If your home is damaged in a storm or in some other fashion, you assume that the insurance company’s goal is to help you. After all, that’s what they claimed when you bought your policy. They wanted to help you get back on your feet. They would cover the costs so you didn’t have to worry.
In the real world, though, things just aren’t that simple. The true goal is, naturally, to make money.
What the insurance company does is to charge you (and everyone else with a policy) a monthly or yearly premium. They then take the money you send them and invest it. Even if they have to pay out a claim, they can still make money on those investments.
However, the less they have to pay out, the more of those premiums they keep. The more money they have on hand to invest. The more they can pay for advertisements to draw people in by saying they’ll be there to help them.
This isn’t to say that insurance is never helpful, but remember that the end goal is to keep as much of your money as possible.
This can lead to operating in bad faith
In some unfortunate cases, this can lead to an insurance company that operates in bad faith. They could make it too hard to contact them or they could ignore your communications. They could offer you an amount that is nowhere near fair, assuming you’ll feel pressured into taking it. They could procrastinate and drag the process out so that you’re desperate and more likely to take anything, even when it’s unfair.
No matter what the insurance company does, they’re looking out for their own interests. But who is looking out for yours?
You need to know exactly what options you have
These are complicated situations. You have an incredible amount at stake. You absolutely need to know about all of the options you have if you think the insurance provider is acting in bad faith.