The decision whether or not to enforce one’s rights under an insurance policy by suing an insurance company can be a difficult one for a policyholder. The decision-making process usually occurs after a policyholder has already suffered the one-two punch of sustaining some type of financial loss (e.g., repairing damaged property or incurring defense costs), and then receiving a related denial of coverage from an insurer.
Understandably, adding the cost of hiring an attorney to challenge an insurer’s denial can often dissuade a policyholder from pursuing his or her claim. Many times, however, hiring an attorney to initiate a coverage action against an insurer is a policyholder’s only option. Not surprisingly, policyholders often ask whether they will be able to recover the attorney fees and costs incurred in any such action from the insurer. Unfortunately for Connecticut policyholders, the answer is, generally no.
