What to Do if the Insurance Company Is Stalling?

If you have been injured in a car accident, you may be unable to work and pay your increasing medical bills. If another party was responsible for your accident, their insurance company and yours are supposed to work with you on reasonable and fair compensation for your injuries and other losses. Sometimes, however, insurance companies may stall in hopes of paying you as little as possible.

If you are wondering what to do if the insurance company is stalling, you should contact an Atlanta car accident lawyer as soon as possible. Don’t get pushed around by adjusters who don’t care about your needs. Our experienced personal injury attorneys at John Foy & Associates can deal with the insurance companies on your behalf. We can help you get the justice you deserve by corresponding and negotiating with the stalling insurance companies.

Typical Insurance Claim Time Limits

Insurance companies typically have certain deadlines they are required to meet. Insurance companies are required to be reasonable, fair, and timely. However, because their main goal is to pay out the least amount of compensation possible, they may stall under the guise of conducting a thorough investigation into your accident.

Most insurance companies advise their policyholders to report an accident they have been involved in immediately after the accident. We recommend that you call a skilled car accident lawyer in Atlanta first. We can advise you on what to say and what to avoid saying to the insurance company that can help or hurt your claim.

After you notify an insurance company of your car accident, they usually have 15 days to investigate your claim and 40 days to settle it. However, in some instances, it can take longer because the insurance company can request additional time to further investigate the accident. If this is the case in your claim, they may get 60 more days to make a decision.

Why Insurance Companies Stall

Essentially, insurance companies are hoping that their delay will cause you to settle for less than you deserve. With your medical bills piling up, you may be more likely to resolve the claim quickly just so you can obtain some compensation that can ease your financial burden. This is especially common for accident victims who are unable to work.

The insurance company knows this. They know that accident victims need financial assistance as quickly as possible. As a result, insurance companies will often take as long as they can to make a determination on your claim.

Some insurance companies stall routinely as company policy, hoping to discourage you and force you to give in to accepting their low offer. Other times, they delay, anticipating that witnesses to your accident will forget important details or that other valuable evidence in your claim will be misplaced or forgotten. Insurance companies may also stall in hopes that you will miss the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim.

Insurance Company Delay Tactics

Sometimes, insurance adjusters may just be overwhelmed with claims that they cannot process timely. However, if the insurance company is purposefully stalling, there are many techniques it can use to delay settling your claim. Common tactics insurance companies use to drag their feet when resolving car accident victims’ claims include the following:

• Requesting additional paperwork one document at a time
• Telling you that your claim is still being evaluated
• Requesting unrelated medical records and bills or authorizations
• Purporting that they need additional recorded statements from you or other witnesses
• Disputing medical treatment
• Making threatening statements that you may not receive coverage for your damages
• Misrepresenting the law that applies to your claim
• Denying your claim
• Making an unreasonably low first offer
• Switching adjusters repeatedly

If the insurance companies you are dealing with regarding your car accident claim are stalling, do not give in. There are actions you can take if the insurance company is delaying. The first and most important step you can take is to contact an Atlanta car accident attorney as soon as possible. When you reach out to us, we can give you helpful tips or even correspond with the insurance company on your behalf.

What You Can Do if the Insurance Company Is Stalling

In some instances, it may be obvious that the insurance company is delaying your claim. In other cases, you may just not be receiving any response from the adjuster. In any event, if the insurance company is stalling on resolving your car accident claim, there are steps you can take.

• Ask the adjuster for a complete list of documents and information needed to fully evaluate your claims
• Keep physical copies of all evidence that can support your claim.
• Follow up with the insurance company regularly.
• Put all your communications with the insurance company in writing.
• Ask to speak to a supervisor.
• File a complaint with the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire.
• Retain a car accident attorney in Atlanta to correspond with the insurance company on your behalf.
• File a personal injury lawsuit.

Our personal injury lawyers at John Foy & Associates know the tactics used by insurance companies to avoid paying you what you deserve after your car accident. We can deal with the insurance company on your behalf, or we can file a lawsuit to fight for the damages you deserve. Contact us as soon as possible to stop being pushed around by the insurance company.

How an Atlanta Car Accident Lawyer Can Help You

Insurance companies are required to evaluate your car accident claim in good faith. If they fail to do this, a bad faith claim can be filed against them. We can help you finally get a determination from the insurance company regarding your accident.

After your accident, you are already stressed with physical and financial burdens. Being ignored or pushed off by the insurance company should not add to your anxiety. Contact our skilled car accident lawyers at John Foy & Associates as soon as possible for a free, confidential, and no-obligation consultation to discuss how we can finally get a satisfactory resolution from the insurance company for your car accident.