Insurance companies have many resources they use to deny insurance claims. At Beckett Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand the complexities of insurance and will use our knowledge and expertise to make sure you are treated fairly and get the compensation you deserve.
Insurance policies cover life, theft, home, fire, water, or other damage with the assurance to protect you, your family, or your assets from harm. Unfortunately, insurance companies do not always honour these promises. If you have an insurance claim and believe that you are being treated unfairly by your insurance company, you need a personal injury lawyer who has the experience, expertise, and will to fight for you.
If you are currently involved in a dispute involving an insurance claim, contact Beckett Personal Injury Lawyers either by phone or email. Our dedicated insurance claim lawyers will investigate every detail of your case, handle your paperwork, and manage your entire claim. If there are other benefits you are eligible for, like CPP Disability, we will alert you to them and help you apply. Though we are not health care providers, we also can direct you to various providers depending on the nature of your insurance claim.
"My husband was killed in an accident. Once the reality of the situation set in, I did not know where to turn for help. I was referred to Beckett. They helped me through the darkest days of my life and quickly and compassionately got the insurance company to pay the limits of their insurance policy to me and my two boys." The Palmer family, St. Thomas, ON
When a claim is made to an insurance company, it will be assigned to an adjuster to determine what benefits should be paid under the contract. This is not meant to be an adversarial process. The insurance company and its adjuster owe you — the claimant — a duty of good faith. This means they should work with you to make sure you understand what coverages you have and to assist you with how to go about claiming the benefits under your policy. In most cases, insurance claims are resolved as a result of good communication between the adjuster and the claimant. However, there can come a point when the two are at odds about what should be payable under the policy.
If you have tried to resolve a dispute with your adjuster but have been denied, it is time to consult a lawyer. It is sensible to consult with a lawyer any time your insurance company refuses to keep paying benefits that it has previously paid or when it refuses to pay the full amount that you believe you are entitled to. If you believe that your insurance company is trying to bully you or that it is not engaging with you properly, this may be grounds for a bad faith claim. You should consult a lawyer to discuss this further.
It is often wise to try to resolve a dispute between you and your insurance company without resorting to litigation. If you are able, make sure that you have provided the insurance company with all of the information that they have reasonably requested. If for some reason you cannot gather all of the information, let your adjuster know, as they may be able to assist you. Additional information received by the insurance company must be considered, which could change the result. If the insurance company has all of the information it has requested and there is still a dispute, a lawsuit may be necessary.
Lawsuits can be commenced with or without a lawyer by filing a Statement of Claim with the court (if you are suing in the Superior Court of Justice) or a Plaintiff’s Claim (if you are suing in Small Claims Court). Matters with a total value of less than $25,000 can be heard in the Small Claims Court.
Most people choose to hire a lawyer because the Superior Court process can be difficult to navigate and because insurance companies are large, sophisticated companies with lawyers at their disposal. The Small Claims Court is more accessible to those without a lawyer, but lawyers or paralegals can be used and are often preferred by people bringing a claim given the complexity of most insurance claim litigation. Regardless of how you choose to sue your insurance company, speaking with a lawyer about your claim can give you useful information to assist you with your decision.
Your insurance company owes you a duty of good faith. This duty includes a variety of aspects but generally means that when you make a claim it should be evaluated fairly and not in an adversarial way. While your claim may ultimately be denied, the determination of whether the claim was adjusted in good faith is about how the insurance company processed your claim and treated you.
Your adjuster should be investigating your claim, which may include asking you for documents or a statement. They need to understand your claim so that they can make a decision about it. Your adjuster also needs to look at all of the evidence when making their decision and should not be relying on only the evidence supporting a denial when there is evidence to the contrary. These claims can be much more complicated than your average denial of a benefit. It is strongly recommended that you contact a lawyer if you feel you are being mistreated by your insurance company.