Whenever you need your insurance company, you expect them to be there for you through some of the most difficult times. After all, you may have just endured a car accident in which the other driver was at fault, yet they didn’t have car insurance. Now you need your insurance company to step up.
Unfortunately, there are many times when your insurance company prioritizes profit over your well-being. Even when you need to file an uninsured motorist claim, your insurance company may try to deny your rights and leave you scrambling to pursue the compensation you need.
Why the Insurance Company Denies Claims
Insurance companies are large businesses in an even larger industry. They’re all about making a profit and padding their pockets. The moment they have to pay out a claim, they’re quick to find any reason they can use to deny the claim and protect their bottom line.
How the Insurance Company Denies Claims
It’s important to recognize some of the insurance company’s deceptive tactics to protect yourself when filing a claim. Here are some of the things they may try:
- Claims of lapsed coverage: Your insurance company may hope that you’re not paying close attention to your renewal and it will allow certain coverages to lapse. They may try to claim you didn’t pay for the coverage and they cannot pay out your claim.
- Denied or delayed payments: Your insurance company may know that you’re in a vulnerable position and you need money quickly, so they offer you a less than adequate settlement. They hope that by delaying full payment, you’ll take less and save them money.
- Recorded statements: In many cases, insurance companies may try to request a recorded statement to get a recount of the accident. They’re hoping you’ll say something that they can use to outright deny your claim.
Your insurance company has an obligation to adhere to the policy you pay for and they should pay out compensation for a rightful claim. Also, they cannot threaten to increase your premium for filing an uninsured motorist claim.
What You Need to Know
There are a few things that you need to know about uninsured motorist coverage and the claims that come along with these matters, including the following:
- Louisiana law mandates that people have uninsured motorist coverage, but there are many drivers who don’t carry it. Insurance companies will automatically include this coverage into policies unless the policyholder validly rejects it.
- Insurance companies don’t make much profit when offering uninsured motorist coverage, so not all agents are incentivized to sell it, and they’re more prone to give customers forms to sign that would reject the coverage.
- UM coverage comes with either limits lower than liability, coverage for economic losses only, coverage for economic losses lower than liability limits, or no coverage at all. There is no uninsured motorist coverage equal to liability limits.
Make sure you’re checking your insurance policy and speaking with your agent to ensure you have full uninsured motorist coverage. This is a relatively inexpensive option and, if you don’t have it, you should get a quote and consider adding it to your policy.
At Parker Alexander, our Monroe car accident attorneys work hard to protect you from the insurance company’s tactics. Trust that we’re prioritizing your best interests. We’ll go the extra mile to file a lawsuit should your insurance company wrongfully deny your claim.