Differences Between First and Third-Party Bad Faith Claims

Answer:

People often ask us about bad faith claims and first-party or third-party bad faith claims. It’s a good question because insurance company behavior comes up in both settings. A first-party bad faith claim is a claim against your own insurance company where they didn’t provide benefits for you under circumstances where they should have.

A third-party bad faith claim is a scenario where, for example, you have been hurt in an automobile accident. You sue the at-fault driver. Their insurance company will not settle the case when they should have. You go to trial. You get a fair verdict for the full measure of your injuries and it is way over and above the policy limits of that insurance company.

In Florida, there has always been the ability to have the third-party case, but there was no such thing as first-party bad faith where your own insurance company’s behavior can be brought to task until rather recently. It’s created by statute where you go through some hoops to establish your claim under a statute that’s on the books in the state of Florida. If you satisfy that, then you can prosecute your bad faith claim against your own insurance company. That’s basically the differences, but in essence you’re calling to task the behavior of the insurance company for not dealing fairly with you when under all the circumstances they should have and could have.

If you have that kind of a case, or you think you have that kind of a case that occurred in Nassau County, Duval County, or the surrounding areas, call us. We’ll sit down; we’ll talk about it. We’ll get organized and devise a plan that’s best for you and your case.