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After an accident, you will typically be responsible for paying for your own medical bills and property damages until the insurance company settles your claim. It can be difficult to wait to receive your payment, especially when you are not sure how long the wait will be. The timeline for settling y...

Slogans and commercials from insurance companies might make you think they are on your side…until it comes time to file a claim. Insurance companies have one main goal—to save their investors money. Insurance companies profit by using tactics to minimize payouts for clients. It is important to t...

Read the fine print on an insurance policy carefully to understand exactly what to expect should a claim arise. Your policy may contain several clauses or provisions that alter your rights or options after suffering a loss. One of these provisions might be a loss payable clause—a standard endorsem...

Insurance is an important investment that can provide peace of mind for an individual and his or her family. Although most people are eligible for different types of insurance, not everyone is a prime candidate. With life insurance, for example, some applicants may have health issues or histories th...

Businesses are suffering amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Lack of foot traffic, governmental health regulations, shelter-in-place orders, and social distancing guidelines have made it difficult or impossible for many businesses to continue operating. Business interruption insurance is one possible soluti...

With the number of COVID-19 cases constantly on the rise, more employees are wondering about their rights if they contract the virus while at work. Normally, workers’ compensation in Arizona covers all occupational injuries and illnesses. During the novel coronavirus pandemic, however, some insura...

An insurance grace period is an extension an insurance company may give to a client after he or she misses a payment prior to canceling coverage. It is a set amount of time in which the client will still have insurance coverage despite being in arrears on a payment. An insurance grace period can con...

Dealing with a health insurance company during a claim can be difficult, especially while you are simultaneously coping with a medical condition. Insurance companies often do not make the claims process easy for clients. They may deny valid claims, unreasonably delay payouts, or use other tactics to...

The novel coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19, has taken close to 100,000 lives in the US as of mid-May, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has put over one million people in the hospital. Aside from health-related fears, many patients also worry about how to affor...

COVID-19, also called the novel coronavirus, has had a substantial impact on the economy. With mandatory stay-at-home orders and closures of nonessential businesses, the US’s economy is reeling from the impact of the virus. The coronavirus is forcing many business owners to seek alternative means ...

Dealing with an insurance company can be difficult. You will have to contend with a lot of paperwork, rules and red tape to obtain coverage through an insurance policy. One of the protections you have as a consumer, however, is the legal obligation of good faith. The doctrine of utmost good faith is...

Bloomberg highlights Surrano Law Offices and its efforts to help those with short-term health insurance who have been denied coverage. Click the link below to read the Bloomberg article, and learn how Surrano Law Offices may be able to help you: Surrano Law Offices Takes on Short Term Health I...

Long term care insurance (LTC) is a critical type of insurance for people with health needs such as permanent disabilities, long-term illnesses or the inability to care for themselves. LTC insurance can mean the difference between struggling for care and living comfortably. If you are curious about ...

Bad faith is any action or omission from an insurance company that does not come from a good faith attempt to resolve the client’s claim. Good faith is an insurer’s legal and ethical responsibility to treat a claim fairly, reasonably, and within the confines of the law. If an insurance company...

A breach of contract might occur if an insurance company fails to fulfill its end of the terms in your policy. A contract is a legal document, typically written but sometimes verbal, that governs the terms of an agreement between two parties. In Arizona, a breach of contract occurs when one party v...

If an insurance company takes advantage of you and engages in bad faith tactics, you could suffer the consequences. Bad faith could rob you of the settlement amount your injuries demand or lead to further damages while you wait for an unfairly delayed payout. An insurance company handling your cla...

Combatting an insurance company’s unfair or illegal tactics during your injury claim may take help from an insurance bad faith attorney. Insurance companies have plenty of experience minimizing payouts and taking advantage of clients. You will need to know how to navigate claims adjusters, contra...

If you own a business, you may hear the terms ERISA and non-ERISA. These are two different types of retirement plans you could offer your employees. An ERISA plan is one you will contribute to as an employer, matching participants’ inputs. ERISA plans must follow the rules of the Employee Retirem...

Not all insurance carriers are created equal. Some engage in practices known as bad faith. Every insurance company has a legal duty to treat clients in good faith, meaning they must act honestly and fairly when handling claims. Bad faith insurance could involve tactics to get out of paying claimant...

When you speak with an insurance agent, you trust that he or she will act in your best interest. Under state and federal regulations, government bodies obligate insurance brokers to act in your best interest, if you are an insurance purchaser. Depending on their state, insurance agents must uphold a...

Insurance companies are for-profit businesses that function by selling paid promises of coverage for specific events. For example, a driver pays for auto insurance that covers damages in the event of an accident, and the premiums that driver pays fluctuate based on his or her perceived risk level. I...

