What to do When an Insurance Company Denies Your Claim

Were you involved in an accident and the insurance company denied your claim? Check out this short video to learn what you can do when an insurance company denies your claim.

Hey everyone, my name is Barry and I’m a personal injury attorney in Chicago, Illinois. On this channel you get short videos on the legal topics that affect your life. So if you haven’t already please subscribe to our channel. Now let’s get into the video.

So first of all, I’ve talked a lot on this channel that the auto insurance companies are not on your side. Not the companies and not the adjusters you’re dealing with. I don’t care if it’s a property damage adjuster a medpay adjuster or an injury adjuster. They engage in tactics repeatedly to delay deny and diminish your claim. Why, because insurance companies are all about profits, not good customer service.

So let’s say you were involved in an accident and the company denies your claim, what do you do next? Well, let’s clarify something, your claim can be denied by either your own insurance company (OR) the insurance company for the other party. In either case you have options available to you.

The other insurance company

Let’s start with the typical scenario, you’re involved in an accident and you file a claim with the insurance company for the driver who hit you – who you think is at fault for the accident. They investigate the claim, they interview their insured maybe they take your statement, and then they deny your claim. What do you do?

Well, in this case, you really only have a single option available to you – you file a lawsuit against the defendant (not the insurance company) the person who you think caused the accident.

Now this raises other issues the most pressing being you probably want to find a lawyer to file the lawsuit on your behalf. That might not be that easy because if the insurance company denied your claim it may be that they have good reason to think you were at fault for the accident.

However, not always. In fact, they may just be engaging in typical insurance company tactics that frustrate people so that you give up your claim.

Either way, its ideal to find a lawyer to represent you. But if you cannot find a lawyer, you might have to file suit on your own. Now if this is a small case you probably can file in small claims court. This is a venue that is really suited for people to represent themselves. But if your case is a bigger case with injuries, filing on your own may be daunting. But its your only choice unless you want to drop the thing altogether.

By the way, it may be that the insurance company doesn’t altogether deny your claim but maybe they put a percentage of fault on you – something they do a lot. Why? Cause it saves them money. Well, then you have to decide whether its worth accepting some fault for the accident or filing a lawsuit.

Your insurance company

Ok, let’s switch gears and look at what happens when your own insurance company may deny your claim – or alternatively, offer you very little on your claim. What do you do?

Well first, how might this arise, I usually see it in 2 scenarios: first, you’re in a solo vehicle accident so there’s no other party involved. And your insurance company is offering you a lower amount for your vehicle than you think its worth.

Or second, let’s say you are trying to tap into your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage because the person who hit you doesn’t have enough coverage to cover your damages.

Well in this case, your own insurance company becomes adverse. They’re going to treat you as such and you should treat them as such.

So how do you appeal an insurance claim denial? First, normally you are not going to ‘file a lawsuit’ against the insurance company. Rather you are going to appeal their decision.

First, if they deny your claim, I would ask for a certified copy of your insurance policy and I would make them spell out for you in writing where the policy states that in this type of situation you don’t have coverage.

If they aren’t offering you enough money, then you will likely have to appeal their decision by filing for what’s called arbitration and you will arbitrate the case.

This is usually set forth in the insurance contract you signed. Note that since this is with your own insurance company this is different. You are not filing a lawsuit but rather going to arbitration.

So the first thing you need to do is ask the adjuster what is required to appeal their decision. And again I recommend getting a copy of the insurance policy so you can see for yourself what is required.

Most likely you are going to have to request arbitration in writing. There will then be timelines you have to follow and documents you need to submit to pursue your claim.

Whatever the process, I recommend following it to a “T” and documenting every step you have to take because if the insurance company can find a way out of paying you they’ll find it.

[misssonyac]

Thank you for your informative video. Knowledge is key And a lot of us are being cheated out monies offered to us because we feel defeated before the battle. I currently have Geico Insurance and I filed a vandalism claim, there's no force entry and for this they're denying my claim and they assume my car catching fire was a mechanical error, there pre-appointed detail shop totaled my car out but the claim rep sent my claim to investigations and is kicking me and my kids out of the rental all because now sign of force entry. There was theft involved. What should I do, my phone is messing up I can't type the whole story

[janicespann]

Thank you so much for this much needed information!
On December 3, 2022, my daughter(who is covered under our insurance plan with Allstate) was involved in an accident involving another vehicle. She stopped at a stop sign thinking she was at a 4way stop, saw the on coming vehicle driving at a good amount of speed, assuming the other driver would stop, but he did not and collided into the front driver side of her vehicle. She nor the other driver was hurt, but both vehicles( more so hers) were extremely damaged. After the police report and the exchange of insurance information, both vehicles were not drivable, were towed to local body shops. The following day we proceeded to file a auto accident claim with our insurance company Allstate. My daughter proceeded to tell what happened, and mentioned in the explanation that she was finishing up a delivery with Door Dash Food Delivery, then all of a sudden we were blindsided with the information from our insurance company that they would deny this claim and will not pay for the damages because she was employed with Door Dash. Upon contacting Door Dash with this information from Allstate, Door Dash informed us although my daughter worked for them, they would not be responsible for the damage of her vehicle because they only carried liability insurance to which covers the damages of the other vehicle involved.
We then informed Allstate of what we were told by Door Dash, Allstate informed us to get this information in writing from Door Dash. We were able to submit a statement to Allstate stating this from Door Dash, Allstate stated they would review the claim once again and get back with us. Well… they did an still denied the claim! Now my daughter is left with a new vehicle lest than a year old, that has been declared totaled according to Allstate, that she owes $15, 0000 on and can’t even drive it nor do we have the money to repair it!!😢
Please advise us on what in the world we are going to do!
Thank you,
Janice Spann
6016137158

[jahangirhussain]

Hey thanks for the advice but I was gonna ask you one of my car claim was denied so I took the insurance company to court but somehow it didn’t work out now their trying to charge me as we as my passenger to pay off a big amount I’m confused why would they charge the passenger as far I know passengers are independent they could charge me for the cost any idea?

