After a car accident in New York, do not expect the insurance process to move quickly. In fact, many accident victims find themselves waiting weeks or even months to receive their insurance payouts. While there can be genuine reasons for delays, it can also be a part of a calculated strategy designed to wear you down, minimize your payout, and protect the insurer’s interest. In this post, as your car accident lawyer in Manhattan, we will break down the most common reasons why insurance payouts take so long to settle.
What are the steps to the insurance process in New York?
Making contact with the insurance company
The first step in the insurance claims process begins with you. If you have been injured in an accident, you should inform the insurance company about the accident to officially start the claims process. If you choose to work with a car accident lawyer in NYC, then your lawyer can handle all the communications for you.
Investigation of the claim
An accident victim must submit the insurance claim within 30 days from the date of the accident. When the claim has been submitted, the insurance company will review your policy, review the documents submitted, conduct an estimate of the damages independent of what you have submitted, and even conduct their own accident investigation with the help of experts.
This process can take some time in the best of cases. So make sure to submit all the requested documents and be ready to submit any additional documents as soon as they are requested.
Arranging Payouts
Once the insurance team has completed the investigation, they must go through a process of approving the insurance payout as well as presenting the payout to the policyholder. If the policyholder accepts, then the amount will be transferred to them, and this can bring the insurance process to an end. However, if the policyholder does not accept the payout, the contesting claims can prompt further negotiations.
Contesting claims
The insurance company can dispute your claim and even deny the settlement. Such a situation will require the intervention of your lawyer, the submission of additional documents, and negotiations between the two parties to reach a settlement. If the insurance company refuses to settle, an injured party can file a lawsuit with the help of their car accident lawyer in Brooklyn.
What tactics do insurance companies use to stall your payments?
While legitimate insurance investigations do take time, insurance companies will not shy away from purposefully stalling the payment of your settlement. These stalling tactics can take the following forms:
- Taking an unusually long time to respond to your claim
- Asking for more information weeks or months at a time
- Losing paperwork and sending additional forms to fill out
- Unexpectedly changing your insurance adjuster
- Requesting extensions without providing valid reasons
- Avoiding your calls, emails, or other communications
What can you do if your insurer stalls your case?
If you believe that the insurance company is acting in bad faith, you can file a complaint with the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). When a complaint is filed at the DFS, the insurance company must respond to the complaint within a certain time frame.
If a solution is not reached, you can take legal action against the insurance company, namely a “bad faith” lawsuit. Under the statute of limitations, this lawsuit must be filed within three years from the date of the accident. If you fail to file your lawsuit within this time frame, you will lose the right to seek compensation through a lawsuit.
Conclusion
If you’ve been hurt in a car accident in New York, insurance is your main source of compensation. But claiming compensation through insurance is not a quick process, and insurance companies can resort to underhanded tactics to stall your claim. If you’re looking for professional legal assistance to help you deal with insurance companies and receive the compensation you deserve, then Gabriel Law is here to help. We deal with car accident cases on a daily basis and know the insurance playbook like the back of our hands. Contact us to schedule your free and confidential consultation. Let us help you get the compensation you deserve.
