Life insurer’s payment delay not due to bad faith

Insurance Matters

By Don R. Sampen

Don R. Sampen is a member of the appellate practice group of Clausen, Miller P.C., where he focuses on appellate, commercial and insurance related litigation. He also teaches insurance law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. His column appears twice monthly.

Posted July 28, 2014 2:42 PM

The 1st District Appellate Court recently held that, despite a delay in payment of life insurance proceeds due in part to a disagreement over policy interpretation, the delay did not give rise to sanctions under Section 155 of the Insurance Code and that, moreover, Section 155 pre-empted a consumer fraud action against the insurer. Cook v. AAA Life Insurance Co., 2014 IL App (1st) 123700, 2014 WL 2583692 (1st Dist. June 9, 2014). The beneficiary of the insurance proceeds was represented by Cook, Revak & Associates …

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