If you’d like to help clients get a fair outcome in this often unfair world, insurance law is a particular aspect that attorneys can specialize in. An insurance lawyer steps in if you make a claim and an insurance company offers less than you deserve.
If you want to know more about insurance lawyers, what they do, what an average insurance lawyer salary is, and a few other points in between, read this post.
What Types of Claims Do Insurance Lawyers Handle?
Lawyers advise on several aspects of insurance, including tax, restructurings, insurance policies and regulations.
An insurance lawyer will cover the following areas:
- Homeowners Insurance Law. Homeowners’ insurance lawyers deal with the practice of insuring belongings and assets within a home.
- Health Insurance. There are many types of claims in health insurance. An insurance lawyer can help individuals understand how the health insurance process works while also guiding them towards the best policy for their specific needs.
- Property Damage and Accident Claims. An insurance claim lawyer will help the claimant throughout any damage and accident claims process, for example, an automobile accident. Getting involved in an accident that requires a claim can be complicated, as insurance companies have been known to take advantage of accident victims.
- Business Liability Claims. Insurance lawyers can help businesses throughout the sticky process of navigating liability. This refers to accidents on the business premises caused either by an employee or a customer.
An insurance lawyer can also cover other claims, for example, contesting denied insurance, life or death insurance, and natural disaster insurance.
How much does an insurance lawyer cost? It depends on several factors, including the type of claim, the duration of services, and the going rate of that specific lawyer.
What Do Insurance Lawyers Do?
Learning how to become an insurance lawyer is more than just understanding the insurance lawyer salary or the more superficial aspects of the role. It’s about getting to grips with how an insurance lawyer can help individuals go through the insurance claims process.
An insurance lawyer works on behalf of either insurance companies or consumers. While both types of representation are different, they include many of the standard lawyer’s strategies. However, a medical lawyer salary will differ from a corporate lawyer salary because a corporate lawyer is hired by a company that is likely to have a higher turnover.
An insurance lawyer provides legal advice when clients have questions related to an insurance claim and performs some of the key activities of the standard practice. This includes reviewing the facts of the case, providing legal advice to clients, handling negotiations on behalf of the clients, and determining the fair value of an insurance claim.
What Is the Standard Insurance Lawyer Salary?
The standard salary of an insurance attorney, according to salary.com, ranges between $76,482 and $103,780. It depends on many factors, including:
- Education
- Skills
- Number of years in practice
- Location
For example, the average insurance defense attorney salary in California is $148,688, and the entry-level insurance defense attorney salary in New York is $161,500. Conversely, at the lower end of the spectrum, the average corporate lawyer salary is $104,843, and a Liberty Mutual Insurance defense attorney salary is, on average, $92,535 per year.
What Are the Top 10 Highest Paying Cities for Insurance Attorney Jobs?
While there are many factors that any budding insurance attorney needs to consider, the best cities for lawyers 2021, according to Embroker, are, from best to worst:
- San Francisco, CA
- San Jose, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- New York City, NY
- Boston, MA
- Washington, DC
- Santa Cruz, CA
- Oxnard, CA
- Denver, CO
- Miami, FL
Since the highest paying cities for lawyers are scattered throughout the United States, you've got to look at the best location for your specific practice. The best cities for corporate lawyers are different from the best cities for insurance defense attorneys.
For example, according to lawcrossing.com, the average salary of an entry-level insurance defense attorney in West Palm Beach, FL, is $91,500, while in Los Angeles, that number rises to $162,700.
What Are the Best Paying Related Insurance Attorney Jobs in the U.S.?
We’ve covered the insurance defense attorney salary, and now you know what insurance lawyers do.
But what are the highest-paid lawyers in the insurance field?
The best-paying insurance attorney role, aside from an attorney partner, is an insurance defense attorney.
The insurance defense attorney’s job description involves:
- Protecting policyholders if they are sued
- Helping people understand when insurance companies must pay a claim
- Ensuring insurance companies comply with appropriate regulations
In Conclusion
Having adequate insurance coverage is not always easy, but an insurance lawyer can help people make sense of their legal options.
While the insurance lawyer salary is appealing to any practicing lawyer, if you want to become an insurance lawyer, you need to have a passion for helping others while also rising to the intellectual challenge.
