If you’ve been in a car accident and have injuries to heal from, the last thing you need is for your insurance company to stall on your payment. If you’ve already gotten work done on your vehicle or seen doctors for injuries, you have bills coming in that need to be paid. You pay car insurance every month so that if you’re in an accident, you’ll have coverage. But when the insurance company doesn’t pay out quickly, you feel betrayed. After all, you’ve paid your bill, but they are not fulfilling their obligation to you. Let’s look at what to do if your insurance company is stalling.
Texas Car Insurance Basics
Texas is an at-fault state. At-fault means that the driver’s insurance responsible for the crash pays the claims arising from property damage or bodily injury.
Any driver who causes damage or injuries in a car accident may be liable for damage claims.
Coverage Issues
When you buy car insurance, the state you live in determines the lowest amount of coverage you can have for each type of injury or damage. The minimum amount of coverage in Texas is:
- $30,000 for each injured person
- $60,000 total for injuries per incident
- $25,000 for property damage
If the other driver involved in the crash has no insurance or has low coverage, their insurance may not cover your medical needs or property damage. Lack of coverage can be an agonizing situation, especially if the accident is not your fault. In this case, you may have to look to your own insurance to cover your medical expenses. If you have underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage, it should pay.
If you are waiting for their insurance company to pay, but they don’t have the coverage, you’re not getting a payout unless you hire an attorney and sue the driver personally. However, if the uninsured or underinsured driver has no money, you may get nothing.
Claims Process Timelines
Always file a claim with your insurance company as soon as possible. Ensure adjusters have pictures of the vehicle damage and make sure they agree to the body shop you’d like to use.
Notification of Acceptance or Rejection
The insurance company must notify you of the acceptance or rejection of a claim before the 15th business day after they’ve received your statements and required forms.
Claim Rejections
If the insurer rejects the claim, they must let you know the reasons for the rejection. If they accept any part of the claim, they must pay you within five business days.
Notification that Insurance Company Needs Extra Time
Insurance companies are also allowed by law to notify you that they need more time to collect information, but in this case, they must accept or reject your claim by the 45th day after giving you notice they need more time. (1)
It is wise to bring your attorney with you to any recorded statements for insurance companies. Adjusters use these statements along with law enforcement reports to determine fault.
Speeding up the Claims Process
You must provide clear liability documentation to the insurance claims representative in charge of the settlement. Do this from the beginning of the process. You can’t overstate the importance of clear and well-documented data.
The claims representative is the person who negotiates a payout amount to you or a settlement with your attorney. To ensure that your claim gets attention, communicate with your claims adjuster and ask what is needed to complete your claim.
- If you have an attorney, ask them to provide all information to your claims representative.
- Follow up to get confirmation that all attorneys and claims adjusters have all of the information they need.
- Call frequently to check-in and find out what may hold up the process.
- Ensure that the claims representative in charge of your case hears the most important facts of the accident before the case reaches a mediation or a courtroom.
- Don’t let others cover over the most pertinent case information with voluminous opinions or tables and charts.
- Keep communication open with your attorney and with the claims representative on your case.
According to Frank E. Murchison P.C. in the publication, SETTLEMENT/MEDIATION CONSIDERATIONS & STRATEGIES IN TRUCKING OR AUTO ACCIDENT CASES written for the Texas Bar,
“If claims representatives see and hear… information for the first time at a settlement conference or mediation, experience tells us they are normally unwilling or unable to respond in the desired monetary manner.”
Make sure that your attorney is on top of what the claims representative needs. Don’t go into mediation with new information to present that no one has seen before. An experienced attorney understands that timely and well-organized information is key to winning your deserved settlement amount.
When the Insurance Company Stalls
An insurance claims adjuster may have your file at the bottom of a big stack of work. In this case, calling and pleasantly checking on your case may spur the adjuster on.
However, if you don’t know what the problem is and the insurance company is not getting back to you in the timeframes that the state of Texas recommends, you can work with an experienced personal injury attorney to force action on your personal injury insurance payout or settlement.
With an attorney on the scene, most personal injury claims settle within 9 to 18 months as attorneys negotiate with insurance companies and other attorneys. Sometimes, a complicated case with extensive damages or a death can take longer. When the stakes are high with extensive vehicle and personal injuries to more than one person, the negotiations may take longer until everyone agrees.
In very detailed and highly controversial cases, the claim will not settle and the case will go to court. This is not a likely scenario in most personal injury cases. Most insurance companies do not want to see the inside of the courtroom if they can negotiate and settle the claim without judicial interference.
We Can Help
If your insurance company is not meeting their obligations toward you, we can help. At Jarrett Law, our personal injury legal team understands that your pain and suffering deserve compensation. With insurance companies who fall down on the job, you need a strong negotiator on your side and the threat of a court date to get results.
Don’t let the insurance company have the last word when your health and financial wellbeing is in the balance. We work to get the results you need for the struggle you’re going through. Contact us today and find out how we can help.
Footnotes:
- //texas.public.law/statutes/tex._ins._code_section_542.057(1)
- SETTLEMENT/MEDIATION CONSIDERATIONS & STRATEGIES IN TRUCKING OR AUTO ACCIDENT CASES Presented & Written By: FRANK E. (DI