At times we may have all felt harassed by a debt a debt collector. Whether that be because we’re running late on a payment and may need an extension, or a payment has already been made but hasn’t posted to the account yet and the automated robot will still ring up your phone. It’s annoying, at times unsettling and sometimes illegal. But just how does an insurance company fall into this category?
Insurance Policies and Debts
Your insurance policy may plainly state that without proper payment within a certain amount of time after your payment due date, your policy is at risk to get cancelled. This is completely legal if stated in your insurance policy that you have agreed to, however harassing you and threatening you for an overdue payment is not exactly the proper way, or the legal way of reaching you.
According to the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, your insurer cannot:
- Reveal your debt to any third parties outside of you, your attorney, your spouse or your parent (if a minor), the insurance company’s attorney and a credit agency
- Repeatedly call your place of employment if you have already stated that you do not wished to be contacted this way
- Use profanity or threaten abuse in order to get you to pay your debt
- Threaten action that they can’t or won’t take (i.e. suing you, ruining your credit, increasing premiums)
- Cause excessive phone ringing and telephone conversations with the intent to harass or annoy you
- Attempt to contact you outside the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (local time)
- Contact you despite being informed by a written notice that you will not pay the debt for a certain reason
Often times, you may feel like your insurance company has not provided for you the way that they have promised, and may feel that they should settle a recent claim before you proceed with your next month’s payment. This tactic may not be the best way to get through to your insurance company.
Instead, let the attorneys at The Byrd Law Firm help. Not only can we help you with underpaid or delayed insurance claims, we can also help if you’ve been the victim of any of the above behaviors. Call at (713) 864-3000 today.