When you’re injured in a flashing red light accident, the last thing you expect is for the insurance company to make your recovery process even more difficult. Yet across Colorado Springs and throughout the state, insurance companies are employing increasingly sophisticated tactics to delay, deny, or devalue legitimate claims. At McCormick & Murphy P.C., we’ve witnessed firsthand how these practices have evolved. We’re here to ensure your path to justice and full compensation isn’t blocked by bad faith insurance tactics in 2025.
The Rising Tide of Insurance Bad Faith in Flashing Red Light Claims
Flashing red light intersections present unique challenges for accident victims. Unlike standard traffic signals, these intersections require all drivers to come to a complete stop and proceed with caution. When accidents occur, determining fault should be straightforward based on traffic laws. However, insurance companies have identified this as an opportunity to exploit confusion and delay legitimate claims, leaving you struggling.
In 2024, the Colorado Division of Insurance reported a 23% increase in bad faith complaints against insurance companies, with intersection accidents representing a significant portion of these cases. This trend shows no signs of slowing as we move into 2025, making it essential to understand how to protect your right to fair compensation.
The Most Common Insurance Company Tactics You’ll Face in 2025
Insurance companies are not on your side. They use calculated strategies to minimize their payouts, often at your expense. Here are the tactics you need to be aware of:
Deliberate Delay Tactics
Insurance companies have perfected the art of stalling legitimate claims, hoping to wear you down. They often accomplish this by:
- Repeatedly requesting documents you’ve already provided.
- Switching adjusters mid-claim without explanation, forcing you to re-explain everything.
- Claiming ongoing investigations even when liability is crystal clear.
These delays serve two purposes: they hope you’ll become frustrated and accept a lower settlement, or that you’ll miss important deadlines that could jeopardize your claim. One particularly troubling trend we’ve observed is the “document shuffle,” where adjusters claim they never received critical paperwork, forcing you to resubmit the same information multiple times. This tactic can extend the claims process by months, all while you’re struggling with medical bills and lost wages.
Lowball Settlement Offers
Quick, inadequate settlement offers are becoming the norm rather than the exception. Insurance companies count on your immediate financial pressures to force you into accepting far less than your claim is worth. These offers often come with artificial deadlines and pressure tactics designed to prevent you from seeking legal counsel or properly evaluating your full damages. They want you to settle for less than you deserve.
The offers themselves are frequently presented without detailed breakdowns, making it impossible to understand how they calculated the amount. This lack of transparency is intentional – they don’t want you to realize how much they’re actually shortchanging you for medical care, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Biased and Inadequate Investigations
Modern insurance adjusters are trained to conduct investigations that favor their company’s bottom line rather than seeking the truth. In flashing red light cases, this might involve:
- Misrepresenting traffic laws to shift blame.
- Ignoring witness statements that support your version of events.
- Failing to properly investigate the scene of the accident.
Some adjusters will even attempt to shift blame to you by suggesting you should have been more cautious, despite the other driver’s clear violation of traffic laws. This victim-blaming approach is designed to reduce their liability and your rightful compensation.
Invasive Medical Authorization Requests
Insurance companies are increasingly requesting overly broad medical authorizations that go far beyond what’s necessary for your claim. They want access to your entire medical history, hoping to find pre-existing conditions they can use to argue that your injuries aren’t related to the accident. These unjustified requests violate your privacy and are often used to build a case against you rather than fairly evaluate your claim. The authorizations are typically written in broad language that gives them access to mental health records, unrelated medical conditions, and decades of medical history.
How McCormick & Murphy P.C. Counters These Bad Faith Practices
With over 60 years of combined legal experience, our team at McCormick & Murphy P.C. has developed proven strategies to combat insurance company bad faith tactics. Since 1995, we’ve recovered millions of dollars for our Colorado clients by staying ahead of these evolving practices. We protect your rights and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Meticulous Documentation Strategy
We maintain detailed records of every interaction with insurance companies, creating an unshakeable timeline that exposes their delay tactics and misrepresentations. This documentation becomes powerful evidence if we need to pursue a bad faith claim against the insurer. Our team photographs and catalogs every piece of correspondence, records all phone conversations (where legally permitted), and maintains detailed notes of every interaction. This level of documentation has proven invaluable in demonstrating patterns of bad faith behavior, giving you peace of mind.
Strategic Time-Limit Demands
We use aggressive, well-documented settlement demands with clear deadlines to pressure insurance companies into timely, fair responses. These demands are crafted to meet legal requirements for policy limit demands while creating accountability for the insurer’s response. When insurance companies fail to respond appropriately to these demands, it can expose them to liability beyond their policy limits – a powerful motivator for fair dealing and a stronger position for your claim.
