Keosian Law Practice Areas

Underpaid & Delayed Claims

Holding insurers accountable for payment delays and underpayments

Call Now: (866) 222-2020

Overview

Insurance companies are required to handle claims promptly and pay benefits in a timely manner. When insurers deliberately delay claim processing or pay significantly less than what is owed, they may be acting in bad faith and violating their contractual obligations to you as a policyholder.

At Keosian Law LLP, our Los Angeles delayed claims attorneys have seen every tactic insurers use to avoid paying what they owe—from bureaucratic runarounds to deliberate lowball offers. Whether your property damage claim has been stalled for months or your settlement offer doesn't come close to covering your actual losses, our attorneys know how to force insurers to act.

California law imposes strict timelines on insurance companies, and violations of these timelines can result in significant penalties. From our Sherman Oaks office, we represent policyholders throughout Los Angeles County who are being subjected to unreasonable delays and underpayments on their insurance claims.

Common Delay & Underpayment Tactics

  • Requesting excessive or irrelevant documentation repeatedly
  • Changing adjusters mid-claim to restart the review process
  • Failing to return calls, emails, or letters within required timeframes
  • Conducting unnecessarily prolonged investigations
  • Losing paperwork and requiring resubmission
  • Scheduling inspections weeks or months out
  • Offering lowball settlements far below actual damages
  • Depreciating items well beyond reasonable standards
  • Ignoring portions of legitimate claims
  • Pressuring claimants to accept quick, inadequate settlements

Why Insurers Delay and Underpay

Insurance companies delay and underpay claims for one simple reason: every dollar they don't pay is profit. Understanding their motivations helps explain the patterns our attorneys see in case after case:

Financial Incentives

Insurers earn investment income on premiums they hold. The longer they delay paying a claim, the more investment income they earn. Adjusters may also receive performance bonuses based on how little they pay on claims, creating a direct financial incentive to underpay.

Policyholder Fatigue

Many insurers count on policyholders giving up or accepting lowball offers out of frustration. After months of delays, many people accept inadequate settlements simply because they need money for repairs, medical bills, or living expenses—especially in high-cost-of-living areas like Los Angeles.

Corporate Claims Policies

Some insurance companies implement corporate policies that systematically undervalue claims across the board. These may include using proprietary software that generates artificially low estimates or requiring multiple levels of approval designed to slow the process.

Under California law, insurers owe a duty of good faith and fair dealing to every policyholder. When they breach that duty through delays or underpayments, they are liable not only for the benefits owed but also for additional damages caused by their bad faith conduct.

What Compensation Covers

When we successfully challenge an insurer's delay or underpayment, our clients may recover:

  • Full Policy Benefits: The complete amount owed under the terms of your insurance policy.
  • Additional Repair/Treatment Costs: If the delay caused your damage to worsen or your injuries to be aggravated, you can recover these additional costs.
  • Lost Rental Income: If delayed property repairs prevented you from renting your property.
  • Alternative Housing Costs: Temporary housing expenses caused by the insurer's delay in processing your claim.
  • Storage & Moving Fees: Costs of storing belongings during unnecessarily delayed repairs.
  • Interest: Statutory interest on amounts wrongfully withheld.
  • Emotional Distress: Compensation for the anxiety, stress, and hardship caused by the insurer's conduct.
  • Punitive Damages: In cases of particularly egregious delay or systematic underpayment.

How We Fight Delayed and Underpaid Claims

  1. Free Case Evaluation: We review your claim history, correspondence, and policy to identify violations of California's Fair Claims Settlement Practices regulations.
  2. Timeline Documentation: We build a detailed timeline showing every instance where the insurer missed deadlines, ignored communications, or failed to act.
  3. Independent Valuation: We engage independent experts to establish the true value of your claim, countering the insurer's lowball estimates.
  4. Bad Faith Demand: We submit a comprehensive demand that puts the insurer on notice, often prompting immediate action on previously stalled claims.
  5. Litigation: If necessary, we file suit in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking full policy benefits plus bad faith damages.

Why Choose Keosian Law

  • No Fees or Costs Unless We Recover: No attorney fees or costs unless we recover for you.
  • Los Angeles Expertise: Based in Sherman Oaks, we understand the local courts, judges, and the unique challenges Los Angeles policyholders face.
  • Aggressive Advocacy: Insurers respond to attorneys who are willing to try cases. We are trial-ready on every case we accept.

Stop waiting for your insurer to do the right thing. Contact our experienced attorneys for a free consultation today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions about our legal services and processes.

California law requires insurers to acknowledge claims within 15 days and accept or deny within 40 days. Delays beyond these timeframes without valid justification, repeated requests for unnecessary documentation, or failure to communicate may constitute bad faith. From our Sherman Oaks office, we regularly see Los Angeles policyholders facing delays of months or even years on valid claims.

Signs of underpayment include settlement offers significantly below repair estimates, excessive depreciation, failure to account for all damages, use of biased adjusters, and pressure to accept quick settlements. Getting independent repair estimates from contractors familiar with Los Angeles construction costs can reveal underpayment.

Common delay tactics include requesting excessive documentation, repeatedly changing claim adjusters, conducting unnecessary investigations, failing to return calls, losing paperwork, and not scheduling inspections promptly. These tactics are designed to frustrate policyholders into abandoning valid claims or accepting inadequate settlements.

Yes, if the delay was unreasonable and caused you harm, you may recover consequential damages such as additional repair costs, lost rental income, storage fees, alternative housing costs, and emotional distress caused by the delay. California courts recognize that insurance delays cause real financial harm to policyholders.

Keep a detailed log of all communications including dates, times, and names of representatives. Save all emails and letters. Document how the delay has affected you financially and emotionally. Photograph any worsening damage caused by the delay. This evidence supports bad faith claims and strengthens your case significantly.

You can accept partial payments without waiving your right to dispute the full amount, but be careful with any documents you sign. Some insurers include release language that could affect your rights. Have an attorney review before signing anything—our free consultation can help protect your interests.
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Call Now: (866) 222-2020Schedule Consultation Client Story

"After our basement flooded, our insurance company offered only a fraction of what was needed. Keosian Law stepped in and negotiated a settlement that covered everything."

Michael J.

Sherman Oaks, CA

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