Although bad faith lawsuits are extremley complex, the concept of insurance bad faith is a simple one: When you sign up for an insurance policy, there is a reasonable expectation that your insurance company will conduct itself with “good faith and fair dealing.” In Arizona, your insurance company is bound to refrain from any action which would impair the benefits to which its insured had a right to expect from the insurance policy.

One thing to keep in mind is that Arizona does not recognize true “third party” bad faith so you only have these protections against your own insurance company’s unfair claims handling.

While it is not unusual for individuals to disagree with adjustors about how much their claim is worth, bad faith only really comes into play when you notice that an adjustor is dodging any questions or concerns about why a claim is worth what they say, or if they are unexpectedly denying your claims without any reasonable basis. If your adjuster is ignoring evidence that should have been included in the proper, fair evaluation of the claim, this could be bad faith claims handling practicies.

When this happens, it is never a good idea to mention the term “bad faith” in conversation with the insurance agent or adjustor or to threaten bad faith. If you do so, the insurance company will argue that you “set it up” for bad faith even if that is absolutely false. Instead, you should simply make sure that you document and confirm every conversation in writing. Do not give the insurance company any excuses for its unfair claims handling and promptly respond to all reasonable requests from your insurance company.

If the unfair claims handling continues, you should immediately seek legal counsel. Your attorney will be able to go over all your legal options with you, as well as spur the insurance companies to action in most cases.