Insurance Disputes

Insurance Disputes in Idaho Falls

When you have an Insurance Dispute in Idaho Falls, turn to the law firm of Thomsen Holman Wheiler PLLC.  We have substantial experience representing individuals, businesses, and insurance companies on many insurance matters including coverage issues. Many people do not understand the nature of the insurance that they or others carry that may effect them. The following is a brief description of only a few of the insurance products that are commonly used. The following information is for general background purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice:

1. Homeowner’s Insurance

Everyone who owns a home should carry homeowner’s insurance. The typical homeowner’s insurance policy will provide money to help pay for repairing or rebuilding the home if it is damaged by fire and some other destructive events. Also, most homeowner’s policies provide money to help pay for damage to personal property belonging to the homeowner. Typically items with special value, such as jewelry or works of art are either not covered or the dollar amount of coverage is very low, unless you pay extra to insure such things. Titled vehicles, such as automobiles, even if they are housed in a garage, are typically not covered under a homeowner’s policy, if they are destroyed or damaged by fire.

Additionally, most homeowner’s policies provide liability protection to the homeowner for the homeowner’s negligence. For example, if a homeowner has a dangerous condition on his property that injures another person because of the homeowner’s negligence, the homeowner’s policy would hire a lawyer to defend the homeowner if there was a lawsuit, and would pay any judgment against the homeowner up the policy limit. Oftentimes the homeowner’s policy will also provide medical payments coverage. This would provide coverage for medical bills to anyone who is not a member of the homeowner’s household who may become injured on the homeowner’s premises, whether or not the homeowner was negligent. There is always a limit on the amount of medical bills that will be paid.

2. Renter’s Insurance

A person who doesn’t own a home but who rents from someone else will often carry renter’s insurance that insures the renter’s personal property against loss by fire, theft, etc. Some of the same considerations for renter’s insurance as those mentioned above in homeowner’s might apply with regard to jewelry, works of art, etc. Most renter’s policies also provide liability protection for the owner of the policy similar to homeowner’s.

3. Automobile Insurance

The State of Idaho requires that anyone who registers an automobile in the State of Idaho have liability insurance. Liability insurance is required by law, but there are many other types of automobile insurance that should be considered; those include comprehensive, collision, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Idaho law requires that someone who registers a vehicle to operate on the highways in Idaho carry a minimum of $25,000/$50,000 liability insurance. Liability insurance provides liability coverage for up to $25,000 for one injured person and a maximum of $50,000 for all persons injured in a single accident. However, some people in violation of the law do not carry automobile liability insurance and, therefore, it is prudent for those who operate automobiles on the highways to carry both uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage pays only if the person that causes your injury through their negligence has no insurance. Underinsured coverage provides coverage to someone injured by the negligence of another if the other person’s insurance coverage is less than the underinsured motorist coverage carried by the injured person. For example, if Party A was injured by the negligence of Party B and Party B had $25,000 of insurance but Party A’s medical bills were $50,000, then if Party A had uninsured motorist coverage it would not help him because Party B had insurance. However, if Party A had underinsured motorist coverage with a policy limit of $50,000, he would be able to obtain another $25,000 from his own insurance company in addition to the $25,000 available from the insurance company of Party B who caused the injury. Comprehensive insurance is insurance to cover damages to a person’s automobile that might be caused by such things as hail or vandalism. Collision insurance would pay for the property damage to the policyholder’s car that occurs in a collision, even if the collision was caused by the negligence of the policyholder.

4. Life Insurance

Life insurance pays to the named beneficiary the amount of the policy upon the death of the person whose life was insured.

5. Accident Insurance

There are several types of accident insurance but typically it provides additional insurance coverage when the insured’s death is caused by an accident.

6. Health Insurance

Health insurance, whether it is group or individual insurance, is intended to cover certain types of medical expenses incurred by an individual or that individual’s family if there is family coverage. There are many types of health insurance, with many different amounts of coverage, deductibles, etc.

Duties of Insurance Companies

The basic duty of an individual’s insurance company is to investigate and pay covered claims. In Idaho an insurance contract carries with it an obligation on behalf of the insurance company to exercise its rights and duties under that policy in good faith with regard to its insured.

Bad Faith. If an insurance company acts in “bad faith” with regard to its insured, it may be liable to its insured for damages beyond its policy. A short list of possible ways that an insurance company may act in bad faith with regard to an insured include: (1) refusing or failing to act reasonably and promptly upon information regarding claims; (2) misrepresenting important facts with regard to the insurance policy provisions; (3) not either confirming or denying coverage of a claim within a reasonable time after a proof of loss statement has been completed by the insured; (4) failing to pay a claim without conducting a reasonable investigation into the claim; (5) altering insurance documents without the knowledge or consent of the insured; (6) not making reasonable efforts to settle a claim where liability has become reasonably clear; (7) failing to provide a reasonable explanation of the reasons for denying a claim; (8) advising its insured not to hire an attorney.

Insurance Services of Thomsen Holman Wheiler PLLCs, PLLC

The Idaho Falls insurance lawyers with Thomsen Holman Wheiler PLLCs, PLLC, can help you when you have a dispute with your insurance company, whether it be health insurance, automobile insurance, homeowner’s, professional malpractice, or any other insurance product which an individual or business may carry. If you believe that you may not be receiving all of the benefits which you have a right to under your insurance policy, we may be able to help you obtain the benefits your policy provides, even if your insurance company refuses to cooperate.