Legal Question in Insurance Law in California

You can bring a motion for a protective order and seek discovery sanctions, after meeting and conferring with defendant's attorney.

First step is, To have an attorney, like myself, review your policy and write them a letter demanding payment. Let me know if you want me to do this for you.

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

[email protected]

415-450-0424

The Law Office of Daniel Bakondi

870 Market Street, Suite 1161

San Francisco CA 94102

www.danielbakondi.com

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This communication may contain confidential information, privileged information, or attorney work product. If you are not the intended recipient or received this message in error, any use or distribution of this message is strictly prohibited and unlawful. Please notify the sender immediately, and delete this message. No attorney-client nor confidential relationship is created through this communication. Nothing communicated or provided constitutes legal advice nor a legal opinion unless it so specifies and written agreement for attorney services has been entered into. Your issue may be time sensitive and may result in loss of rights if you do not act in time. Thank you.

Wow, it's very disappointing the poor quality of some of the answers you can get from the attorneys on LawGuru. Mr. Cohen clearly didn't even read your question, since his answer would be what you do if you were in a lawsuit and the other side kept harassing you for more and more documents. And of course as always, Mr. Bakondi doesn't even answer the question, he just tells you you need to hire him.

Bakondi is correct, however, that it is time to write a demand letter. You don't need an attorney to do that for you. All you have to do is demand that they ask once and for all for any documentation they need and then adjust your claim immediately. You should also tell them that you have done some research and have been advised by attorneys that their delay in paying your claim may be reaching the level of "bad faith insurance practices."

As for what you can do if they then continue to delay paying your claim, that is when it is time to hire an attorney. The first step would be a letter from the attorney threatening a bad faith insurance practices law suit. If they still don't pay, you file the lawsuit. If you are forced to file a lawsuit to collect on your insurance claim and the insurance company loses, you not only will get your claim paid, but also additional damages for your time and trouble and punitive damages.

In today's economic climate insurers are doing all they can do delay payments. They keep asking for documents, etc., as is happening with you. The problem is that they have the right to examine many kinds of documents. And they even have the right to deman you submit to an examination under oath, which is essentially a depositon even though no suit is filed.

If did not file a police report, do so immediately. Get your accountant involved to prepare a complete list of all stolen items, their cost, vendor, etc., so the insurer can see you really owned them and they were in your possession.

If you don't get satisfaction, the demand letter works fine but that will trigger a more formal type of investigation, including the examination under oath. That is the surest way to bring matters to a head. Or you could contact a public adjuster, who acts as your agent to negotiate and resolve the claim. They are cheaper than lawyers, and if you get a good one you should do OK.

Just know what you are doing any why you are doing it before you jump into something. Getting punitive damages is much, much harder than most lawyers know, as are damages for bad faith. Good luck.