Why the first number is rarely the real number
Insurance adjusters routinely open negotiations with a conservative figure, expecting a counteroffer. Accepting that first offer typically closes the claim permanently — there's generally no going back to ask for more later, even if additional injuries or costs surface afterward.
Georgia's bad faith statute runs on a precise clock
O.C.G.A. § 33-4-6 gives a policyholder a specific, mechanical path to a bad faith claim: make a proper written demand for payment of a covered loss, and the insurer has exactly 60 days to pay. If the insurer refuses within that window and a court finds the refusal was made in bad faith, the insurer owes the loss itself, plus a penalty of up to 50% of its liability for the loss or $5,000, whichever is greater, plus the policyholder's reasonable attorney's fees for pursuing the bad faith claim.
Paying late doesn't make the penalty disappear
A genuinely useful detail: the statute specifically states that the bad faith action isn't abated just because the insurer eventually pays after the 60-day period has expired. An insurer that stalls past the deadline and then pays doesn't automatically escape the penalty — the bad faith claim can proceed as its own separate matter.
This remedy is specific to your own insurer
This statute addresses first-party bad faith — disputes with your own insurance company over your own coverage, like uninsured motorist benefits or medical payments coverage. A separate statute, O.C.G.A. § 33-4-7, addresses bad faith specifically in connection with motor vehicle liability policies. Neither reaches an at-fault driver's insurer refusing to pay your third-party injury claim in the same direct, statutory way.
What this means practically
Because the 60-day demand process is so mechanical, documentation does real work here: a proper written demand, sent the right way, with a clear dollar figure and sufficient supporting evidence, is what starts the clock running at all. Comparing the insurer's offer against your own complete, well-documented tally of damages before responding is the practical step this framework rewards.