Havre, MontanaHavre Insurance Bad Faith
Havre Insurance Bad Faith Lawyers: Denied UIM Claims, Farm and Ranch Policy Disputes and Delayed Payments on the Hi-Line
Boland Aarab PLLP.
On the Hi-Line, people count on insurance more than most. The at-fault driver often carries only the state minimum. A farm or ranch may run on a single policy, and a winter storm can do a year’s worth of damage in a night. When an insurer delays, lowballs or denies a valid claim without a reasonable basis, Montana law gives you a claim against the insurer. The deadlines are short: generally 2 years for your own insurer, and 1 year after the underlying case for an injured third party.
Is an insurer stalling or denying your claim? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
What bad-faith disputes come up around Havre?
Underinsured motorist (UIM) claims after highway crashes. Montana’s minimum liability limits are only $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident (§ 61-6-103, MCA). A serious crash on US-2 or US-87 blows through those limits quickly, which leaves your own UIM coverage to make up the difference. That is when your own insurer can become your opponent. It may dispute your injuries, undervalue your claim, or refuse to stack coverage you paid for on several vehicles.
Medical bills during a long recovery. Hi-Line patients are often transferred to Great Falls or Billings, which adds large bills and travel costs. When liability is reasonably clear, a liability insurer may have to pay an injured person’s medical bills, and certain lost wages, before a final settlement (Ridley v. Guaranty National Insurance Co., 1997). Insurers don’t always volunteer that.
Farm, ranch and commercial property claims. A grain bin fire, a shop fire, a roof that collapses under snow, frozen and burst pipes, hail on buildings and equipment: these are first-party claims under your own policy. Denials often rest on exclusions, disputes over what caused the loss, or claims that the loss wasn’t reported on time. The policy language, and how the insurer investigated, decide whether the denial was reasonable.
Cross-border and out-of-state insurers. Havre sits between two ports of entry, Wild Horse and Willow Creek, and many drivers on Hi-Line highways are from Canada or other states. An insurer based far away may be slow to respond to a Montana claim, but Montana’s claim-handling rules still apply to claims under Montana law.
Liability insurers who won’t settle. When an insurer refuses a reasonable settlement offer within its policy limits and a verdict above the limits follows, the insurer may be responsible for the whole judgment.
What happens when you have a bad-faith claim in Havre?
Document everything. Keep the policy, the declarations page, every letter and email, and notes of every phone call with the adjuster: dates, names and what was said. Ask in writing for the reason for any denial.
Regulator. You may file a complaint with the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, part of the State Auditor’s office. A complaint doesn’t replace a lawsuit and doesn’t stop the deadline.
Courts. A bad-faith case over a Hill County claim can be filed in the Twelfth Judicial District Court at the Hill County Courthouse, 315 4th Street, Havre (§ 3-5-101, MCA). Most insurers are based out of state, so many of these cases are removed to the federal Great Falls Division (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2(c)(3)). The claim file usually decides the case. We fight to get it.
Montana law that applies
Our Montana insurance bad faith lawyer page covers this in depth. The core rules:
- The Unfair Trade Practices Act lists 15 prohibited claim practices (§ 33-18-201, MCA). Six of them can support your own lawsuit (§ 33-18-242(1), MCA).
- Deadlines: 2 years from the violation for a policyholder, and 1 year from the settlement or judgment on the underlying claim for a third party (§ 33-18-242(8), MCA).
- Defense: an insurer is not liable under the statute if it had a reasonable basis in law or fact for contesting the claim (§ 33-18-242(6), MCA).
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Havre case?
Bad-faith cases are fought over claim files, adjuster depositions and federal procedure. Our office is in Great Falls, where the federal court for the Hi-Line sits. We handle cases statewide, and we come to Havre to meet clients, inspect damaged property and attend proceedings. We have no office in Havre.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We try the underlying case when an insurer won’t pay fairly. The Montana Supreme Court reinstated a Phillips County jury’s $168,500 verdict for a rear-ended driver on our appeal (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
- We know federal court. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years, and Samir Aarab has argued twice before the Ninth Circuit.
- We have courtroom experience. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We belong to the trial bar. Both attorneys belong to AAJ and MTLA, and Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice.
Related Havre pages: car accidents · truck accidents · Havre and Hill County injury lawyers.
Frequently Asked Questions
My own insurer is fighting my UIM claim after a US-2 crash. Is that bad faith? It can be, if the insurer misrepresents the policy, fails to investigate reasonably, or refuses to pay without a reasonable basis. A disagreement over value is not automatically bad faith. How the insurer handled the claim is what matters.
Does the other driver’s insurer have to pay my medical bills now? Sometimes. When liability is reasonably clear, Montana law may require a liability insurer to advance medical bills and certain lost wages before final settlement. We make that demand in writing.
The insurer denied my farm building claim after a snow collapse. What can I do? Get the denial and its stated reason in writing, and keep the policy. Whether the denial was reasonable depends on the policy language and the insurer’s investigation. The deadline to sue for bad faith is generally 2 years.
The at-fault driver was from Canada. Does Montana bad-faith law apply? Montana’s claim-handling rules generally apply to insurers handling Montana claims, but cross-border cases raise real questions about which law applies. We sort those out at the start.
How long do I have to bring a bad-faith claim? Generally 2 years from the violation for your own insurer, or 1 year after the underlying case ends for a third party. These deadlines are shorter than most injury deadlines.
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
