Our client called us at an emotionally difficult time in her life – following the death of her mother. Her grieving process was worsened by the fact that she had to fight a big insurance company for a payout on her mother’s life insurance proceeds. The facts of the case were complicated and involved an elaborate scheme of two insurance agents who made several material misrepresentations to the then gravely ill insured and induced her into purchasing a life insurance policy for a high annual premium.
Not surprisingly, after the insured’s death, it was revealed that the policy would not have been issued had the agents presented the insured’s correct medical information to the insurance company. Needless to say, our client was distraught and felt that she and her late mother were cheated by the insurance company and its agents. Our life insurance law firm was able to recover the insurance proceeds based on protections afforded to beneficiaries against bad faith insurance practices. Under the bad faith law, it is an unfair method of competition or an unfair or deceptive act or practice in the business of insurance to misrepresent an insurance policy by making an untrue statement of material fact or failing to state a material fact necessary to make other statements made not misleading. Moreover, the insurance company was found liable for the fraudulent actions of its agents based on the theories of actual and apparent authority.