You’re driving your vehicle and after complying with the traffic signs, it got to your turn to turn at a four way intersection but another motorist had another idea for some obvious reasons best known to him. This unnecessary driving by the other motorists resulted in your vehicle getting hit and damaged by the other driver’s truck and you end up suffering an injury to your knee with your car getting totaled. You took notes, snapped pictures, followed all the process needed in filing a claim but the other party insurance denied claim, what do you do?
It is glaring from all the evidences gathered that the other driver is the at fault driver and you have taken all the necessary steps that would be needed in filing a claim yet the other party insurance company denied claim. It could make the owner of the vehicle more frustrated but the fact is there are lots of reasons why an insurer would deny a claim. This doesn’t matter of the information they have is incorrect but most times, their reasons could either be maybe they think your claim doesn’t have merit or they are hoping you would stop chasing the case.
Other Party Insurance Denied Claim
It can also happen that the insurer or adjuster is only relying on some information gotten from a eye witness or is just simply not interested in your own part of the story and is focused more on that of his client since there is no official report. However, there could also be other reasons why the insurer isn’t listening to your claims and these reasons include;
Lapse Policy – Failing to pay for premiums on the part of the other party would cause their policy to lapse and this could lead the insurer to saying they do not have any coverage at the time of the accident. If this is the case the relying on uninsured motorist coverage in order to get compensated is the only option you have left.
Exclusions In Policy – If an insurance policy doesn’t contain normal events. The insurer could deny your claim saying circumstances like a hail storm could be the real cause of the accident and not negligent driving on the part of his driver.
Inability To Notify Insurer On Time – There are policies which tells you when exactly you need to report an incident and this is why it is very important that the insurance company gets notified about an accident immediately it happens.
What To Do When The Other Party Denies Your Claim
Regardless of how valid your claims are, your claims can still get denied and what you most likely need to do is to hire an attorney, that is if you decide to fight the case against you. Insurers make more profit by taking in more premiums than the amount they can get to pay out as compensation. The claims from an attorney and not from you will definitely bear more weight and authority and this would also cause the insurer to take the matter more seriously.
Car accidents are never pleasant even though they might leave you with a scratched bumper or serious injuries and damages but things can easily move from bad to worse if the insurance company of the other party goes ahead to deny claims even when it is clear the other driver is at fault. This is why it is very advisable to get help from a legal attorney who is good with car accident laws and there are steps that he could follow;
The first thing an attorney would request for is a demand letter and the demand letter is actually a formal letter requesting for compensation and also details relating to your own side of the story, why the other driver is at fault, details of injuries and damages. The insurance company would also feel compelled to provide a reason why your claims got denied initially. If the insurance company ends up having a formal appeals process then your attorney has a better chance of having a successful negotiation with the company.
If the insurer denies your attorney’s claim then the next line of action to take is filing a lawsuit against them. However, you should have it at the back of your mind that your attorney would not give it everything if he feels the case would not come out in your favor or maybe you didn’t give out all of the necessary information.
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