What can I do if my insurance company denies or delays my claim?

Your insurer's duties are legally enforceable

An insurance policy is a contract you performed by paying premiums, and Texas layers duties on top of it. The common-law duty of good faith and fair dealing forbids your carrier from denying or delaying payment when its liability has become reasonably clear. Texas's insurance fair-practices law prohibits unfair settlement practices, misrepresenting coverage, failing to attempt fair settlement, refusing to give a reasonable written explanation for a denial. The Prompt Payment of Claims Act sets hard deadlines for acknowledging, investigating, and paying claims, and taxes violations with statutory interest and attorney's fees. Knowing violations can support up to treble damages. The carrier that owed you fifty thousand dollars and played games can end up owing far more.

Where these claims live, and where they do not

Bad faith law protects you against your own insurer, the first-party relationship: UM/UIM claims, PIP and MedPay, homeowners and property claims, disability and commercial coverage. It generally does not let you sue the other driver's insurer for its stinginess toward you; Texas gives third-party claimants different leverage, chiefly the pressure a policy-limits demand puts on that carrier through its duty to its own insured. Knowing which side of the line your claim sits on determines the entire strategy, and it is one of the first questions answered in a free review.

Recognize the playbook

Wrongful claim handling has a familiar look: requests for the same documents in series rather than all at once, adjusters rotating so nobody owns the file, lowball valuations that ignore your evidence, denials citing policy language that does not say what they claim, biased peer reviews and setup medical exams, and silence that stretches past every statutory deadline. Each of these is survivable; together, unanswered, they are a strategy that works. The counter is a written record: every communication confirmed in writing, every deadline noted, every request answered once, completely, with proof of delivery.

Before you accept a denial

A denial letter is the carrier's opening position, not a ruling. Request the complete claim file and the specific policy provisions relied on, put your rebuttal and evidence in writing, and have the file reviewed by a lawyer who handles insurance disputes before you walk away. Silver Key Law reads the denial, the policy, and the timeline against Chapters 541 and 542, and when a carrier has crossed the line, the statute makes pursuing it economical: fee-shifting means the insurer's misconduct, not your recovery, funds the fight.

Injured in Arizona? Some rules on this page are Texas-specific. Arizona differs on points that change outcomes, including pure comparative fault and government-claim deadlines. See our Arizona answers or call (888) 508-6967.

Related: Insurance Claims & Bad Faith · Uninsured Motorist Claims · Submit Your Case · All Common Questions

This page is general information about Texas law, not legal advice about your specific situation. Deadlines and outcomes depend on facts; talk to a lawyer about yours.