Insurance Law

Insurance companies charge premiums every month, promising you’ll be safe in case something goes wrong. When something does happen, they don’t always hold up their end of the bargain. Having a claim unfairly denied or minimized can threaten your family’s financial security and certainly feels like betrayal.

Whether it's health, home, auto, or life insurance, it often feels like a "David vs Goliath" struggle when your insurance company denies a claim. With an army of claim adjusters, private investigators, and lawyers, it doesn't feel like a fair fight. The policies themselves are so complex that representing yourself is almost impossible, even for the most informed consumers. Additionally, complex legal concepts such as waiver, insurable interest, breach of warranty, reasonable expectations, and insurable interest, can fundamentally alter what your policy provides..

Sometimes prevailing on an insurance claim requires immediate action. While the statute of limitations for written contracts can be as long as ten years, many states, like Iowa, allow insurance companies to have a much shorter time in the fine print of policies. Some state laws provide additional rights to policyholders, but have extremely tight deadlines that must be met. Claims can also be voided if certain paperwork is not completed within a month or two after the loss.

With +20 years of experience dealing with insurance claims, attorney L. Craig Nierman is well equipped to file and advocate for your claim. While this might be your first time dealing with a challenging insurance situation, Mr. Nierman has filed thousands of claims for his clients. His experience includes working at one of the nation’s largest insurance companies, training attorneys on best practices/techniques, and teaching Insurance Law at the University of Iowa. Even other attorneys retain him to strengthen their insurance cases as an expert witness, testifying in numerous state and federal courts. This experience gives you a significant advantage as we fight for you.

Insurance attorney L. Craig Nierman has handled thousands of insurance claims in multiple states and can help you through the process toward obtaining what is fair. He has helped people prevail in insurance claims involving personal injuries, life insurance, health insurance, homeowners insurance, workers compensation, and disability.

While our firm has a dynamic team of 12 attorneys, paralegals, and other support staff, Mr. Nierman remains directly involved in every case he accepts. We look forward to learning how we can help you with your case. Feel free to contact L. Craig Nierman today for a no fee consultation.

Personal Injury and Wrongful Death

Mr. Nierman has helped thousands of people with personal injury and wrongful death claims and is available to discuss your case, how we can help you through the process, and the potential for significant financial compensation. When someone’s carelessness or recklessness has hurt you or a loved one, we are here to stand up for your rights.

Life Insurance

Life insurance denials are particularly hard because you are dealing with insurance companies while you are still grieving and coping with a huge loss. We have helped families collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in previously denied life insurance claims; sometimes the adjuster inaccurately claims that there was a pre-existing condition or that a claim form was not filled out correctly. Whatever the reason, if your life insurance claim has been denied, contact us to discuss your case without fee or obligation. In situations where the insurance company has acted in bad faith, punitive and other damages may be available. Additional information about life insurance claims is available here.

Health Insurance

Health insurance claims can be particularly complex because it often involves an interplay between state and federal law as well as clashing medical opinions. The most common reasons for health claim denials are the insurance company’s assertion that the treatment was not medically necessary, the claim forms were not filled out correctly, the prescribed treatment was “experimental,” etc. We can help you fight back against all of these. In almost all cases, we can help you navigate the appeals process within the insurance company and then force it into inexpensive arbitration. If the needed procedure is urgent, there are ways to expedite the process. Bad faith damages may be available if the denial was unreasonable. Please visit our Health Insurance page and contact us today.

Homeowners Insurance

If your insurance company is not being fair to you after your home was damaged by fire, wind, or other reasons, you are at a particular disadvantage because you are fighting for what is fair while your home is hard or impossible to live in. We help you fight for your rights, obtain the benefits you are entitled to, and help you to put your home back together. Additional information can be found here.

Workers Compensation

Work injuries are particularly scary because they often involve issues of job security and permanent injuries. You may be entitled to temporary income benefits while you are off work, reimbursement for your medical bills, permanent disability benefits, and more. If the injury was caused by someone other than a co-employee (such as when you are driving as part of your job and are injured in a car crash), you may be able to recover both workers compensation benefits and insurance money from the other party’s insurance. If employers or their insurance companies do not timely pay you what you are entitled to, you may be eligible for penalty benefits and/or bad faith damages.

Our firm has helped numerous workers recover for their work injuries and we look forward to visiting with you as well. Please visit our Workers Compensation page for additional information and contact us to discuss your case.

Disability

A huge proportion of valid disability claims are denied. Knowing how to effectively navigate the internal appeals process and when to file a lawsuit can be critical to preserving your rights to make your claim. Insurance companies often make improper requests, unreasonably delay the claim, and rely on a bad faith reading of the policy to wrongfully delay and deny benefits. Craig Nierman goes toe to toe with insurance companies on a daily basis and is ready to talk to you about your claim. Please visit our Disability page and contact us to discuss your case.

Getting Help

What should you do if you have questions about your claim?

Acting promptly to preserve your rights is extremely important. Insurance companies work hard to prevent people from hiring their own attorney because they want to be the only one with lawyers on their side.

There is no risk to discuss your case; the initial telephone conference with Mr. Nierman is free, so contact us today. Many cases are taken on a contingent basis, meaning that there are no attorney fees unless you collect on your claim.

Experience

With +20 years of experience dealing with insurance claims, attorney L. Craig Nierman is well equipped to file and advocate for your claim. While this might be your first time dealing with a challenging insurance situation, Mr. Nierman has filed thousands of claims for his clients. His experience includes working at one of the nation’s largest insurance companies, training attorneys on best practices/techniques, and teaching Insurance Law at the University of Iowa. Even other attorneys retain him to strengthen their insurance cases as an expert witness, testifying in numerous state and federal courts. This experience gives you a significant advantage as we fight for you.

While our firm has a dynamic team of 12 attorneys, paralegals, and other support staff, Mr. Nierman remains directly involved in every case he accepts. With experience with claims involving personal injuries, life insurance, health insurance, homeowners insurance, workers compensation, disability, and wrongful death, we look forward to learning how we can help you move forward. Contact L. Craig Nierman today for a no fee consultation.