After almost 20 years of reading judicial opinions from around the country discussing insurance bad faith, a common thread seems to be mentioned--communication (or lack of) by the insurance company with its insureds.
Summary: James Glenn and Latia Ballard were injured in a car accident on February 6, 2001. Glenn was driving and Ballard was a passenger. Both qualified as insureds under Glenn’s policy issued by Nationwide. Glenn and Ballard both submitted claims on the policy’s medical benefits coverage, which provided up to $5,000 to pay for medical services. At first, Nationwide allowed Glenn’s claim and issued him a check. After Glenn’s attorney returned the check asking that be made out to the medical provider, Nationwide denied both Glenn’s and Ballard’s claims.