When people in Hawaii need medical care usually they have no choice but to go to the doctor or medical facility and receive the proper care. However, this can be very costly as medical care and prescriptions can be expensive. This can be especially hard for people who were injured due to the negligence of others. That is why having insurance is so important for many people. The negligent party’s insurance may pay for some or all of the costs for the medical treatment. Even when insurance does not pay for everything, the payments they make can at least make the patient’s costs manageable.
However, insurance companies are businesses and like most other businesses they are trying to make money. So, paying out insurance claims can hurt their bottom line. Therefore, they have incentive to minimize damages or try not to pay what they are required to pay. That is why there are laws in place that govern insurance companies and how they must respond to claims and make prompt payments as well.
However, sometimes the insurance companies do not follow these laws and the person may have an insurance bad faith claim against the insurance company. At a very basic level in order to be successful people must prove that they have a valid insurance claim and that the insurance company was unreasonable in not paying out the claim. Examples of an insurance company acting in bad faith could be misrepresenting facts, not investigating claims within a reasonable time, not making determinations within a reasonable time, not giving a reasonable explanation of a denial and others.
As many people in Hawaii are aware, reading insurance policies can be confusing and sometimes it is unclear if something is covered under a policy. However, in many other situations, especially if one is injured by another person, it is clear that the insurance company needs to pay the insurance claim. If they refuse to do so the insured may have an insurance bad faith claim. These cases can be complicated though and consulting with an experienced attorney can be helpful.