San FranciscoBad Faith Insurance Claims Attorneys

When Your Insurance Company Refuses to Pay What It Owes

Insurance companies collect premiums for years. When a covered loss occurs — a disabling sickness or injury, a business interruption, a long-term care event — some insurers deny valid claims, delay payment without justification, or offer settlements worth a fraction of the policy benefit. That conduct is not good faith. It is a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and under California law, it gives rise to a bad faith insurance claim.

Pillsbury & Coleman, LLP is a San Francisco-based firm that has represented policyholders exclusively since 1991. Our attorneys have recovered over $1 billion for California policyholders wrongfully denied benefits by every major insurance company, including Unum, MetLife, Prudential, CIGNA/LINA, The Standard, Sun Life, and Travelers. We regularly handle bad faith insurance claims in state and federal court throughout California, including in the N.D. Cal., C.D. Cal., and before the Ninth Circuit. For select matters, we assist policyholders on a nationwide basis.

If your insurer has denied, delayed, or underpaid your claim, a San Francisco bad faith insurance claims attorney at Pillsbury & Coleman can assess whether that denial was wrongful — and what your policy entitles you to recover.

Established in 1991, Pillsbury & Coleman has served California policyholders for over three decades. Our insurance attorneys pursue insurance bad faith litigation on behalf of individuals and businesses involved in coverage disputes. We seek compensation for our clients’ financial losses, as well as punitive damages and attorney’s fees, when appropriate.

Why Bad Faith Insurance Litigation Requires Exclusive Specialization

Insurance coverage disputes — and bad faith claims in particular — are among the most technically complex areas of civil litigation in California. They require mastery of insurance contract interpretation, claims-handling regulations under Cal. Ins. Code § 790.03, and, in employer-sponsored plan cases, the federal ERISA framework governing the administrative record and standard of review.

General practice firms and plaintiff personal injury attorneys typically lack the carrier-specific knowledge, financial resources, and litigation infrastructure to prosecute these cases effectively. Pillsbury & Coleman does one thing: represent policyholders against insurance companies. That singular focus produces materially different outcomes.

In state court bad faith litigation, our attorneys are prepared to litigate the full range of insurer misconduct — from unreasonable claims handling and biased independent medical examination practices to systematic denial of benefits based on flawed paper reviews. In ERISA cases, we understand the critical importance of building and preserving the administrative record, litigating the appropriate standard of review, and identifying procedural irregularities that courts have found to be arbitrary and capricious.

Key legal frameworks our attorneys litigate include:

• De novo review of claim denials under ERISA where the plan does not grant discretionary authority to the insurer
• Arbitrary and capricious standard challenges when insurers ignore treating physician opinions
• Bias in independent medical examination vendors and functional capacity evaluation methodologies
• Reservation of rights letters issued without adequate disclosure of coverage defenses
• Duty to defend vs. duty to indemnify disputes in commercial liability coverage matters
• Claims manual violations and internal guideline deviations used to identify systemic bad faith

When an insurance company denies payment of valid claims, cancels a claim without basis, unreasonably delays payment, fails to thoroughly investigate or defend an insured’s claim, or underpays insurance claims without a good reason, it is said to be acting in bad faith.

Pillsbury & Coleman was founded in 1991 with a single mandate: hold insurance companies accountable to their policyholders. Over three decades, that focus has produced a trial record that insurance carriers take seriously before, during, and after litigation.

The firm’s verdict authority in bad faith insurance litigation is the foundation of every case it accepts:

• 8-figure combined settlement against AIG Specialty Insurance Company — Calistoga Ranch Owner LLC v. AIG Specialty Insurance Company, Napa County Superior Court
• Over $1 billion recovered for California policyholders across all policy types and coverage structures
• Punitive damages obtained in multiple jury trials — the firm’s trial record is the reason insurers treat its demands as credible
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rated attorneys
• Named to Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers
• Fellows, American College of Coverage Counsel (ACCC)
• Statewide and national practice: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Orange County, and federal courts nationwide

What Constitutes Bad Faith Insurance Conduct in California

When an insurance company denies payment of valid claims, cancels a claim without basis, unreasonably delays payment, fails to thoroughly investigate or defend an insured’s claim, or underpays insurance claims without a good reason, it is said to be acting in bad faith.

California law imposes specific obligations on insurers under Cal. Ins. Code § 790.03 and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The following insurer conduct — across all policy types including property, liability, life, health, and disability — gives rise to bad faith liability:

• Denying a claim without conducting a thorough, objective investigation of the facts and circumstances of the loss
• Delaying payment of an undisputed claim beyond 40 days without providing a written explanation as required under Cal. Ins. Code § 790.03(h)
• Misrepresenting the terms of the policy or the basis for a denial in written or oral communications with the policyholder
• Refusing to provide a defense under a liability policy when the duty to defend is triggered by the allegations in the underlying complaint — regardless of the merits of those allegations
• Issuing a reservation of rights letter without disclosing the specific coverage defenses the insurer intends to assert
• Applying policy exclusions in an overbroad or unsupported manner to avoid paying covered losses
• Offering a settlement the insurer knew was unreasonably low relative to the demonstrated value of the covered claim
• Conducting a biased or inadequate investigation designed to manufacture grounds for denial rather than objectively evaluate the claim
• Failing to acknowledge, respond to, or act reasonably on claims communications within the timeframes required by California law
• Canceling or rescinding a policy without adequate legal justification in order to avoid paying a covered loss

$32,000,000 — Disability Insurance Bad Faith Verdict

Defendant: UnumProvident Corporation, a leading national group disability insurer
Bad Faith Conduct Proven: Wrongful termination of long-term disability benefits; unreasonable claims handling in violation of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and Cal. Ins. Code § 790.03
Recovery: $32 million, including compensatory and punitive damages. This verdict is the largest disability insurance bad faith verdict in California history.

$26,500,000 — Bad Faith Insurance Verdict

Defendant: Travelers Insurance Company
Bad Faith Conduct Proven: Wrongful denial of benefits and unreasonable claims handling giving rise to liability under California bad faith insurance law
Recovery: $26.5 million verdict obtained by Pillsbury & Coleman trial attorneys

$13,194,998 — Bad Faith Insurance Verdict

Defendant: Truck Insurance Exchange, a Farmers Group Company
Bad Faith Conduct Proven: Wrongful refusal to defend its insured in an underlying dog mauling lawsuit
Recovery: $13.1 million judgment obtained by Pillsbury & Coleman trial attorneys following jury’s verdict that Farmers acted in bad faith

$31,000,000 — Disability Insurance Recovery

View all case results on our Successes page.

Insurance Bad Faith Takes Many Forms

Bad faith liability extends across all lines of insurance — property, casualty, life, health, disability, and commercial liability. When the insurer’s conduct rises to the level of malice, oppression, or fraud, California law permits recovery of punitive damages in addition to the policy benefits owed, consequential damages, and attorney fees under Brandt v. Superior Court. Pillsbury & Coleman evaluates every potential bad faith claim against the full statutory and common law framework to identify the maximum remedies available to the policyholder.

We know how to get results in bad faith insurance claim litigation regardless of the type of policy. Just a few examples include:

• Breach of contract for disability, health and life insurance policies
• Group disability and health policies covered under ERISA laws — including claims subject to ERISA preemption in federal court
• Homeowner property and commercial property insurance claims, including natural disaster insurance claims, fire loss claims, water damage claims and more
• Business liability policies — including duty to defend disputes, D&O coverage, and cyber insurance bad faith
• Long-term care insurance claim denials
• Policyholders wrongfully accused of insurance fraud