Helena, MontanaHelena Insurance Bad Faith
Helena Insurance Bad Faith Lawyers: Denied Claims, Delayed Payments and Unfair Claim Practices in Lewis and Clark County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If an insurer has unreasonably denied, delayed or lowballed your Helena claim, Montana’s Unfair Trade Practices Act may let you sue the company itself. Montana’s insurance regulator, the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, is in Helena. The deadlines are short: 2 years for policyholders, and 1 year after the underlying case ends for injured third parties.
Key Takeaways
- Montana lists 15 prohibited claim practices (§ 33-18-201, MCA). Six of them can support your own lawsuit against the insurer (§ 33-18-242(1), MCA).
- 2 years from the violation for a policyholder, and 1 year from the settlement or judgment for a third party (§ 33-18-242(8), MCA).
- A complaint to the state insurance regulator is not a lawsuit and does not stop any deadline.
Insurer stalling or denying your claim? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
What does Helena have to do with insurance bad faith?
More than any other Montana city. Three institutions in Helena shape how insurers treat Montanans.
The Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (CSI). Montana’s insurance regulator, an office of the State Auditor, is at 840 Helena Avenue. CSI licenses and regulates insurers and agents, takes consumer complaints and investigates violations. A CSI complaint can prompt a response from an insurer and create a record, but it is not a lawsuit. It does not recover your damages, and it does not stop the UTPA deadlines. We often recommend filing one and pursuing the legal claim at the same time.
The Montana Supreme Court. Montana’s bad-faith law was built largely by the Supreme Court, which sits in the Joseph P. Mazurek Justice Building at 215 North Sanders in Helena. One example is its decision in Ridley v. Guaranty National Insurance Co. (1997), requiring an at-fault driver’s insurer to pay clear medical bills before a final settlement when liability is reasonably clear. Bad-faith cases are frequently appealed, and the law keeps developing there.
The First Judicial District Court. A Helena policyholder or claimant’s case is often filed in the First Judicial District Court at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, 228 Broadway (§ 3-5-101(1), MCA). Against an insurer incorporated outside Montana, venue is generally proper where the claim arose, where the plaintiff lives, or where the insurer’s registered agent is (§ 25-2-122(2), MCA). Out-of-state insurers frequently remove cases to federal court: the U.S. District Court’s Helena Division at the Paul G. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, 901 Front Street.
What bad-faith problems do Helena policyholders face?
The claims behind bad-faith cases are the ordinary ones. What makes them bad faith is how the insurer handles them:
- Auto injury claims after crashes on I-15, US-12 and Helena’s streets, including your own uninsured and underinsured motorist claims, where your insurer can start acting like the other side.
- Clear medical bills left unpaid while the at-fault driver’s insurer uses them as leverage to settle the rest of the claim. Montana law prohibits refusing to pay one part of a claim to influence settlement of another (§ 33-18-201(13), MCA).
- Homeowner claims from winter damage: frozen and burst pipes, ice dams, snow-load damage and fires from heating equipment during Helena’s long cold season.
- Wildfire and smoke claims in the forested areas around Helena.
- Disability, health and life insurance denials, including for employees whose group benefits are a large part of their compensation. Some employer plans are governed by federal ERISA law, which changes the rules. We will tell you if yours is one of them.
What happens when you bring a bad-faith claim in Helena?
- Get the policy and the claim file. Request the full policy with the declarations pages and all denial letters. The claim file, with its adjuster notes, reserves and timeline, is usually obtained in the lawsuit and often decides the case.
- Document the delay. Keep every letter, email and note of every call, with dates.
- Consider a CSI complaint, at 840 Helena Avenue or online, while you pursue your legal remedies.
- Watch the deadlines. A policyholder’s UTPA claim must be filed within 2 years of the violation. A third-party claimant’s claim may be filed only after the underlying injury claim is settled or reaches judgment, and then within 1 year (§ 33-18-242(7), (8), MCA).
Montana law that applies
Section 33-18-242 gives insureds and third-party claimants a cause of action for violations of § 33-18-201(1), (4), (5), (6), (9) or (13). No pattern of conduct is required. The insurer is not liable if it had a reasonable basis in law or in fact for contesting the claim (§ 33-18-242(6), MCA). Damages are actual damages caused by the violation, and punitive damages are available in the right case. Our Montana insurance bad faith lawyer page covers first-party and third-party claims, Ridley payments and damages in depth.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Helena case?
Bad-faith cases are document-heavy, frequently removed to federal court and frequently appealed. Those are the three things we build around. We are based in Great Falls and handle insurance cases throughout Montana. Our attorneys travel to Helena for depositions, hearings and trial, and many appeals are argued at the Supreme Court in Helena.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We know the Montana Supreme Court. The Boland Aarab appellate record reaches back to 1977. See our appellate record.
- We protect verdicts. In Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137, the Montana Supreme Court reinstated our client’s $168,500 jury verdict after it had been thrown out over references to insurance at trial.
- 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 are part of the trial bar. Both attorneys belong to AAJ and MTLA, and Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice.
We also handle car accidents in Helena, appeals in Helena and other Helena personal injury cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I file a complaint with the insurance commissioner in Helena? It can help, and it creates a record. The Commissioner of Securities and Insurance is at 840 Helena Avenue. But a complaint is not a lawsuit and does not stop the UTPA deadlines.
Can I sue the other driver’s insurer for bad faith? Yes, as a third-party claimant, but only after your injury claim is settled or reaches judgment, and then within 1 year (§ 33-18-242(7)(b), (8)(b), MCA).
My own insurer is dragging out my underinsured motorist claim. Is that bad faith? It may be. Your insurer owes you the claims-handling duties in § 33-18-201, and misrepresenting coverage, failing to investigate or refusing to pay without a reasonable basis can support a claim.
My Helena home claim for frozen pipes was denied. What now? Get the full policy and the denial letter, and have both reviewed. The question is whether the denial fits the policy language and followed a reasonable investigation.
Where would a Helena bad-faith case be filed? Often in the First Judicial District Court in Helena, although out-of-state insurers frequently move cases to the federal Helena Division. State-court appeals go to the Montana Supreme Court in Helena, and federal appeals to the Ninth Circuit.
Talk to a Helena Insurance Bad Faith Lawyer
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Sources: § 33-18-201, MCA · § 33-18-242, MCA · § 25-2-122, MCA · § 3-5-101, MCA · Ridley v. Guaranty National Ins. Co. (1997) · Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance · Montana Supreme Court Clerk
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
