Skip to main content
Insurance Bad Faith

Delay & Denial Tactics

"Still under review." "We need more documentation." "Your adjuster is no longer with the company." Any one of those statements may have a legitimate explanation. A repeated, unexplained pattern can justify a closer look at the policy, investigation, communications, and claim timeline.

Free Case Evaluation(405) 698-3125

Key Takeaways

  • Duration alone is not enough: Compare the delay with the work performed and explanations given
  • Document the complete timeline: Records help show what each side knew and did
  • Investigation must fit the claim: An inadequate review may support liability but does not decide every element
  • Remedies require causation and proof: Not every loss during a delay is legally recoverable

Recognizing Delay Tactics

These patterns can help identify what to document. Their significance depends on the claim's complexity, the information available, and the insurer's explanation:

The Endless Review

Weeks turn to months. Every call yields 'still under review.' No one can explain what's being reviewed or when it will end.

Paper to Death

Constant requests for documentation. Each submission triggers new requests. Forms get 'lost.' They ask for the same things repeatedly.

Communication Blackouts

Adjusters don't return calls. Emails go unanswered for weeks. You're left in the dark about your own claim.

Adjuster Rotation

New adjusters assigned periodically. Each one 'needs to get up to speed.' Progress resets to zero every time.

Recognizing Bad Faith Denials

A denial isn't automatically bad faith—but these patterns raise red flags:

Rubber Stamp Denial

Immediate denial without reviewing documentation, speaking to witnesses, or conducting any investigation.

Policy Misrepresentation

Citing exclusions that don't apply to your facts, or creatively interpreting clear coverage language to avoid payment.

Ignoring Evidence

Denying despite clear documentation supporting your claim—photos, expert opinions, receipts, medical records.

Pre-Existing Condition Excuse

Blaming all damage on prior conditions without acknowledging that the covered event aggravated or caused new damage.

Vague Denial Letters

Denials that don't cite specific policy provisions or explain exactly why coverage doesn't apply.

Bias Toward Denial

Internal claims manuals or training that emphasize finding reasons to deny rather than fairly evaluating claims.

How to Fight Delay & Denial

Building a bad faith case requires documenting the pattern of unreasonable conduct:

1

Keep a Detailed Log

Record every interaction: date, time, who you spoke with, what was said, and what (if anything) was resolved. Screenshot emails and save voicemails.

2

Follow Up in Writing

After phone calls, send a confirming email: 'Per our conversation today, you stated...' This creates a paper trail the insurer can't later deny.

3

Submit Everything Certified Mail

For important documents, use certified mail with return receipt. This proves delivery so they can't claim documents were 'never received.'

4

Document Your Damages

Track additional expenses, property deterioration, medical consequences, and lost work. Recoverability depends on the governing claim, causation, foreseeability, and proof.

5

Consult an Attorney

A lawyer can review the policy and deadlines, identify missing evidence, communicate the disputed issues, and, if litigation is warranted, seek relevant materials through the available discovery process.

Other Types of Bad Faith Claims

First-Party Bad FaithPolicy Limits & Third-Party ClaimsStorm & Property ClaimsUM/UIM Bad FaithHealth Insurance Bad FaithInsurance Bad Faith Overview

Frequently Asked Questions

A claim may take time for legitimate reasons, including missing information, a coverage question, competing claims, expert review, catastrophe volume, or litigation. A prolonged or unexplained delay may also create financial pressure on an insured. Motive cannot be assumed from duration alone; the policy, requested information, communications, investigation, and contemporaneous explanation must be reviewed.
There is no single deadline for every claim. Oklahoma's regulatory rules include a 30-day response period for pertinent claimant communications and separate timelines for property-and-casualty acknowledgments and decisions after proof of loss. The policy, claim type, adequacy of the proof, need for investigation, catastrophe extensions, and litigation status all matter. A missed regulatory deadline does not automatically prove the common-law tort, but the delay and the insurer's explanation may be relevant evidence.
The phrase describes repeated or shifting document requests that appear disconnected from a reasonable investigation. Additional requests can be legitimate as facts develop. Duplicative, immaterial, or unexplained demands may support an inference of unreasonable handling when considered with the full claim record, but they do not prove bad faith by themselves.
It can slow a claim, although ordinary staffing changes are not bad faith. Record each reassignment, repeated request, missed commitment, and resulting delay. The issue is whether the insurer continued a reasonable investigation and communication process—not whether more than one adjuster touched the file.
A denial may be legitimate when the policy and facts supply a reasonable basis, even if the insured disagrees. Ignoring material evidence, misstating policy language, or denying without an investigation reasonably suited to the claim may support a bad-faith theory. Coverage, the contemporaneous basis, causation, damages, and every required element still must be proved.
Potentially. Oklahoma law requires a reasonable investigation under the circumstances, not every conceivable investigative step. A denial made without reviewing readily available material evidence may support a bad-faith claim, but the policy, coverage, information supplied, reason for the decision, causation, and harm remain part of the analysis.
Keep a dated log of calls, letters, emails, document submissions, requests, responses, payments, and the effect of any delay. A reliable timeline can help show what each side knew and did. It is evidence to be evaluated with the policy and claim record, not automatic proof of bad faith.
A reservation of rights letter means the insurer is investigating your claim while reserving their right to later deny coverage. It's not inherently bad faith—but if they use the reservation to investigate indefinitely without resolution, or to pressure you into unfavorable settlements, that conduct can become unreasonable.
Yes. The Oklahoma Insurance Department accepts consumer complaints and may request a response or consider regulatory action. It does not award tort damages, and filing a complaint does not establish a private bad-faith claim. Preserve the complaint, attachments, and response as part of the claim history.
Available relief depends on the coverage, claim, causation, and proof. It may include benefits or contract damages when owed and other loss proximately caused by actionable conduct. Interest, attorney fees, emotional-distress damages, and punitive damages are not automatic; each requires an applicable legal basis and the required proof, including 23 O.S. § 9.1 for punitive damages.

Stop Waiting. Start Fighting.

If your insurance company is stalling, stonewalling, or denying your valid claim, you don't have to take it. We hold insurers accountable for delay and denial tactics.

Free Consultation

Get Started