When the Insurance Company Fails to Protect Its Own

The purpose of insurance is to ensure you have a safety net in the event of injure or loss. We pay our premiums and assume that if, and when we need it, the insurance company will pay the claim. What happens if you are seriously injured in an auto accident due to the negligence of someone else and the wrongdoer is uninsured or underinsured? If you have a policy with uninsured or underinsured coverage, you are entitled to compensation from your own insurance company, up to your coverage limit.

Although insurance companies deny claims with good reason, sometimes they deny claims as part of an attempt to cut costs and increase profits.  If you are the victim of bad faith insurance practices – your claims have been inexplicably denied or you were led to believe that you would be covered, you may be facing this very practice; your only recourse may be to file a lawsuit. That was the case with a New Jersey woman - not once, but twice.
In a 2005 auto accident, she suffered neck and back injuries.  She was in a second accident in 2007 that caused her injuries to worsen.  In the end, the woman required fusion surgery to her lower back after physical therapy, chiropractic treatment and pain management that did not relieve her pain.

Both accidents were the fault of an under-insured motorist, so the woman filed a claim under her own policy in which she had under-insured motorist coverage.  When New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company denied her claims and offered an inadequate settlement, she filed a lawsuit. Ten years after the first accident, a Middlesex County Superior Court jury awarded her $8.4 million, although the claim will be capped around $500,000 because of coverage limits.  Still pending is the portion of the lawsuit that claims New Jersey Manufacturers failed to properly address her insurance claims.

“It is unfortunate that New Jersey Manufacturers chose to treat one of their own customers in this manner,” said her attorney. “If they took a reasonable approach to the settlement of [her] injury claims, New Jersey Manufacturers would have avoided the litigation process.”

Why does it, so often, take a lawsuit for insurance companies to do the right thing?  This type of frivolous defense not only bogs down our civil justice system, but often times leaves the innocent victim financially strapped for cash. The answer is because insurance companies’ bank on a client becoming financially desperate and settling for less than fair compensation.  Because of this despicable tactic, lawsuit funding companies were created.

The goal of lawsuit funding is to get the plaintiff through the lengthy litigation without having pressing bills and expenses effect the value of their case.  Lawsuit Financial offers free case evaluation to all plaintiffs in a pending personal injury claim.  We offer a quick review and approval process, often within 24 – 48 hours because we do not require a credit check, employment verification, or upfront fees.  Best of all, we are only repaid if you win your case.  If you are seeking lawsuit funding while waiting for the compensation you rightly deserve, call us toll free at 1-877-377-SUIT (7848) or visit us online at www.lawsuitfinancial.com. We are ready to help you, so don’t be afraid to stand up to the insurance companies and stand up for your rights, no matter how long it takes.

Mark Bello is the CEO and General Counsel of Lawsuit Financial Corporation, a pro-justice lawsuit funding company.