A legal claim filed against your insurance business can threaten you with the potential for large judgments and harm to your business’s reputation. That’s why you can’t afford to put forth a sloppy defense. While you’ll need to be proactive in building your insurance defense, you’ll also want to avoid making errors that could leave you in a vulnerable position heading into your case.
What mistakes do you need to avoid in your insurance defense?
Even a seemingly minor mistake can put you in a bad legal position. Therefore, if you’re being sued, be sure you don’t make these slipups that could cost you your case:
- Misreading or misunderstanding the application of the policy’s terms
- Trying to stretch the language of the policy too far
- Unnecessarily delaying the investigation of a claim
- Having poor documentation of communication with the petitioner
- Intentionally underpaying claims without proper justification
- Failing to carefully detail the reasons for action taken on a claim
- Making statements that appear to take the blame off the claimant
- Failing to engage in thorough discovery to find opportunities to attack the plaintiff’s case
There are other mistakes that you can make when trying to avoid and defend against insurance litigation. And you have to strike a balance between acting in a way that protects your business’s interests without engaging in activity that could be considered a breach of contract or bad faith. Depending on the facts of your case, that can be a tricky balance to strike.
What should you do if you’ve been subjected to insurance litigation?
If your insurance business is being sued, then crafting an effective defense strategy is key to protecting your interests. This requires an understanding of the law and knowledge of how to build effective legal arguments. If that’s something that you’ll need help with, then now may be the time to discuss your situation with your attorney.
