Bad Faith Insurance Companies
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Boicourt v. Amex Assurance Co. Award: $2,006,000 A boy severely injured in a vehicle accident settled for more than $2 million pursuant to a policy that provided only $100,000 in coverage, because the insurance carrier initially refused, in bad faith, to disclose the policy limits. Matson Terminals v. Home Insurance Co Settlement: $33.65 million Home Insurance Company denied coverage for a $10 million earthquake claim, and a California jury concluded the denial, based on a policy exclusion, was in bad faith. The jury awarded $11,000,000 in punitive damages. The appeals court, in affirming the award that included $23.5 million in compensatory damages, held that the insurer led the policyholder to believe there was coverage, and encouraged it to initiate repairs. David Clayton v. United Services Automobile Association Award: $3.9 million A California jury found the insurance company's offer of $10,000 on policy limits of $300,000 to parents whose only child was killed in an auto accident was unreasonable and in bad faith. An appellate panel affirmed the award. The California Supreme Court denied review of the case. Vann v. The Travelers Insurance Company Award: $26.5 million The former owner of an auto repair shop was asked to vacate the premises after his landlord died. Following, he was sued for causing environmental damage on the property. He asked his insurance company to provide him with a defense. First they denied he had a policy, and then, after admitting such a policy existed, they inundated him with burdensome and harassing requests for information with which he could not comply. After denial of the claim, Mr. Vann sued for bad faith and the jury agreed. The Travelers’ appeals all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court were unsuccessful. Read more: http://law.freeadvice.com/insurance_law/insurers_bad_faith/bad-faith-insurance-lawsuits.htm#ixzz3PBLzIN89 Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Follow us: @FreeAdviceNews on Twitter | freeadvice on Facebook
