Fighting Insurance Denial in an Auto Accident
Life can be challenging when you must deal with the fallout from an auto accident. Likely, you are at least inconvenienced with damage to your vehicle, or need to have your vehicle totally replaced. You might have injuries and medical bills stacking up because of the accident. You may be out of work, preparing for surgery or looking forward to long treatments and recovery.
You’ve done the responsible thing. You had proper insurance coverage on your vehicle, as well as liability insurance, with medical coverage and property damage coverage. The problem is that your insurance company is denying some or all your claim. What can you do? There’s plenty you can do, but it’s important to understand types of auto claims and reasons that insurance companies use to deny them.
Types of Auto Accident Claims
The type of accident claim that concerns your insurance company the most is related to negligence. There is a legal expectation for drivers to practice proper caution while operating their vehicle. Once a car accident claim is reported, the involved insurance companies do an investigation to determine who was at fault. With full, or comprehensive and collision coverage, you might assume all will be paid for regardless, especially if you did not receive a traffic citation at the time, right?
Not necessarily. Florida operates under the Rule of Pure Comparative Negligence. Simply put, your payout could be based on what the insurance company investigation concludes is your percentage of negligence compared to that of the other party. If it is determined that you were completely at fault, you may be out of luck for any compensation. If you were partially at fault based on their investigation, you may share partial liability and be compensated at that same percentage of your determined negligence.
Typical Reasons for Insurance Denial of Your Auto Accident Claim
Keep in mind that your insurance company is in the business of making money. Even though you feel they will be on your side to make sure and prove the other party is to blame, they still prefer not to pay you fully for your claim. They have many reasons for denial, which they will use when they can. Some reasons for an insurance company denial include:
- You could’ve avoided the accident: Even if you weren’t at fault for initiating the accident, they might feel you still could have avoided it had you been properly attentive.
- Medical claim denials: There was no initial injury or treatment recorded, lack of medical proof of injury or that your injury was a pre-existing condition.
What to do Immediately After Your Auto Accident
It’s important to start building your case as soon as the accident happens. This includes:
- Call a good car crash attorney. Don’t trust the insurance adjuster to consider your best interests, since your needs are contrary to the interest of the insurance company.
- Take photos of the accident location, vehicles, signs and details.
- If you have any concern about injury, seek immediate medical attention.
- Take photos of your injuries.
- Never admit fault or say you were not injured if you’re not sure.
Make sure your attorney has all the information you can collect at the scene of the accident. Beyond that, trust your attorney to gather information.
How We handle Your Insurance Denial
The Department of Motor Vehicles has several good suggestions for fighting auto accident insurance denials. They remind the public that insurance companies have far more experience handling insurance claims than their customers do, along with the resources to go with it. When a large claim is at risk, it’s extremely important to involve your attorney. Insurance adjusters usually have more room to negotiate a claim than they suggest with their first offer.
If they are challenged fairly by a knowledgeable law team, they will be more likely to get to their bottom line and agree to pay out more of what is due. This is especially true when the law team can provide additional evidence that corroborates your claim. We at Tison Law Group can also help file your original claim, as well as any other forms or papers required by local agencies and law enforcement. If you are dealing with an accident or insurance claim denial, contact us immediately for a consultation.
