Auto, life, and health insurance companies, as you know, are businesses and businesses need to make money or fail. The less an insurance company has to pay out in claims, all the better for that company. Even the big companies deny claims at times in an effort to limit their fiscal spending. Allstate, AIG, and State Farm and others have denied valid claims by having employees that are willing to do this dirty work, or at times, by using outright fraudulent tactics. Below is a discussion of some of the tactics car insurance companies use to deny valid claims:
Delaying Until Death: Sometimes if an insurance company knows a person is gravely ill, or of advanced age, they may delay a claim, knowing that some policyholders will either give up, or die.
Confusing Consumers: Insurance contracts are some of the difficult to understand contracts a person is ever likely to encounter. More than half of all states have enacted “plain English” laws for consumer contracts, but still, many consumers do not have a good understanding of their auto insurance coverage.
Discriminating by Credit Score: Sometimes, insurance companies use credit reports to determine the premiums consumers pay, or whether the person can buy get insurance in the first place. This practice hurts the poor, senior citizens with little credit, and people who have suffered financial crisis through no fault of their own.
Abandoning the Sick: Health insurers looking to reduce their bottom line have taken to canceling retroactively, or rescinding, the policies of people who have conditions that are expensive to treat.
If your claim is delayed, denied, or partially denied by an insurance company, you will likely need to seek help from an experienced personal injury lawyer. Insurance companies may take you more seriously if you are represented by an attorney.
An experienced, reputable personal injury lawyer will conduct a full investigation of all the facts on your behalf. Your lawyer may then draft and send a settlement demand letter on your behalf to the insurance company. This letter, if properly done, will outline your arguments about what happened in the accident, how and why you were injured, and include a formal demand for compensation for the damages. Sending a demand letter may prompt the insurance company to extend an offer to you via your attorney or to provide a specific reason for its denial. If the insurance company is unwilling to settle for a fair amount, your attorney may file a formal lawsuit and go through the litigation process on your behalf.
If you or a family member has been injured in an accident caused by another person, it might be a good idea to consult an experience personal injury attorney. We will tenaciously represent you and work to get you the maximum amount you deserve. Please contact Kalfus & Nachman today by calling (855) 880-8163. We are proud to serve the communities of Norfolk, Newport News, and Roanoke, Virginia.