Property and casualty insurance is a term that most people haven’t heard and therefore have little understanding. You might be familiar with it if you are are a homeowner or business owner, as you are required to carry some form of insurance to protect you from loss. However, what happens when the insurance company doesn’t protect you? You can always turn to an insurance lawyer.
What Is Property and Casualty Insurance?
First, let’s define property and casualty insurance. Property insurance covers things such as your home, business, and their contents for perils such as fire, smoke damage, vandalism, wind, flood, and loss of use. Casualty insurance covers physical and psychological harm to persons caused by a property owner’s negligence. For instance, if someone falls on your property they can hold you liable for any injuries they sustain due to that fall.
How Do Insurance Companies Work?
It is important to understand how insurance companies work. You, the insured, pay insurance premiums to cover you in case of damage or negligence. When a covered loss occurs, you expect that the insurance company will step up and handle your claim(s) in “good faith”. Unfortunately, in many instances, it is not the case. Insurance adjusters often make every attempt to minimize or even deny coverage for your loss. That’s when you might want to seek the services of a property and casualty insurance lawyer.
What Does a Property and Casualty Insurance Lawyer Do?
So, what does a property and casualty insurance lawyer do? They protect you against “bad faith” insurance companies that try to claim that your covered losses are “less than” they really are. Once again, those losses can include damage to property, both personal and real estate, and to injuries you or another person sustain due to a property owner’s negligence. Property and casualty insurance lawyers also help people to understand the coverage they have from their insurance company and make sure they are getting what they paid for. For the layman, it’s necessary to understand the types of tactics insurance companies employ.
Common insurance company tactics:
- Refusal to pay a claim saying that you don’t have coverage for a specific loss.
- Taking their time in processing your claim. This works to their advantage because they make you desperate to settle the claim, so you do so at a significantly lower dollar value.
- Repeatedly requesting you supply them with information documenting the loss. Their attempt is to “wear you out” and make you willing to accept less than you are entitled to or nothing at all.
- Refusing the claim because you didn’t minimize the damage before and after the loss.
- Saying that you were uncooperative with the insurance company and that your coverage for the loss has been compromised due to that.
- That your value of the loss is inaccurate and they know how much your claim is worth.
- That the loss occurred when you didn’t have insurance coverage in effect.
It can be overwhelming trying to work with an insurance company that does not deal fairly. It can also be difficult trying to understand what coverage you do have under your insurance policy. If you feel that your insurance company isn’t taking your insurance claim seriously, you can contact us at Smythe Law Group, Inc. for a consultation. We will let you know whether or not you need a lawyer and whether or not your insurance company is being fair with you. We are property and casualty insurance lawyers who know how insurance companies should treat their customers and will fight to get you the coverage provided under your insurance policy.