You’ve been in a horrendous accident and you’re getting no assistance from your auto insurance agent or representative. You feel that not only have you suffered injuries and had your car damaged to the point of being unable to drive, but now your insurance agent is not responding to your numerous telephone calls. You don’t know what to do or who to turn to. You know that you have certain rights pertaining to your auto insurance but the one person that can help you is not responding to your calls for assistance.
You do have rights regarding what your insurance agent must do for you when you are involved in an accident. Your agent, by the insurance regulatory departments guidelines, must acknowledge the claim you filed within a reasonable period of time and should assign an adjustor as soon as quickly as possible who is then obligated to investigate and process your claim in a prompt manner. Lastly, they need to make a reasonable settlement of your claim if the liability for the accident is clear. If your insurance adjustor refuses to pay your claim they must have a justifiable reason.
You have the legal right to speak to someone higher up than your adjustor if the handing of your claim has been less than satisfactory. If you are still not satisfied with your insurance company’s performance relating to your claim this is the time to stand up for yourself and file a claim with your state’s insurance regulatory department. This state department will conduct an investigation of your insurance company. What will happen next is that if the state insurance investigator finds that your insurance company has many similar complaints against them they will then fine your insurance company charging them with punitive damages, or for serious offenses the state department of investigation will revoke your insurance company’s license to sell insurance in your state.
You as a private person also have the right to sue your insurance company privately if you live in certain states. If you are successful in court against your insurance company you may be awarded a settlement for the legal fees incurred and for punitive damages.
Hopefully, this situation will never occur with your auto insurance company. Some tips to keep this situation from arising are as follows: 1) when you purchase your auto insurance policy always make notes during the initial discussion with your agent; always read your application so that your understand it completely; and also read your policy before you sign it so that you thoroughly understand your coverage options and your rights before signing it.
Next time you have a claim against an insurance company remember to do the following: first, before calling your insurance agent make sure you have all the necessary paperwork you need in front of you such as your policy, any receipts and any evidence pertaining to the accident, etc. Then you should immediately call your insurance agent to report your claim. During the processing of your claim if you are not sure about the liability of the accident do not sign any documents or let anyone tape a telephone conversation regarding the accident and last but not least do not sign any check you are given until your are completely sure that the check correctly represents your losses.
Otto Ingrid is an enthusiast of automobiles alike. He is determined to provide everyone with loads of information about auto insurance. If you’d like to find out more about this topic, please visit Indianapolis Mortgage or Mortgage Tips and find out everything you want to know.