Brentwood Insurance Bad Faith Attorneys
The attorneys at Biren Law Group have considerable experience in handling all types of insurance disputes and bad faith cases. If you, your business, or your client has a claim for damages against an insurance company that acted in bad faith or engaged in unfair insurance practices, you need to hire a firm that has the experience to maximize your damages. We have already recovered more than half a billion dollars in damages for past clients.
Not only that, but we also bring more than three decades of experience to the table. Get the hard-hitting representation that you need to stand up to your insurance company by working with the insurance bad faith attorneys at Biren Law Group. In just one insurance bad faith case, we were able to secure $12.5 million in damages for our client.
Find out how we can assist you by calling today for a free consultation.
How Do Insurance Companies Breach an Obligation of Good Faith?
There are several ways that insurance companies can breach the obligation of good faith and fair dealing. Perhaps the most common breach involves a delay in paying benefits due to a policyholder or not offering a fair value for the loss. This situation often arises in automobile accidents and homeowner claims. In other cases, insurers will fail to pay life or disability insurance benefits.
Insurance companies deal unfairly with businesses by failing to pay for losses, under-evaluating losses, not paying for business interruption, etc. Other times, insurance companies commit bad faith by failing to defend their policyholders against claims.
Failing to Settle Within Policy Limits
One common form of bad faith is when an insurance company fails to settle a claim within the policy limits when they have a chance to do so. This can result in the policyholder’s personal assets being placed in jeopardy. Under California law, when an insurance company commits bad faith in this manner, the policy limits are “opened.” The insurance company becomes obligated to satisfy any judgment against its insured, without regard to the insurance limits, if it wrongfully fails to settle within the policy limits.
Mistreated By Your Insurance Company? Types of Insurance Bad Faith Cases We Can Help With
Some examples of bad faith handling of an insurance claim we can help with include:
- Improperly denying a valid insurance claim
- Unreasonably delaying payment of a claim
- Failing to offer the fair value of a claim (lowballing the insured)
- Withholding important information about benefits
- Failing to defend a policyholder against a claim
- Refusing or failing to settle a claim within the policy limits
- Committing other wrongdoing when handling a claim
The Benefits of Hiring a Trial Attorney
Perhaps the most significant difference between Biren Law Group and the many other firms that are involved in insurance disputes is that we are trial lawyers. Some parties involved in insurance disputes choose to be represented by general, business, or corporate lawyers. While these lawyers may be excellent at giving business or tax advice, they are not experts in presenting insurance bad faith cases at trial.
Many times, non-trial attorneys will settle for less than is due to the policyholders or fold before trial. If they do go to trial, they may not be as adept at presenting a case to a jury. Biren Law Group has a proven record of success in insurance disputes and bad faith cases built on extraordinarily thorough preparation, combined with the use of the best experts and creative approaches to communicating our client’s story to the jury.
Damages in Bad Faith Insurance Claims
An insurance company that commits bad faith is liable not only for the contract benefits (the monies due under the insurance contract or compensatory damages), but also for consequential damages. Insurance companies who act fraudulently or maliciously may also be held liable for punitive damages. At Biren Law Group, our attorneys have extensive experience working with clients in bad faith insurance claims.
No Recovery? No Fee.
Another thing that sets Biren Law Group apart from other firms is that we are willing to represent clients on a contingency fee basis. Oftentimes, individuals or businesses who have been wronged by their insurance companies cannot afford expert counsel if they have to pay them on an hourly basis. Attorneys and CPAs who know how we work have referred many clients to us. With our help, they obtained significant recoveries. They could not have afforded to pursue their claims if they had to pay out of pocket.
Bad Faith Cases We Have Handled
- Itella Foods v. Northern Insurance Co: Itella Foods, whose insurance company refused to pay benefits after destroying 100,000 pounds of product, was awarded $435,000 in compensatory damages and $12 million in punitive damages.
- Sarullo v. Transamerica Insurance Co: A businessman, whose insurance company delayed payment of property insurance benefits so long that zoning changes precluded him from rebuilding his restaurant, was paid $2.5 million.
- Doe-1 v. Roe-1 Insurance Company: Our client filed a bad faith case against his own insurance company after they failed to settle his case, in which he was the defendant, within policy limits. He was awarded $835,000 for distress.
Contact Biren Law Group Today
If you or your business has suffered a significant financial loss because your insurance company has not paid benefits that they owe or has otherwise failed to act fairly and in good faith, contact the team at Biren Law Group to schedule a free consultation with a Brentwood insurance bad faith lawyer. Your consultation is free. We welcome attorney referrals and pay referral fees.
You can contact us online or by phone at (310) 774-0078.