It is crucial for all insurance policyholders to remember that insurance companies are in business to make money. No matter how an insurance company presents itself, the company is ultimately a for-profit organization that will attempt to avoid paying out on claims whenever possible. Insurance compa...

When an insurance policy covers a policyholder, certain situations exist in which the insurer has a duty to defend an insured party. It is essential to understand the elements of the duty to defend when it comes to insurance coverage. A Phoenix insurance bad faith attorney can help an insured party ...

Many accident liability insurance policies have very clear guidelines as to which events may qualify for claims. One issue that may cause problems for claimants is the concept of a “sole cause” provision. A sole cause provision may state something like, “this policy covers an accidental injury...

A bad faith insurance claim can help an injured person recover after an unwarranted denial of a valid insurance claim or other acts of bad faith from insurance companies. An insurance policy is essentially a paid promise that an insurer will cover events and provide compensation within the scope of ...

Life insurance provides you with peace of mind and your loved ones with financial stability in the event of your death. Life insurance is essential for retirement planning and those with growing families, but the multiple types of life insurance can make finding a policy confusing. The three type...

One of the strategies an insurance company may use to avoid paying a claim is alleging that a claimant failed to cooperate with the insurer. Insurance companies will try anything to get away with denying, delaying, or underpaying policyholders’ claims. Maximize your odds of compensation by prevent...

When a policyholder passes away, insurance companies don’t always take it upon themselves to search for surviving beneficiaries. Although insurers have access to death records, they often don’t take notice of policyholder deaths and delay payouts as long as possible – until the beneficiary mak...

After a loved one passes away, the last thing a surviving family member wants to deal with is bad news from a life insurance company. Unfortunately, life insurance companies deny claims all the time – sometimes for valid reasons, other times for no reason at all. If you’ve recently received a cl...

The state of Arizona imposes a general two-year statute of limitations on most personal injury and bad faith claims. While the state adheres to a statute of two years, your insurance contract may include a different agreement. Wronged policyholders must understand their policies to ensure the viabil...

Disability benefits exist to help people who cannot work maintain their standard of living. In most cases, disabilities develop over time due to wear-and-tear from daily work or medical conditions. Sometimes injuries cause permanent disabilities that prevent the injured person from returning to work...

Long-term care (LTC) insurance can mean the difference between struggling and living comfortably with an illness, condition, or permanent disability. LTC insurance covers home care, assisted living, nursing home facilities, adult daycare, and hospice care. LTC insurance for home care typically pays ...

When one party injures another, the injured party can file a lawsuit to obtain compensation for his or her losses caused by the other party’s actions. In most cases, the injured party and his or her attorney must prove that the defendant was negligent. Negligence defines any action that another re...

Our criminal justice system functions around the concept that every accused individual is innocent until proven guilty. The concept of “burden of proof” means that the accuser must provide evidence supporting his or her claims. The accused doesn’t necessarily have to prove his or her innocence...

Every insurance company in the United States has a Special Investigative Unit, or SIU. After being in an accident, your insurance claims adjuster may tell you that he or she has to refer your personal injury or damages claim to the SIU. This may be a new term for you, and you might not realize what ...

An injury can turn your world on its head. Aside from medical bills and recovery, you may be wondering how to replace your lost income. If you purchased disability insurance, you expect your insurer will provide you with the means to survive, but this isn’t always the case. Unfortunately, insuranc...

Bad faith laws exist to make insurance companies accountable for providing the services for which their clients have paid. This is a complicated business, and catching fraudulent claims is an important part of maintaining a viable operation. On the other hand, insurers may act unethically through de...

Does it ever surprise you that false information can provided while a person is being examined under oath? Although some may fail to grasp the importance of an examination under oath (EUO), it can lead to range of long-term consequences, such as the rejection of an insurance claim or an accusation o...

When you purchase insurance, state laws offer some level of protection against bad faith practices. As with any other contract, you expect an insurance company to operate in good faith and uphold its end of the contract as long as you are a customer with an open policy. However, many insurance compa...

When you file an insurance claim, you expect a certain level of professionalism during the investigation and settlement offer. However, insurance adjustors often face a conflict of interest during the course of an investigation. They need to abide by industry standards, but they will also try to min...

When you file an insurance claim against another person’s policy, it’s a third-party claim. You might file a third-party claim if: You were involved in a car accident, you weren’t at fault, and the accident didn’t occur in a no-fault state. Instead of filing a claim with your provider, y...

Lying or failing to double check your insurance application could, in fact, hurt your ability to pursue compensation in a claim. Generally, the type of error and the surrounding circumstances will affect how much the inaccuracy will affect your ability to collect compensation. The worst-case scen...

Insurance law is so complex that it always seems like the giants have all the power. If an insurance company was acting in bad faith, how would you know? What do you do if you think an insurance company is unfairly denying a claim? Most importantly, if an insurance company deliberately lies to or mi...