I Thought I Was Covered For That.....

Many consumers purchase insurance, thinking they are secure, only to learn that when disaster strikes and they need to make a claim, they do not have the insurance coverage they thought they purchased. In situations in which a consumer has asked for insurance to cover a specific risk, or to include certain coverages, the insurance broker who solicited and sold the policy can be liable for failing to procure that insurance.

We have seen a recent uptick in situations in which clients have learned they were underinsured, or didn't have the coverages requested, because the insurance broker did a poor job. In the right circumstances, an insurance broker owes a duty to procure the coverages requested, advise the client of the terms of the policy, and owes a fiduciary duty of honesty and loyalty to the customer. In one of our pending lawsuits, the insurance broker failed to procure the insurance requested by the insured customer, and when a claim was made, the insurance company denied part of the claim because some of the loss was not covered. We sued the insurance company and the insurance broker who sold the policy. In the courtroom, the broker contended that it had no duty to advise the insured or obtain the coverages requested by the insured, and asked the Judge to dismiss the claims against the broker. The Judge recently denied the motion and ruled that the claims can move forward.

Suffering a catastrophic loss of property, or becoming disabled, can be a disastrous event in anyone's life. Many people feel they have no options, that they can't fight a huge insurance company with unlimited resources. You should absolutely seek out the advice of an experienced and competent insurance attorney if something like this happens to you, because you may have legal options that other attorneys are not aware of.

At Asheville Legal, we've run the gamut with insurance claim litigation, have a deep understanding of insurance policies and the claims handling process, and have the courtroom experience to ensure that you maximize your value with your legal claim. If you've filed a large scale insurance claim only to learn that you lacked the insurance coverage you originally thought you had, then you should call us to determine your available recourse and begin charting your path to recovery.