Insurance Law

Denied Claim

Insurance Coverage Law

A contract of insurance is supposed to give you peace of mind.  In exchange for premiums paid to an insurance company (often very high ones), you know that if something bad happens, the insurance company will be there to shoulder the cost.

Unfortunately, insurance companies are profit-driven, and profit in the insurance industry comes from collecting as many premiums as possible while paying out as few claims as possible.  This means that insurance companies often refuse to pay out on policies, saying that whatever happened was not covered by the policy, or if it was, that the insured person somehow breached a term of the policy and the insurance company doesn’t have to pay.

​Insurance companies are usually large multi-national firms with seemingly unlimited resources and massive legal departments.  Insured persons, on the other hand, have recently experienced a loss or injury, and feel like they don’t have the resources or energy to fight such a large insurance company.  Insurance companies know this, and will count on the fact that if they deny a claim, most people give up and walk away.  What they hope doesn’t happen is that people talk to a lawyer and get advice about their case.

At Cote & Evans Trial Lawyers, we are here to help.  We have a proven track record against insurance companies refusing to pay valid claims.  We are not afraid to pursue cases in court, where we can hold insurers to account for unreasonably denying a claim.  Our litigation success is well known to insurers, particularly ICBC adjusters, who often become much more reasonable once they see that we are representing a client.  In some cases, a sharply worded letter from our firm is all it takes to get a claim to go from denied to covered.

If you have an insurance claim that has been denied by ICBC or another insurer, don’t take the denial letter as the end of the matter.  Get legal advice about your options.