Delay in Payment

Claim Payment Delays

A policyholder who makes a valid insurance claim expects the insurance carrier to process it in a timely way. When the insurance company delays payment, the consequences to the policyholder are often more than simple inconvenience. Delayed payment can mean unpaid medical bills or an inability to repair the house. Insurance law requires carriers to deal with customers with fairness and good faith. When they delay payment, carriers may be demonstrating insurance bad faith.

Experienced insurance bad faith lawyers

At Surrano Law Offices in Phoenix, Arizona, our attorneys have more than 25 years of combined experience handling all types of insurance bad faith claims, including those resulting from delayed payment of benefits. If your insurance carrier has unreasonably delayed payment on your valid claim, contact an insurance attorney. Call us at (602) 264-1077 to learn about your rights and your options.

Common delaying tactics used by insurance companies

Our attorneys have helped policyholders obtain the benefits they bought with their premium payments. When payment delay causes additional losses, such as a ruined credit rating or additional illness, we may be able to help clients obtain punitive damages. Some of the strategies used by insurance companies to delay payment include:

• Waiting for third party payment before issuing benefits to the policy holder
• Asking for unnecessary documentation before processing the claim
• Failing to provide an explanation for a delay, hoping the customer will not question the matter
• Sending medical records for unneeded review, attempting to conduct post-claim underwriting by seeking a pre-existing condition
• Recommending alternative treatment, allowing the carrier to deny a claim of insurance bad faith

The insurance company is banking on policyholders dropping the matter once the claim is paid

Even after the carrier ultimately pays the claim in full, the delay has given them the benefit of the money for a little longer, earning interest and putting off the need to report the payment. Another twist in the delayed payment scenario is when the insurance company eventually pays the claim in full, but neglects to include the interest owed because of the delay. This requires the client to return to the fight if he or she wants to collect the interest owed or punitive damages caused by the delay. Insurance companies are counting on customers giving up and not pursuing such matters once the claim is paid.

Unreasonable delay in the payment of insurance claims is frequently insurance bad faith. Contact our office to learn how we can help after a delayed payment of your insurance claim has caused you damage.

Serving clients throughout Arizona and the United States with insurance bad faith lawsuits