Insurance Bad Faith & Unfair Claims Practices

Insurance bad faith is typically premised on the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing imposed by operation of law in every contract of insurance.

There are first party cases where a named insured makes a claim against their own insurer, with whom they have a contract.  In first party cases, there is an express contract that governs the conduct of the insurance company, and breach can lead to bad faith.

There are ‘third party’ cases where the claimant is a beneficiary (not named insured) of an insurance policy.-such as life or disability insurance.

Generally, insurance bad faith does not apply to conduct of an ‘adversarial’ insurance company, such as the other driver’s insurer in an auto accident.

Unfair claims practices go hand in hand with bad faith, and most states have statutes governing the conduct of insurance companies.  Such statutes, like in Colorado, may contain treble damages or recovery of attorney’s fee provisions as a penalty for breach of the statutory obligations.

Avery Law Firm principal James W. Avery** has over 35 years experience handling insurance bad faith litigation, and has recovered millions of dollars for his clients against big insurance companies like Allstate, Cigna, Progressive, Safeco, and AIG, to name a few.  Avery is experienced in regard to violation of professional liability policy obligations, such as the duties to settle or adequately investigate claims before offering settlement. Avery is experience with both personal lines and commercial lines coverages, having represented insurance companies* in the early days of his career.  *Since 1989, James Avery has limited his practice to representing victims of bad faith.

**awarded America’s Top 100 Lifetime Achievement Award, Top 100 High-Stakes Litigators, Superlawyer

If you believe you have been treated unfairly by an insurance company, and suffered major damages, contact James Avery by calling 303-840-2222 or completing the contact form below.  Our fee promise- if no recovery, you owe us nothing.