Protection Against Invasive Requests
We never allow our clients to sign blanket medical releases. Instead, we provide only the medical records that are directly relevant to the accident, protecting your privacy while still cooperating with legitimate investigation needs. Our medical record review process ensures that insurance companies receive exactly what they’re entitled to under the law – nothing more, nothing less – safeguarding your personal information.
Regulatory Protections Available to Colorado Accident Victims
Colorado has strengthened consumer protections against insurance bad faith practices, providing powerful tools to hold insurers accountable. The Colorado Unfair Practices Act provides significant penalties for insurance companies that engage in bad faith conduct, including the possibility of treble damages and attorney’s fees.
Additionally, Colorado’s prompt payment statutes require insurance companies to acknowledge claims within specific timeframes and provide regular updates on claim status. Violations of these requirements can result in penalty interest and additional damages, creating more leverage for your case.
The Financial Impact of Fighting Back
Don’t assume you can handle the insurance company alone. Data shows the real difference legal representation makes:
- According to the Insurance Research Council, represented claimants receive settlements that are 3.5 times higher on average than those who handle claims themselves.
- In flashing red light cases specifically, our firm has achieved settlements averaging 4.2 times the initial insurance company offers.
More importantly, we’ve successfully pursued bad faith claims that resulted in additional compensation beyond the original policy limits. In 2024 alone, we recovered over $2.3 million in additional damages from insurance companies that engaged in bad faith practices. This demonstrates our commitment to maximizing your recovery.
Common Problems and Our Solutions
You’re not alone in facing these challenges. Here’s how we address common issues:
Problem: The Insurance Company Won’t Return Your Calls
Solution: We establish direct lines of communication with decision-makers at insurance companies. Our reputation and legal standing ensure that calls are returned promptly and that delays are documented for potential bad faith claims. We take the burden of communication off your shoulders.
Problem: Medical Bills Are Piling Up While Your Claim Stalls
Solution: We work with medical providers to arrange treatment liens and negotiate payment plans. We also pursue interim settlements for medical expenses when appropriate, ensuring you get the care you need without immediate financial hardship.
Problem: The Insurance Company Claims You Were Partially at Fault
Solution: We conduct independent investigations, interview witnesses, and work with accident reconstruction experts to establish the true facts of your case. Colorado’s comparative negligence laws protect your right to compensation even if you bear some responsibility, but we fight aggressively to minimize or eliminate any fault attribution against you.
What to Expect When You Choose McCormick & Murphy P.C.
When you contact our office at (719)-389-0400, you’ll speak with experienced attorneys who understand the tactics you’re facing. We offer free consultations where we’ll evaluate your case and explain your options clearly. Our process is designed to provide you with clarity and peace of mind:
- Thorough Case Review: We begin with a detailed review of all communications you’ve had with the insurance company. We’ll identify any bad faith practices that have already occurred and develop a strategy to counter them.
- We Handle Everything: From that point forward, we handle all communication with the insurance company, protecting you from their pressure tactics while building a strong case for full compensation.
- Focused on Accountability: Our goal is not just to recover what you’re owed, but to hold insurance companies accountable for their conduct, ensuring justice is served.
The Advantage of Local Experience
Located at 929 W Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80905, we understand the unique challenges faced by accident victims in our community. We’re familiar with local traffic patterns, law enforcement procedures, and the insurance companies that operate in our area.
This local knowledge, combined with our extensive experience, gives us a distinct edge in negotiating with insurance companies and presenting your case effectively, leading to better outcomes for you.
Taking Action Against Insurance Bad Faith in 2025
The insurance industry’s tactics are becoming more sophisticated, but so are the legal remedies available to fight back. Colorado’s regulatory environment increasingly favors consumers who have been treated unfairly by insurance companies. Recent court decisions have made it easier to prove bad faith and have increased the penalties insurance companies face for unfair practices. This creates strong leverage that experienced attorneys can use to achieve better outcomes for their clients.
Your Next Steps to Fair Compensation
If you’re dealing with an insurance company that’s employing delay tactics, offering inadequate settlements, or making unreasonable demands, don’t face them alone. The longer you wait, the more time they have to build a case against you and undermine your claim.
Take control of your claim today. Contact McCormick & Murphy P.C. at (719)-389-0400 or email us at [email protected] for a free consultation. We’ll review your case, identify any bad faith practices, and explain precisely how we can help you achieve the compensation you deserve.
Don’t let insurance companies take advantage of your situation. With the right legal representation, you can fight back against bad faith practices and recover the full compensation you’re entitled to under the law.
Schedule your free consultation today and take the first step toward holding insurance companies accountable for their actions. Your recovery shouldn’t be delayed by insurance company games – let us fight for the justice you deserve and the peace of mind you need.
