Can I recover attorney fees when my Georgia insurer acts in bad faith?

· 3 min read

Yes. Georgia’s first-party bad-faith statute allows a policyholder to recover reasonable attorney fees, in addition to the covered loss and the bad-faith penalty, when an insurer’s refusal to pay is found to be unjustified. O.C.G.A. § 33-4-6 expressly provides for those fees as part of a successful claim.

Fees as a separate recovery

The statute treats attorney fees as their own category of relief. When an insurer wrongfully denies a covered first-party claim, the policyholder may recover three things: the loss the policy owed, the statutory penalty, and all reasonable attorney fees incurred in prosecuting the action against the insurer. The fees are not folded into the penalty; they are an additional component of the total recovery.

This fee-shifting feature is meaningful because litigating against an insurer can be costly, and without recoverable fees, a smaller claim might not be worth pursuing. By shifting reasonable fees to the insurer, the statute helps make even modest bad-faith claims viable.

The demand prerequisite

The right to fees does not arise from the denial alone. The statute is triggered only after the policyholder makes a written demand for payment and the insurer fails to pay the covered loss within 60 days of that demand. If the refusal during that window is shown to be in bad faith, the fee award and the penalty become available. Notably, the claim is not erased simply because the insurer pays late: paying after the 60-day period has run does not abate an otherwise valid bad-faith action, so a policyholder who already incurred fees pressing the claim can still pursue them.

How the fees are determined

The amount of recoverable fees is not a guess; it is established through evidence. In a § 33-4-6 case, the reasonable value of the attorney’s services is determined by the trier of fact on competent expert evidence, considering factors such as:

  • The time and labor the attorney devoted to the case.
  • The legal and factual complexity of the dispute.
  • The prevailing rates for similar work in the area where the action is pending.

The fees are included in the judgment rendered against the insurer once bad faith is found.

The bottom line

Under O.C.G.A. § 33-4-6, a policyholder who proves first-party bad faith can recover reasonable attorney fees on top of the covered loss and the statutory penalty, with the fee amount set on competent evidence of the work performed. This fee-shifting provision is a central reason the statute deters unjustified denials and makes bad-faith claims practical to bring.

This article is for general educational and informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship, and Georgia law may change. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Georgia personal injury attorney.

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