In most instances, the car insurance carrier will pay your accident claim. While we talk about your claim being denied here, this is the exception to the rule. Most of the time, the insurance adjuster will review the information they have and determine that your claim is legitimate. It is only when they doubt the validity of your claim that they will deny it. After all, they don’t stay in business by paying every claim that comes across their desks. If this happens to you, it’s a good idea to call an experienced Atlanta car accident lawyer right away.
If the Other Driver’s Policy is Invalid, There is No Way Your Claim Will Be Paid
One reason why your insurance claim may have been denied is because the other driver’s policy wasn’t valid. They may have cancelled the policy months ago. Or the insurance company may have cancelled the policy for non-payment. Either way, if the defendant’s insurance policy isn’t valid at the time of your crash, your claim won’t be paid. Now, if your Atlanta car accident lawyer can prove that the policy didn’t get cancelled until after your accident, you will have a much stronger claim. For example, if your accident was on June 1, 2022, and the policy was good through July 1, 2022, there is no reason why your claim should be denied.
Our Atlanta Car Accident Lawyers Often Meet with Clients Whose Claim Was Denied Because It Was Filed Too Late
One other reason why some insurance adjusters deny auto accident claims is because the victim filed their claim too late. Every insurance company has their own rules about when your claim must be filed. Usually, it is hard to find out exactly how long you have. The boilerplate language can be very difficult to read. Even if you can find the rules about a filing deadline, they may be unrealistic.
For example, a lot of our clients’ insurance carriers say they must file their claim within a “reasonable” time. The problem is that your idea of reasonable may not be the same as the insurance adjuster’s idea of reasonable. If your claim was denied because it was late, your Atlanta car accident lawyer can demand that it be paid. They will file an appeal and, if this doesn’t work, they will have no problem filing suit on your behalf.
The Insurance Adjuster May Believe You Caused the Crash
A common reason for why your claim was denied is that the insurance adjuster thinks you were at fault. This happens more often than you may think. There are a few reasons why this may happen. First, the defendant may give a false statement to their insurance carrier. For example, they may say that you were speeding and hit their vehicle. The truth is that the other driver crashed into your car while you were at a red light. The problem is that insurance companies tend to believe whichever story they hear first. This means your auto accident attorney in Atlanta may have to prove that the other driver was at fault. They can do this using the police report, witness statements, or a report from an accident reconstruction specialist.
The Insurance Company May Think You’re Exaggerating Your Injuries
Depending on the facts of your case, the insurance adjuster may think you’re exaggerating your injuries. This is more common than some people think. For example, if you were hit from behind, the insurance adjuster would expect to see whiplash or maybe a sprained neck. They would not expect to see a broken ankle or knee injury. If they don’t think the injuries you have reported align with the type of motor vehicle accident, they will deny your claim. This is why it’s so important that you go to the hospital immediately after your crash. This is the best way for your Atlanta car accident lawyer to prove your injuries. Once they submit a copy of your medical records, the insurance company may change their tune.
You Have a History of Filing Auto Accident Claims
It may not seem fair, but if you have a history of filing auto accident claims, the insurance adjuster may deny your current claim. The insurance companies share information with each other. If the other driver’s insurance carrier notices that you have filed 4 claims in the last 3 years, they are going to flag your claim as fraudulent. It appears to them that that you purposely get into car crashes so you can collect money. They don’t want to be taken advantage of the way the other insurance companies were. That’s why they deny your claim. This way, your auto accident attorney in Atlanta will have to prove your specific injuries in order to get paid.
We Suggest You Call One of Our Auto Accident Attorneys in Atlanta
If you were hurt in a motor vehicle accident, the last thing you’ll feel like doing is fighting with the insurance company. After you submit your claim to the defendant’s insurance carrier, they will review it and determine if it will be paid. Usually, if your claim is approved, you’ll receive your check within a week or two. If, however, your claim is going to be denied, you may not hear anything right away. This can be extremely frustrating. What our auto accident attorneys in Atlanta do is call the insurance adjuster handling your claim and demand to know what’s going on with it. If they tell us the claim is not going to be paid, we’ll prepare your appeal right away.
Rather than try to deal with this on your own, we suggest you call and speak with one of our Atlanta car accident lawyers. They can handle the legal side of things while you focus on getting better. We’ll do our best to settle your case as quickly as possible. We understand that you don’t want to wait forever to see your money. You probably have a ton of medical bills piling up. You don’t have the money to pay an auto accident attorney in Atlanta upfront. You don’t even have the money to pay the medical bills that arrive in the mail every other day. That’s why we fight so hard to get you and your family the compensation you deserve.