[ariver]

How long these car insurance have to find a conclusion?
Will that time frame starts from the the date I started the claim, dropped off the car at the bodyshop, or when they started the investigation??
The guy hit my parked car and this case still under investigation since 11/5/20 because the bodyshop mentioned a damage behind front bumper that in didn't claim.

[Montybuckeys]

Thank you for the video. My insurance is threatening to not clear coverage due to me having someone staying with me intermittently without notifying them soon enough. What should I do?

[TheHmoobkey]

Question: So does my insurance rate go up if someone who lives on the same address with a different car insurance gets into an accident?

[jdigital_]

My fiancé was involved in a hit run car accident in my car last month! I’ve put in a claim to get my car fixed and told them what happened and written statements and still gotten denied!! The insurance company says due to her license being expired her license not valid?!! THERE WAS A LAW THAT PASSED SAYING THAT ALL SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WGEM) -- Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced Wednesday that expiration dates for driver's licenses and ID cards have been extended an additional three months – from Nov. 1, 2020, until Feb. 1, 2021

[crushmash]

Thank you for your video

Are there do’s and don’ts in discovery I should be aware of when challenging my insurance company for denying me

[kathyliin]

This issue is in Canada, hope you are too. Question: Is it legal for one insurance company to buy out another, and not notify their clients?

[crushmash]

Interesting story I had from a friend of mine that may help others

Here in Canada he’s driving and a deer comes out of the woods and runs into him on the country Road. Of course he phones the insurance company and it’s being recorded, he’s lucky he said the deer ran into his car not a hit a deer.

The big difference is if he hit the deer he’s admitting fault. Be aware of that when you call them you’re being taped And you might be emotional so collect yourself first before you make that call. Insurance companies are not your friend guaranteed

[J_larubia]

Hi, I'm in a binder at the moment! I was hit by a car this weekend. I called my insurance & the other persons insurance as well. I only suffered property damage. No one was hurt and medical help was turned down.I live in New York City and there is a new law that the police does not write police reports any longer unless there is death, injury and or a hit and run. The police only suggest the persons involved to notify the dmv that there was an accident. Now the problem is that the insurance is asking for a police report! What to do in this situation. Also I found out through the police that this same person who crashed into my vehicle two weeks prior hit another car. Does this help my case ?

Thanks

[kandahartransport]

Hello, I have a trucking company one of my trucks was involved in an accident the driver was at fault. now my insurance denied covering any portion not the truck nor the cost of the accident recovery which is in the policy. could you please help me advice?

[peterhuynh]

Hi so I was involed in a car accident. 1-2-3. I was car 1, car 3 hit car 2 and car 2 hit me, I call insurance of both car and gave recorded statement. To my knowledge, car 2 should pay for my damage. But they sent me an email say that car 3 responsible for the whole thing and therefore they denied payment of my claim. What should I do?

[ebertlongoria]

I have the minimum coverage required by Texas law which is liabilty. My own insurance deined my own property damage even though they said the other DRIVER is 100% at fault and didn’t have insurance. My adjuster claims that in my contract I don't have uninsured motorist or collision coverage. I did sustain injuries. Can an attorney help when my case by suing them and can I appeal that decision? This accident occurred on 7/17/2021

[nrcrespo]

It's ironic how insurance, which is often seen as profit-driven, ends up being challenged by attorneys who take a significant portion of settlements. In this dynamic, both parties benefit financially, leaving the client somewhat overlooked in the process.

[Jojo_Bee]

Sorry for popping up here again, Sir. Here's another quick question and I think it suits your new video.
Driver A hit Driver B. The collision was very very weak that it left no damages on both vehicles, not even a scratch. Driver B got irked and called the police to document the incident. A day later, Driver B filed a damage claim against Driver A's insurance. Meanwhile, Driver A got a hold of the police report and it showed on the police report that No damage was done to both vehicles. What do you think is the effect of this on Driver B's claim?

[takishabaker]

Hello, I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I was in an accident on the 4th of Nov. I was at a stop sign waiting to turn left. I would have to cross two lanes and enter the medain to get on the other side going down the road. The other driver was traveling the median to get the traffic light. She was at fault and she received the ticket but her insurance said I was 51% at fault. They denied my claim and now my insurance in taking over. I had a witness but I don't know what's going with that. The other insurance said they could go to abritration. What else could I do?

[karinamoscosa]

ok so im 16 and i was at a red traffic light and when it turned green the car in front of me and i started moving because the light was green but they slammed on the brakes and i hit them. he was okay and i was okay. my car has no damage but his car has two dented lines. what happens next do i have to pay lots of money? am i getting sued?

[eddiebarrera]

I was hit by a lady, my daughter got three herniated disks, I got all my disks herniated, and my truck is totalled beyond repair.But insurance company is denying the claim cause they say their driver suffers from memory loss.😱

[abdiganiahmed]

my mom is from this country she barley knows English she says she still paying for insurance but there still saying shes on the waiting list what do i do and is that supposed to happen shes been on the waiting list for a long time