Kansas City Townsend Law Firm

Your Insurance Company Has a Duty To Defend You

On Behalf of | Feb 14, 2020 | Bad Faith Insurance

Nobody likes to pay for insurance. However, insurance coverage gives us peace of mind that we will be taken care of in the event an accident occurs. In Missouri and every other state in the country, car insurance is required if drivers want to be legal on the roadway. But what happens if your insurance carrier fails to uphold their part of the agreement? What if they do not defend you if a claim is made after an incident? At Townsend Law LLC, our Kansas City bad faith insurance attorneys want to discuss what duties your insurance carrier owes you. 

You Should Be Able To Count On Your Insurer

When you purchase insurance in Missouri, you should be able to count on the insurance carrier to uphold their part of the agreement. For the purposes of this article, we want to focus on car insurance. 

You should be able to trust that your insurer will pay out any compensation owed to you for injuries that are covered under their policy, up to the policy limits. In Missouri, the minimum car insurance requirements include:

  • $25,000 bodily injury per person per accident
  • $50,000 bodily injury for all persons per accident
  • $10,000 property damage liability
  • $25,000/$50,000 uninsured motorist coverage

If you are at fault in an accident, your insurer owes you a duty to defend. In legal terms, this means that your insurer has an obligation to provide you with defense for claims made under your liability policy. For example, if you are found to be at fault for a car accident that caused $10,000 worth of medical expenses to another victim, your insurer is required to pay these expenses. 

This does not mean they will not cancel your insurance policy or raise your rates, but they do have to provide coverage for the claim at hand. 

The insurer also has a duty to defend you in court. If a personal injury lawsuit is filed against you by the injured party, your insurer has a duty to represent you for the claim in court, as long as the lawsuit covers an injury that the insurer may be on the line for per the terms of the policy. However, they are only required to pay up to the limits of the agreed-upon amount specified in the policy. Any damages that may be awarded that are over this amount will be the responsibility of the defendant to pay. 

Let Us Help You Secure The Compensation You Need

If you or somebody you know has not received fair representation from their insurance carrier, you need to seek assistance from a skilled attorney as soon as possible. At Townsend Law LLC, we are dedicated to helping those who have been mistreated by their insurance carrier. We thoroughly understand bad faith insurance claims and we will get to work investigating your case immediately. Our goal is to secure the compensation you need, which can include coverage of the claim that they denied as well as possible punitive damages for their actions. When you need a Kansas City bad faith insurance attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling us at 833-869-6529.