What Happens When the Insurance Company Denies Your Claim
Brian O Sutter
Personal Injury
If you have been involved in a car accident, then you may be a bit unsure of what steps to take following the accident. For example, if someone else was the cause of the accident, what do you do? Do you file a claim with the other driver’s insurance company so that you can get your car repaired?What if you were injured? Will the other driver’s insurance company also pay for any and all medical expenses as a result of the accident? With so many questions and an unclear path to take, it may be beneficial to seek the services of a professional personal injury attorney to help walk you through the process, so you don’t forget a single crucial step involved in receiving fair compensation.
Insurance Company Denials
You have already called and filed a report with the at-fault driver’s insurance, and you are anxiously waiting to hear back about your claim. You have sent in all the appropriate paperwork and have garnished all the information they have asked for. Then they come back saying that they are not liable for the damages and won’t be paying you any kind of compensation for the accident.
Before you overly stress about the situation, it is important to remain calm and immediately ask them for proof. Ask them to prove why they feel they are not liable for damages. This kind of information is not something they can keep private or to themselves. When asked, they must show proof as to why they made the decision to deny the claim.
Many times, the insurance company will deny the claim because they do not believe the accident was the fault of their policyholder. They will say that the police report did not provide enough concrete information to determine fault. In this case, it is up to you to collect more evidence to prove that the accident was not your fault. For this, it is highly recommended again that you seek the counsel of an experienced attorney to help fight with you.
Next Steps
You may also want to consider discussing the matter with your own insurance company. Your insurance company will typically pay for the repairs and bills for you, and then they will then fight with the other insurance company to receive reimbursement for what has been paid. However, you will still need to pay your deductible yourself in hopes of being compensated for it later.
Work With the Attorney
The best course of action when the other driver’s insurance company denies your claim is to work with an attorney. The attorney will be able to take a closer look at all the evidence and may then be able to prove that the accident was, in fact, the other party’s fault.
It may also end with having to take the other driver and their insurance company to court so that a judge can make the final ruling about the claim for compensation from the accident. However, most of the time the insurance company will offer some form of settlement at this point to avoid having to go to court.
Before you feel that all hope is lost, and you can’t find a way to pay all the medical bills and repairs associated with the accident because of an insurance denial, let your attorney fight with you so you can receive fair treatment and won’t find yourself swimming with debt due to another person’s negligence.