Sarasota Third-Party Coverage Dispute Lawyer

Liability insurance provides protection to policyholders through indemnification. This means your insurer will work to settle any claim brought by a third party against you, or they will defend you in a lawsuit and pay a judgment up to the policy limit if you lose.

Third-party liability claims arise under various insurance policies, including car, renter’s, homeowner’s, and business liability insurance. Unfortunately, some policyholders are frustrated by the failure of their insurer to indemnify them.

Contact Geyer Fuxa Tyler to speak with a Sarasota third-party coverage dispute lawyer. We can review the best options for you, including whether to sue your insurance carrier.

What is Indemnification?

In the insurance context, indemnification typically includes both a duty to settle and a duty to defend. These are separate duties, although both may apply to any given situation.

Suppose a person is bitten by your dog on your property. The victim seeks compensation and sues you. Your homeowner’s insurance carrier will have a duty to try to settle the claim and, if that fails, a duty to defend you in court.

A preliminary issue is whether the claim is even covered by your policy. If not, then your carrier likely has no duty to settle or defend. Instead, the policyholder is on their own and will need to cover the cost of settlement, as well as litigation if the case gets that far.

Call our firm if your insurance carrier is refusing to settle and/or defend you. We can review the insurance policy to see if the claim is covered and if indemnification kicks in. We might end up going into court and seeking a declaratory judgment that the claim is covered. That might be the only way to get the insurer to negotiate a settlement or litigate in your defense.

Refusal to Settle

Settling a dispute is a convenient way to make it go away. In exchange for a settlement, the injured third party will give up their right to sue in the future for more compensation. Unfortunately, some insurance carriers refuse to negotiate, ultimately forcing the case to go to trial. You might even end up losing in court.

What happens then? Must you pay the judgment against you? It depends. An insurance carrier should settle when liability is clear, and the demand is under the policy limit. If your carrier chooses to litigate instead, then they might be responsible for the entire judgment against you—not simply the amount up to the policy limit.

Contact our firm quickly if you feel an insurer is refusing to settle to your detriment. We can take appropriate action.

Seek Experienced Legal Help from Our Sarasota Third-Party Coverage Dispute Lawyers

Getting sued by a third party is unnerving. It is equally frustrating when your insurer either refuses to settle or even defend you from a covered loss. Call Geyer Fuxa Tyler today to speak with our Sarasota third-party coverage dispute lawyer. Our firm has won these cases and can provide an overview of the strength of your claim in a consultation.