Bad Faith Blog

The Supreme Court of Hawai’i’s recent opinion restated two important points of Hawai’i bad faith law: (1) the insurer’s good faith claim handling duty begins with the first communication with the insured, even before the formal claim submission and (2) the insurer’s compliance with the terms of the insurance contract can be insufficient to avoid bad faith liability. Therefore, in order to defeat a bad faith claim under Hawai’i law, the insurer must at all times act in good faith before and after the claim submission. The court restated this duty when reversing a summary judgment for a health insurer. Although it complied with the terms of the insurance contract following receipt of the formal claim, it arguably misled its insured in discussions prior to the claim.

The Western District of Pennsylvania held that an insurer did not act in bad faith but was well within its rights in denying an insured’s claim and voiding his policy.  The insured’s material misrepresentations caused the court to find that no reasonable jury could conclude that the insurer acted in bad faith in denying the claim. Mr. Felix submitted a homeowner’s insurance claim in excess of $1 million after a fire ravaged his home. The insurer assigned the case to a special investigations unit after identifying several “red flags” suggesting fraud.