Unfortunately, traffic accidents happen way more often than we would like them to. According to official data, over 1.3 million people lose their lives in traffic accidents every single year, and almost 50 million people suffer some kind of a non-fatal injury on the road.
Those fortunate enough to get out of the accidents alive still have to deal with an array of issues. Starting with health issues and ending with the financial ones, because, as we all know, crashing a car does not tread lightly on your wallet.
Fortunately, many have insurance to fall back in case an unfortunate event like this transpires. However, not everyone is lucky enough to actually get some money from the insurance company. A large number of car insurance claims is actually denied. On some occasions, an insurance company has every right to deny your claim, but more often than not, they’re just looking for a way to keep the money for themselves. Contrary to popular belief, insurance companies aren’t in the business of helping people – they’re just in it for profit.
So, what do you do in case you’re one of the unlucky ones whose claim was unrightfully denied? Well, there are a few things you can do, but first, let’s take a look at why you even got denied in the first place.
Why Was Your Claim Denied?
The bottom line is, your claim was denied because the company has found a way to keep their money. But, we already knew that. The question we’re pondering is how they were able to get away with it?
Reason number one is misleading or insufficient information on your car insurance application. There are many ways in which an insurance company can spin this. Often they’ll claim you’ve left out critical information on your application, or you’ve tampered with the information provided. If they have grounds to doubt your claims – they’ll do it. This is what happens most of the time.
Next up, we have exclusion clauses or policy coverage. This is not as common when it comes to car accidents, but sometimes it can happen. An insurance company will simply claim what happened to you is not covered by the insurance, so they’ll shun you to the side.
Finally, we have missed payments. Unfortunately, this is actually a valid reason, and more often than not, if this happens – you can’t fight them on it. If you’ve missed your payment, chances are, there is a clause in your contract that states that you’ll be denied any coverage until you pay your end. It’s sad and morally wrong, but it is what it is.
Now, let’s move on to the problem at hand – what do you do in case this happens?
Remain Calm
We know that this sounds a lot easier said than done, but nothing good will come out of acting out and not thinking straight. You won’t accomplish anything by yelling at an insurance company representative.
First of all – they’re used to it. They’ve been yelled at more than anyone else in the world. Secondly, yelling is a futile attempt. Even if they wanted to do anything to help you – they can’t. It’s not like they can press a button and get you your money.
So, calm down, and proceed with the following.
Ask For An Explanation
According to msb.law, the first thing you should do is ask the insurance company to provide you with an explanation of why your claim was denied. The thing is, you won’t manage to get very far with your appeal unless you know what it is that you’re challenging.
In most cases, an insurance company will send you a letter with an explanation of why your car insurance claim was denied, and more often than not – it is going to be for one of the reasons we’ve previously mentioned. For your own sake, you better hope that it is not the last one.
Keep in mind, sometimes, these letters can be a bit confusing. Insurance companies make sure their letters are as complex as they could possibly be so that you get discouraged before even thinking about filing a dispute. However, they are legally obligated to explain everything to you, so if you don’t understand something – feel free to ask them to break it down for you.
Look For An Insurance Lawyer
If you do decide that you should file for a dispute and fight for your money, your safest bet would be to consult with an insurance lawyer. Most reputable lawyers will offer free consultations and will briefly review your case, but naturally, if you do decide to proceed, you will have to pay them for their services unless they decide to do it pro bono for whatever reason.
Now, it is pretty important that you look for an insurance lawyer. Any attorney could be more than helpful, especially if you don’t know anything about it, but an insurance lawyer is really good at this stuff. They’ve dedicated their whole careers to filing disputes and insurance claims and fighting to get their clients their money.
Do you want to hear the best thing about the insurance lawyers? Their fee is often a percentage of the winning, which means that if they don’t manage to get you your money back – you won’t have to pay them.
Get All The Necessary Paperwork
As it is often the case for any claim of any kind – paperwork is essential. Your lawyer will also tell you this, but these claims are won and lost over a piece of paper. So, before you file a car insurance dispute, make sure you get your paperwork in order. Gather all the necessary documents like medical reports and bills, police report, witness statements, photos – everything that you can get your hands on that could be relevant to your case.
Once you get all of this in order – it is time to file a dispute and hope for the best.
Conclusion:
More often than not, a lawyer will tell you whether you’ll be able to win this one or not, so in most cases, if you do end up filing for a dispute – you’ll probably win. That is, if you do everything right, which we assume you will do, now that you’ve read this. Best of luck!
