{"id":893903,"date":"2018-04-04T10:46:50","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T16:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=893903"},"modified":"2018-04-04T10:46:50","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T16:46:50","slug":"georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia\u2019s Bad Faith Demand Requirements"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ashley Harris | Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog<\/a> | March 31, 2018<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve previously discussed Georgia\u2019s bad faith demand requirements in\u00a0Georgia Unfair Claims Handling<\/em>. A recent Georgia appellate court opinion1<\/sup>\u00a0highlights how strictly OCGA \u00a7 33-4-6 is construed by the courts.<\/p>\n

OCGA \u00a7 33-4-6 provides, in relevant part:<\/p>\n

In the event of a loss which is covered by a policy of insurance and the refusal of the insurer to pay the same within 60 days after a demand has been made by the holder of the policy and a finding has been made that such refusal was in bad faith, the insurer shall be liable to pay such holder, in addition to the loss, not more than 50 percent of the liability of the insurer for the loss or $5,000.00, whichever is greater, and all reasonable attorney\u2019s fees for the prosecution of the action against the insurer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Georgia courts have held that to bring a claim under this statute the policyholder must prove:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. That the claim is covered by the relevant insurance policy;<\/li>\n
  2. That a demand for payment was made by the policyholder at least 60 days prior to filing suit; and<\/li>\n
  3. That the carrier\u2019s failure to pay was motivated by bad faith.2<\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In\u00a0Thompson v. Homesite Insurance Company of Georgia<\/em>, the policyholder\u2019s home was damaged when a tree fell on it during a storm. The policyholder sustained damages to her home and expenses to remove the tree and other debris from her property. Homesite\u2019s initial payment for these damages was $1,812.33.<\/p>\n

    The policyholder disagreed with Homesite\u2019s valuation of her claim, and made a number of complaints to and about Homesite regarding the handling of her claims. Specifically, the policyholder filed a formal complaint with the Georgia insurance commissioner and sent several messages to Homesite representatives in May 2011, inquiring about, and criticizing, the handling of her claims. After receiving documentation of the expenses incurred by the policyholder for removal of the tree and other debris in June 2011, Homesite issued an additional payment for $1,800 on October 6, 2011.<\/p>\n

    In a letter dated October 12, 2011, the policyholder\u2019s counsel demanded payment for the reimbursement for the policyholder\u2019s tree and debris removal expenses. In this letter, the policyholder\u2019s counsel threatened to file a bad faith claim against Homesite under OCGA \u00a7 33-4-6 if Homesite did not properly reimbursement the policyholder for the tree and debris removal expenses. This letter also notified Homesite that the policyholder disagreed with Homesite\u2019s estimate of damages to repair her home.<\/p>\n

    The parties ultimately went to appraisal and an umpire awarded the policyholder $50,713.69 less the $1,000 deductible and prior payments. Homesite issued payment for the umpire\u2019s award.<\/p>\n

    The policyholder then sued Homesite claiming that Homesite unreasonably delayed reimbursing her for the tree and debris removal expense and that it had underpaid on the umpire\u2019s award, subjecting Homesite to liability under OCGA \u00a7 33-4-6. Homesite moved for summary judgment on these claims.<\/p>\n

    The court analyzed whether the policyholder\u2019s communications with Homesite were sufficient to support recovery under the bad faith statute. The court concluded that statements by the policyholder to Homesite and the Georgia insurance commissioner that she was unhappy with the progress of her claim were not sufficient to alert Homesite she was considering filing a bad faith claim.<\/p>\n

    The court held that a demand under OCGA \u00a7 33-4-6 must not only express displeasure with the insurer\u2019s handling of the claims process but actually alert the insurer that the insured plans to take legal action for bad faith if the claim is not paid.<\/p>\n

