Property and Insurance Law Insurance Law
Insurance law is the specific practice of law that deals with any matter associated with insurance such as regulations, policies, and claims. Rules and regulations that apply to insurance companies and the way these companies conduct their business is one type of insurance law. The other is how insurance companies handle claims for losses by their insured clients. The laws that regulate the business of insurance normally dictate the legal and necessary aspects of conducting business, such as the adequate amount of capital or reserves needed to insure solvency, adherence to state and departmental laws, and complacence with federal regulations and special insurance programs or provisions. For individuals making insurance claims, insurance companies may prove unwilling or very hesitant to reimburse clients for their losses. This proves especially true in the New Orleans area even several years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Bloom Legal regularly represents and assists plaintiffs in obtaining the money rightfully owed to them by the insurance companies. Although economic times may have befallen many of these insurance carriers, the fact of the matter is that these companies have a legal obligation to fulfill valid insurance claims for losses and damages. Bloom Legal will assist clients in ensuring this is the case for them and their families.
People takeout insurance policies for a wide variety of reasons and will insure anything to offer protection against economic loss including health, property, life, and liability. Most insurance policies such as life, health, and renters are created voluntarily and are done to offer some financial assurance or provide a safety net from financial loss or damage should something go wrong during the course of life or a specified period of time. Others such as auto, home, and professional liability are required by law or as a condition of an agreement or contractual obligation to secure financial interests. Businesses are not obligated to provide health or life insurance to their employees but many do offer some sort of health insurance and some even offer life insurance as an incentive to recruit and keep a qualified workforce. However, most business in the state of Louisiana are obligated to provide Workers' Compensation insurance to cover employees from injury or illness on the job or in the course of performing his/her occupational duties.
Even though many people take the time and extra expense to provide security for themselves and their loved ones, many times insurance companies will try to find ways out of paying legitimate claims by their policyholders. Insurance companies have almost limitless resources to defend their position and find loopholes to get out of paying claims but the law is geared to favor the insured or policyholder and not the insurance company. An attorney well versed and experienced in insurance law can make the system work for you against any large insurance company. The Louisiana Department of Insurance has passed laws, regulations, and guidelines to protect the insured in Louisiana from bad faith claim practices on the part of insurance companies. Many companies will try to illegally limit the benefits an insured individual is entitled to receive simply to limit their losses without regard for the pain and suffering of the policyholder. This can happen with any insurance policy including, life, health, property, or liability insurance.
Bad faith action on the part of an insurance company can manifest itself in a variety of ways including a valid claim being denied for payment by the insuring company, the insure may require a burden of proof from the policyholder in a case that is exceptionally hard to prove, or the insurance company delays payment of a valid claim for a prolonged period of time. Insurers also break the law when they engage in price fixing, taking advantage of desperate or calamitous situations such as after the devastation of a hurricane, to charge more for the same policies. If you feel an insurance company has acted in bad faith or taken advantage of you or your family in any way, one of our skilled and practiced insurance law attorneys can help you file a complaint or lawsuit against the aggravating company to help you recover what is rightfully yours.
Insurance policies can include coverage for any of the following devastating financial losses or damage:
- Fire
- Auto accident
- Flood
- Professional liability
- Property liability
- Windstorm
- Property damage
- Health complications
- Death
Many insurance companies have been known to cancel a policy illegally. An insurance company cannot cancel a policy unless the policy has terminated and they refuse to renew a policy or for reasons of violations that invalidate a policy. These violations have to clearly and specifically declare in the policy. The Louisiana Department of Insurance strictly limits what an insurance company can include as violations that can invalidate a policy, reasons for cancellation, or cancellation provisions in its policies. Usually, insurance policies are only subject to cancellation if the insured fails to make the required premium payments or for some type of serious misrepresentation or fraud on the part of the policyholder.
For a free consultation from Bloom Legal regarding your insurance claims case, contact our offices below for an immediate response. Our offices appreciate the business we receive from the citizens of the greater New Orleans area, as well those throughout the other parts of the state of Louisiana, and in showing this appreciation, we take all consultation requests with serious intent and a high level of understanding and expertise regarding Louisiana insurance claims.
