What does bad faith look like in a disability claim?

When you faithfully pay for your long-term disability (LTD) insurance, you expect it to be there when you need it the most. Unfortunately, many find it challenging to get their insurance benefits even after paying into their policy for years or decades.

If an insurance company does not have cause to deny or delay your claim, yet you still have not received any benefits, they may be acting in bad faith. Those impacted by bad faith insurance company tactics often need help to get what they are due. The law is behind you when a disability insurer mistreats you.

What is bad faith in insurance?

It is not enough for an insurer to merely delay paying. They must investigate and assess disability claims, which can take time. To qualify as bad faith, insurance companies must deliberately avoid paying, impose unreasonable delays or engage in wrongdoing. Examples of possible bad faith tactics include:

• Deliberately misinterpreting policy language and insurance laws
• Using deception to avoid paying (concealing critical deadlines, hiding the full scope of coverage, etc.)
• Failing to investigate disability claims properly
• Unduly prolonging the investigative process
• Outright denying or delaying your payout
• Abruptly canceling your policy without a valid reason
• Failing to explain why your claim was denied or delayed

Since most people are not well-versed in insurance law, they may not know their insurer acted improperly or how to address their situation. For example, most fail to realize that they may qualify for compensation if wrongdoing occurs.

Increasing your knowledge of LTD insurance laws and bad faith tactics can help you get the coverage you deserve.