Then, you receive a letter in the mail from your insurance company.  You think to yourself that this must be the check to repair your roof or instructions on how to move forward with fixing your roof.  You stomach sinks when you read the letter.  Your claim has been denied. 
 
What do you do next?  Is there anything you can do?
 
That sinking feeling of having a claim denied is felt more often that you’d think.  Our team has successfully handled several “bad faith” insurance cases.  What is a “bad faith” case?  This type of case is brought when an insurance company doesn’t uphold its end of the bargain.  Section 155 of the Illinois Insurance Code also allows for what is called extra-contractual remedies.  This means you can recover attorney’s fees and up to $60,000 on top of what is owed to you, i.e. the cost to replace your roof. 
 
Insurance companies have hundreds, if not thousands, of people working for it.  Don’t go it alone.  Know your rights. 
​Let our team fight for you.
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