Insurance Lawyers in Jacksonville, Florida

We all obtain insurance in various areas of our lives to protect us from the unknowns of daily living. From our home to our cars and even our life; we enter into insurance contracts so we can weather life’s uncertain storms.

Insurance law falls into three categories. One, When an insurance company hires a lawyer to represent a client who is being sued. Two, when a private citizen hires an insurance attorney to solve an insurance claim or dispute and three; when an insurance company hires a law firm to ensure they comply with rules and regulations.

If you have made it to our website, David Graham Insurance Lawyers, P.A., you might be wondering if you need a Jacksonville insurance lawyer. We are going to explore when you should consider hiring an insurance attorney in Jacksonville as well as some of the things that an insurance company doesn’t want you to know going into a litigation claim.

When to Hire a Jacksonville Insurance Law Firm

Insurance takes on a lot of burdens to cover their customers, but let’s be honest, they also make a lot of money. This is a hard pill to swallow when the insurance company fights you over your claim or offers you penitence to cover your recovery expenses. While you might assume that hiring a Jacksonville insurance lawyer might be too expensive, we suggest you at least sit down with one to find out what your case is worth and how an attorney can help you. Here are some of the signs that you should hire a Jacksonville insurance claim lawyer

Your Provider Denies Your Claim

An insurance company has to have found reasons to deny the claim, and not having that can leave them in violation of the law. If your claim was rejected for invalid reasons, you need to speak with an insurance claim attorney in Jacksonville.

When an insurance company doesn’t act in “good faith” and places numerous invalid reasons in your path, they can be subject to legal action. Quality customers who pay their premiums and are in good standing with their insurers should have no problems receiving the proper compensation for their claims.

Insufficient Payouts

When a company is presented with data-driven evidence of your claim, and still decides not to pay what you deserve, they can be sued for this practice. Far too many people who have been handed this kind of situation think it’s the end of the road of their claims process when in retrospect, this can be found unlawful. In fact, this isn’t just illegal in your city but is unlawful from a state and federal perspective. The only way to know if you have been insufficiently paid out is to contact a Jacksonville insurance denial lawyer to help you uncover what you’re actually owed and how their system failed you.

Payment Delays
When an insurance company agrees to pay you, it is an obligation (usually done through a formal agreement) between you and the company. Any delay in that payment, without a legal explanation, is grounds for an insurance lawsuit and needs to be addressed with the help of a claim denial lawyer in Jacksonville. Florida sets limits as to how long an insurance company can take to pay out or resolve a lawsuit. They are legally bound to keep you abreast about your case and to do so within a reasonable amount of time. Failing to do this can lead to litigation, and that means you have a legal matter that needs to be pursued.

Policy Termination

An unexpected termination of your insurance policy is grounds for harsh legal action and deserves the attention of a Jackson insurance attorney. Time is of the essence in these matters, otherwise, you may be left to pay for your own recovery expenses. A company that terminates your policy with no warning is playing with fire because they know they cannot legally do this, but hope you will simply take it as the gospel. Be vigilant and hire an attorney so the insurance company has a chance to correct this, or face more severe penalties in a courtroom.

They Call in Their Attorneys

If your insurer requests that you speak to their attorneys, this should send up a red flag. While this might only be to confirm factual information about your case, it can also mean the company is trying to build a countersuit against you. Insurers will hire an attorney when they know they are legally “on the hook” to pay for damages and want to reduce their liability. They can also hire an attorney to discount or hurt your credibility in some way by having you go on record, hoping you incriminate yourself. This is the ideal time to hire an insurance lawyer in Jacksonville to help coach you through some of these things or to represent you in these situations.

As you can see, many situations warrant hiring a Jacksonville insurance attorney to help protect your claims and legal rights as a paying policyholder. These companies use complex procedures and requests to try and dissuade their customers from filing claims or pursuing legal advice. While we don’t want to punish all insurers for not acting in good faith on behalf of their paying customers, there are far too many cases across the United States where insurers have been found guilty of using fraudulent means to deny policyholders.

Here are some of the “secrets” that insurance companies don’t want you to know about how they conduct business. It’s essential you keep these things in mind when going through the insurance claims process.

• Representatives are Trained Professionals – Adjusters are trained to emotionally engage with victims as well as produce compelling negotiating tactics to leave you feeling like they are giving you the world. The truth is, they could be handing you a big bag of nothing cleverly wrapped in what appears to be a “good deal.” Adjusters and representatives are advised to indulge claimants to get them to trust them only to use their information against them to deny their claim.
• Insurers Persuade Policyholders to Forego Legal Counsel – Since insurers know that lawyers have a comprehensive understanding of what companies must abide by for their customers, insurers try to persuade their customers from seeking legal advice. This is why they often work quickly at the onset of a claim before you have a chance to wrap your head around what is going on. They will act aggressively to get you to settle, even telling you that their settlement is only good for a short time, knowing that will take you a little time to find a lawyer to work with.

• Request Policyholders Work With Designated Providers – While having a collection of designated (often referred to as “preferred”) providers isn’t illegal for an insurance company, it’s also not designed to be the least bit helpful to you. These individuals are seeking to ‘disprove’ your claim, rather than ‘confirm’ your claim. This list of providers might include home repair contractors, medical providers or mechanics. These persons, or companies, work with your insurance provider to seek out any details that will help the insurer validate giving you a smaller settlement. Many insurance attorneys often work with their own independent providers to help clients get a fair look at their claims and cases.

• Undervalue and Dismiss – The goal of any business is to maximize profit, this is true for your insurance company as well. The only way they can do this is by undervaluing what has been damaged, for example, your home or your car. They will also try to dismiss your physical or emotional damages by trying to suggest your injuries are not as severe as you claim or that your injuries are a part of a preexisting condition. They have clever ways to try and get this information about you, so contact a Jacksonville insurance claim lawyer to help you avoid these traps.

At David Graham Insurance Lawyers, P.A., we want you to know that suing your insurance company can feel like a mammoth task, and we would be happy to help you with this process. Regardless if you think you have a case or not, contact us today to learn more about your legal rights and whether or not you have a legitimate insurance claim case.