Did you file a claim with the car insurance company and your claim was denied? If you had your insurance claim denied for an auto accident in Texas, you need the assistance of an experienced car accident attorney. Your attorney will help you deal with the difficult insurance company and allow you to not fall prey to many of the insurance adjuster’s tricks.
Insurance Claim Denied Because You are at Fault for the Accident
The first reason why an insurance company may deny your claim is that they may have found you at fault for the accident.
Maybe you gave them a recorded statement, they analyzed the physical evidence and they denied your claim.
Well, if they deny your claim, because they assume that you are at fault for the accident or that you’re “liable” for the accident and you disagree, what are your options?
Well, you have two options. First, if you only have property damage, and if you have insurance coverage that covers your property damage, you can file a claim with your own insurance to get the property damage fixed.
But what if you have bodily injuries? What if you suffered pain and suffering and you disagreed that you were at fault for the accident? Well, then your only option is really to file a lawsuit. If you suffered moderate to severe injuries, it is strongly recommended consulting with a personal injury attorney.
What if They Found Me Partially At Fault for the Accident?
It may be that they find that their insured is 80% at fault and they put 20% of the fault on you. Well, what can you do?
Insurance Claim Denied Because of Lapsed Policy
The second reason why an insurance claim might be denied applies whether you filed a claim with the other party’s insurance or with your own insurance.
That’s a situation when the insurance policy that you’re trying to claim from has lapsed. After denial due to fault, denial due to a lapsed policy is the one thing that I see the most out of all the other reasons why insurance companies deny claims.
Maybe you forgot to make a payment or the bill got lost in the mail. Doesn’t matter. Stay on top of your insurance payments because if the policy lapses and is not in effect at the time of the accident, there’s not going to be insurance coverage.
Insurance Claim Denied Because Timeline Missed
The third reason insurance claims get denied quite often, is that the claimant didn’t file a claim within a set standard period of time.
They have very strict time periods to file a claim within 30 days of an accident happening for example. If you don’t file within that set period of time, they’re going to deny your claim.
This is why people should not delay filing a claim with both insurance companies immediately after an accident.
Yes, file a claim with the driver who hit you, but also always file a claim with your insurance company too. This is why it is important to have an experienced car accident attorney on your side to help you navigate the unfamiliar auto accident process.
Insurance Claim Denied due to Fraud or Lying to the Insurance Company
The fourth reason insurance claims are denied is that there’s fraud involved, or the claimant lied to the insurance company.
Lying to the insurance company is the sure fire way to get a claim denied. That includes lying to either yours or the other guy’s insurance company.
Insurance Claim Denied Because of Excluded Driver
A fifth reason claims are denied is that the person driving the vehicle at the time of the accident was an excluded driver. What does this mean? Well, when you signed up for your insurance policy, you may have had a kid living in her house and that kid had a bad driving record.
So, the insurance company in exchange for giving you an insurance policy specifically excluded that driver from being covered under the policy. If the excluded driver was driving the car at the time of the accident, they are not going to be covered when you file a claim with your own insurance company for those damages.
There are other situations as well, where drivers who are driving your vehicle at the time of an accident may be an excluded driver. You really have to check your insurance policy to see who is and who is not a covered driver.
Insurance Claim Denied Because of Illegal Activity
A sixth reason why an insurance claim gets denied is that perhaps you were breaking the law at the time of the accident.
Now this is not a very common situation, but if you have a history of driving while under the influence and you got into an accident while you were drunk – you may have a clause in your policy that specifies that if you were engaging in illegal activity, that you will not be covered under your insurance policy.
There are also a lot of claims where drivers of Uber, DoorDash, GrubHub and Lyft and those kinds of folks have their insurance claims with their own personal insurance denied because they were engaging in commercial activity at the time of the accident.
Insufficient Insurance to Cover Your Damages
The seventh reason why an insurance claim is denied is that there’s not enough insurance policy to cover your damages.
Let’s take a hypothetical. Let’s say that you have a Mercedes-Benz and it’s worth $80,000 and the guy who hits you has $15,000 in property damage insurance. Well, there’s a $65,000 difference there. The insurance company is only on the hook for what they contracted to insure, and that would be $15,000. So, in this case, while your claim wouldn’t be denied, you’d only be able to recover that $15,000 from their insurance company.
Hopefully you personally have a much larger insurance policy that you can tap into on your side as well. But that’s another reason why retaining the services of a knowledgeable Texas auto accident attorney is so important.
Claim Denied Because of Misleading Information When Insurance Contract Signed
The eighth reason why an insurance claim may be denied, goes all the way back to when you signed your insurance policy. Maybe the driver didn’t tell the truth when they signed their insurance policy.
Perhaps the driver didn’t tell State Farm that they had 16 year old kids living in the house at the time of the accident, and they were going to drive the vehicle. Or perhaps the driver made a misrepresentation about their driving record, or they said something else that was false.
Insurance companies try to take that information and use it to deny claims.
Get Your Free Consultation with an Auto Accident Attorney Today!
Call the Law Offices of David Kohm today at any of our convenient locations and get a free consultation.
Arlington (817) 522-4451
Dallas (972) 362-6848
Fort Worth (817) 764-1375
Plano (972) 354-4602
Cedar Hill (972) 338-9427
McKinney (469) 522-3688
Lewisville (972) 354-4605
Frisco (972) 725-7681
Grapevine (817) 835-8677
Irving (972) 354-4610
Keller (817) 204-0904
Garland (214) 572-2251
Denton (940) 222-4060
Addison (972) 564-8108
You can also contact us online by using our quick contact form.u