    The only communication the policyholder had with Homesite in which potential litigation was threatened was the October 12, 2011, letter sent by her counsel. However, this threat of litigation pertained only to the Homesite\u2019s failure at the time to reimburse the policyholder for tree and debris removal expenses. Since Homesite paid the policyholder for those expenses on October 6, 2011, Homesite had already satisfied the specific demand made by the policyholder. As the policyholder never threatened to invoke OCGA \u00a7 33-4-6 regarding any remaining portions of her claim with Homesite, the appellate court affirmed the trial court\u2019s grant of summary judgment on the policyholder\u2019s bad faith claim.<\/p>\n

    While Georgia courts have held that no special language is necessary for the demand under OCGA \u00a7 33-4-6, this opinion emphasizes how strictly courts will review and interpret the demands in order to hold carriers liable under the bad faith statute.
    \n_______________
    \n1<\/sup>\u00a0Thompson v. Homesite Ins. Co. of Georgia<\/em>, No. A17A1938 (Ga. App. Mar. 14, 2018).
    \n2<\/sup>\u00a0BayRock Mortg. Corp. v. Chicago Title Ins. Co.<\/em>, 286 Ga.App. 18, 19 (648 S.E.2d 433) (2007).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Ashley Harris | Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog | March 31, 2018 I\u2019ve previously discussed Georgia\u2019s bad faith demand requirements in\u00a0Georgia Unfair Claims Handling. A recent Georgia appellate court opinion1\u00a0highlights how strictly OCGA \u00a7 33-4-6 is construed by the courts. OCGA \u00a7 33-4-6 provides, in relevant part: In the event of a loss which is… Continue reading Georgia\u2019s Bad Faith Demand Requirements<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[140],"tags":[9895,140,420],"class_list":["post-893903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bad-faith","tag-advise-consult","tag-bad-faith","tag-georgia","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nGeorgia\u2019s Bad Faith Demand Requirements - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A recent Georgia appellate court opinion\u00a0highlights how strictly Georgia\u2019s bad faith demand requirements are construed by the courts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Georgia\u2019s Bad Faith Demand Requirements - Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A recent Georgia appellate court opinion\u00a0highlights how strictly Georgia\u2019s bad faith demand requirements are construed by the courts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-04T16:46:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"Georgia\u2019s Bad Faith Demand Requirements\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-04T16:46:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/\"},\"wordCount\":766,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Advise & Consult\",\"Bad Faith\",\"Georgia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bad Faith\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/\",\"name\":\"Georgia\u2019s Bad Faith Demand Requirements - Advise & Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-04T16:46:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"A recent Georgia appellate court opinion\u00a0highlights how strictly Georgia\u2019s bad faith demand requirements are construed by the courts\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult, Inc.\",\"description\":\"Construction Expert Witnesses\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"width\":162,\"height\":75,\"caption\":\"Advise & Consult\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Georgia\u2019s Bad Faith Demand Requirements - Advise & Consult, Inc.","description":"A recent Georgia appellate court opinion\u00a0highlights how strictly Georgia\u2019s bad faith demand requirements are construed by the courts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Georgia\u2019s Bad Faith Demand Requirements - Advise & Consult, Inc.","og_description":"A recent Georgia appellate court opinion\u00a0highlights how strictly Georgia\u2019s bad faith demand requirements are construed by the courts","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/","og_site_name":"Advise & Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2018-04-04T16:46:50+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adviseconsult","twitter_site":"@adviseconsult","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"Georgia\u2019s Bad Faith Demand Requirements","datePublished":"2018-04-04T16:46:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/"},"wordCount":766,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Advise & Consult","Bad Faith","Georgia"],"articleSection":["Bad Faith"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/","name":"Georgia\u2019s Bad Faith Demand Requirements - Advise & Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-04-04T16:46:50+00:00","description":"A recent Georgia appellate court opinion\u00a0highlights how strictly Georgia\u2019s bad faith demand requirements are construed by the courts","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/georgias-bad-faith-demand-requirements\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","name":"Advise & Consult, Inc.","description":"Construction Expert Witnesses","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Advise & Consult","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","width":162,"height":75,"caption":"Advise & Consult"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ztG6-3KxN","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893903"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":893904,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893903\/revisions\/893904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}