In the unfortunate event an accident happens to a business, an individual, or a municipality, those businesses, persons, or other entities expect their insurance company will cover the damage.  However, getting a claim paid by your insurance company is not always as simple as submitting the proper documentation to your insurance company.  When an insured party submits a claim, the insurance company either accepts the claim and pays it, denies the claim, asks for more time to investigate, or reserves their rights to later deny coverage.  All of these situations may require an experienced insurance claim attorney.

Utah, as most states, places a duty on insurance companies to act in good faith and deal fairly with their insureds in responding to an insured’s claim for coverage.  As part of that duty, an insurer is obligated to perform a reasonable investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the claimed loss.  The insurer is then required to make a fair and adequate assessment of the value of the injury or loss, and offer to the insured reasonable compensation for that loss or injury as provided under the applicable policy.

If an insurance company fails to act properly in relation to its insured, the insurance company may be found to have breached their policy obligations and to have engaged in bad faith insurance claims practices.  Such a finding can render the insurance company liable to pay the full amount of the loss incurred, as well as all consequential damages to the insured for having to go through a protracted claims process and likely to have suffered additional losses and inconvenience in having to battle the insurer for proper payment on the claim.  Beyond that, the insurance company can be held liable for punitive damages.

Christensen & Jensen’s insurance claims and disputes attorneys are especially skilled at handling all insurance related issues.  Our insurance claims and disputes attorneys have handled litigating denials of, or delays in, coverage or bad faith insurance practices, compelling the defense of a liability claim, compelling contribution by an insurer to a settlement, responding to reservation of rights letters, and demanding separate counsel for the insured. 

Insurance claims and disputes services provided by Christensen & Jensen include:

• Wrongful denials of and exclusions from coverage
• Bad faith and unfair claims practices
• Refusal to defend
• Failure to settle
• Underpayment or "lowball" offers
• Delay in payment
• Rescission
• Post-claim underwriting
• Denials of natural disaster claims including fire, flood, earthquake, mudslides and windstorms
• Insurance fraud
• Insurance litigation
• Insurance claim mediation
• Insurance claim arbitration services