After a car accident, you might expect insurance companies to cover the costs of a collision. But insurance companies are notoriously unreliable and profit-driven. Many providers work to reduce what they owe or deny auto injury claims outright.
In short, insurance companies will try to avoid paying settlements after a vehicle collision. Here’s more about how they may try to deny your Chicago car accident claim.
Drivers must take several steps after a car accident in Chicago to file a claim. Some steps you should take include:
These steps should take you through the first few hours after your accident. After this, you should consider looking for a lawyer soon. Most injury lawyers offer free initial consultations.
Your lawyer will gather evidence, including medical records and crash reports, and file your claim. This claim gets assigned to a claims adjuster, who decides whether to accept, deny, or reduce your claim.
Claims adjusters do not work for claimants. They work for insurers to prevent them from paying claims they are not legally obligated to pay. In this sense, the adjuster’s job is straightforward. They read the claim and decide whether the policy covers it.
When adjusters deny claims, claimants often wonder, “Why was my claim denied?” Here are a few reasons you might receive a rejected auto claim.
For an adjuster to pay a claim, you must convince them that it falls within the policy. You must show:
If, for example, the evidence shows a different driver caused the crash, the adjuster can deny the claim. Similarly, you would receive an auto insurance denied claim if no one was negligent. So if a gust of wind blew the other driver’s van into your car, they might not be liable.
You cannot pursue a claim after the statute of limitations has expired since the insurer was not notified in time. Finally, you cannot claim pre-existing conditions in an accident claim. If the crash did not cause your injuries or worsen a pre-existing condition, your car insurance claim will be denied.
An adjuster can deny Chicago car accident claims that would exceed coverage provided by the policy. In this situation, the adjuster will probably accept the portion of the claim that falls within the limits and deny the rest.
This denial often happens when someone crashes into you in a business vehicle. Businesses sometimes assume that general business liability will cover the company’s vehicles. However, some business policies exclude auto accidents.
If you try to file for a car accident under the business liability policy, you will likely receive a car insurance denied coverage rejection from the adjuster.
In most cases, the person at fault for the crash must be listed on the insurance policy. Sometimes, insurers will excuse this oversight. But if the policyholder deliberately left the driver off the policy, the adjuster would deny the claim. For example, suppose a driver was uninsurable because they had too many tickets. The policyholder might leave the driver off the policy but let them drive the policyholder’s vehicles.
Why would an insurance company deny a claim for road rage or evading the police? Insurance policies only cover negligence. If the driver intentionally rammed your vehicle, their insurance would not cover your injuries.
Insurance companies gather a lot of information when they issue policies. If you use your vehicle for purposes not disclosed to the insurer, they can deny your claim. For example, business policies cover business use, and personal policies cover personal use. If you have mixed-use, you must report that to the insurer.
Illinois law uses comparative negligence to allocate blame for accidents. If you had a chance to avoid an accident, some or all of the blame might shift to you.
Knowingly lying to an insurance company might constitute fraud. If the adjuster finds out about the lie, they can deny your claim. You might even face criminal charges for insurance fraud.
Car accident lawyers have experience dealing with insurance companies. Only about 3% of injury cases reach trial. Most cases settle on terms agreed to by the accident victim and insurance company. Thus, lawyers play an essential role in overcoming claim denials.
Some ways your attorney can help include:
Why would a claim be denied? Chicago car accident claims get denied for many reasons, but you deserve to be treated fairly and recover the full compensation you deserve.
Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. has the knowledge and experience to craft a strategy to respond to a denial or prevent one. Contact us online or at (312) 236-2900 to discuss your car crash and how we can help your claim.
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