Dealing with an auto insurance agency can be quite a hassle. The company has a single objective – making money. They accomplish this by optimizing their intake of premium payments while simultaneously paying out the bare minimum on insurance claims.
With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise to see insurance agencies nickel-and-diming claimants to the fullest extent for the sake of saving money. These companies understand how unlikely it is that they’ll be brought to court – most people end up settling. If property damages only amount to a few hundred dollars or so, chances are no lawsuits will be filed against the company.
This usually results in frustration with insurance agencies after an automobile accident (or any type of personal injury incident, for that matter). We are often asked, “Can an insurance agency be sued?”
Can I sue an insurance company?
For the most part, insurance agencies can’t be directly sued for damages or injuries stemming from an automobile accident. Whomever inflicted the damage is the person/entity to sue.
For instance
Let’s say Mr. Doe hit your car from behind while you were on the highway, and he has auto insurance with Geico. You’ll need to get Mr. Doe’s automobile insurance details. A claim can be filed with Geico, where you may ask for a case settlement of $25,000. If the company responds with a $10,000 offer, and you don’t think that’s enough, what steps can you take?
A lawsuit will be filed against Mr. Doe (as opposed to Geico) by your injury lawyer. The insurance agency has an obligation to defend him. As such, after documentation pertaining to your lawsuit is served to Mr. Doe, he will get in touch with Geico. The agency will then hire legal representation for Mr. Doe.
To sue an insurance agency, what must you do?
An insurance agency may exhibit “bad faith” behavior. This term, though infrequently used, is mostly applicable to automobile insurance claims.
Basically, bad faith claims come about when automobile accident victims file claims against the driver (the defendant). In such a scenario, there may be reason to believe that compensation will exceed the amount paid by an insurance policy. Regardless, the insurance agency may decline to “tender.” For the sake of settling the case, they may instead opt to issue the full value of an insurance policy.
If your injury lawyer has a lawsuit filed for you and you receive more than the policy amount, it might be feasible to have a lawsuit filed against the driver’s insurance agency, too. In doing so, you may be able to recover the whole verdict amount in addition to attorney fees, among other expenses.
For more information on dealing with car insurance companies, book a no-fee consultation with an experienced auto accident attorney today. We welcome your call today at 952-361-5556 (or fill out the free Case Evaluation Form). The initial consultation won’t cost you anything, nor will we charge you any fees until you have money to collect.
