Bad faith claims are designed to change the battlefield. What begins as a coverage dispute can quickly become an attack on the insurer’s claim file, internal communications, training, supervision, guidelines, reserves, and institutional judgment. The exposure can be significant, the discovery can be invasive, and the litigation can become a referendum on how the insurer does business.
BatesCarey knows how to stop that from happening.
We help insurers prevent bad faith claims before they take shape and defeat them when they are filed. Our lawyers understand the real world of claim handling, including how claims are investigated, evaluated, documented, reserved, supervised, and resolved. We work with claims and underwriting professionals to build practices that hold up under scrutiny, identify vulnerabilities before they become litigation leverage, and create defensible frameworks for difficult decisions.
When bad faith allegations arise, we move fast. We protect the record. We narrow the fight. We push back against overbroad discovery. We expose attempts to turn ordinary coverage disputes into extracontractual claims. And we position insurers for the right result, whether that means early dismissal, summary judgment, favorable resolution, or trial.
Our bad faith practice includes risk prevention counseling, claim handling audits, in-house training, response guidelines for claim and policyholder communications, and the defense of complex bad faith litigation, including class actions.
The best bad faith defense is built before the accusation is made. BatesCarey helps insurers develop the discipline, documentation, and decision-making needed to withstand scrutiny, and the litigation strategy needed to win when the claim becomes a fight.
