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Archive for November, 2020

What If Insurance Denies Your Claim?

Posted on: November 17th, 2020 by Timothy Hendershot
Insurance denied your claim? Don’t worry, there’s legal assistance available.

Insurance denied your claim? Don’t worry, there’s legal assistance available.

After being involved in an accident, one of the first things an accident victim should do is report the incident to their own insurance company (insurer). The insurer will then submit a claim, subject to the circumstances of the case, with either their own claims department or the other party’s insurer. Insurance companies give immediate approval in some cases and may help cover the costs of medical bills and repairs. However, accident victims can find themselves with no protection if their insurance company denies their claim. Fortunately, if their claim has been denied they are not without help or protection.

First-Party Claims or Third-Party Claims

Insurance claims consist of two main types. They are first-party and third-party claims. If you file with your own insurance company, it is a first party claim, while filing with another person’s insurance company is a third-party claim. Typically, whoever was at fault in the accident will determine the type of claim that an accident victim will file. Every person who is involved in an accident should report it to their own insurer. If the other person was at fault, a claim should be filed with the insurer of the person who caused the accident. Sometimes, both parties can be at fault, then each person’s percentage of fault will be determined.

Denied Claims

There are numerous reasons an insurer will use for denying a claim. It could be that a person may have taken too long to file a claim, or they failed to submit to a requested medical examination. A denial may occur if the type of accident is not be covered under the policy. Fortunately the claimant has a chance to file an appeal when claims are denied, although depending on the standard procedures of each company, the appeals process will differ. When an appeal is unsuccessful, if the claimant believes that the insurer is in breach of its contract, violated the insurance code, or was implicated in bad faith insurance practices, the claimant can file an appeal with the Washington State Insurance Commissioner or bring a legal action against the insurance company.

If all appeals have been exhausted, or if the claimant received an unfair settlement offer, there is the option of filing a legal action against the other driver. The injured party may be able to collect compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, damages for pain and suffering and property damage, and by filing a successful personal injury suit.

Get Legal Help with Denied Claims

If your claim for compensation after a recent accident was denied either by your insurer or the at-fault party’s insurer, contact Cunnane Law in Edmonds. We serve all of Washington state, and we are ready to continue fighting for you until you’ve received all the justice you deserve.

Note: This information was provided not for any specific claim and is written in broad and general terms and may not be the right path to follow for a particular claim or case. This information is not intended to create an attorney client relationship. It is always best to receive direct legal counsel for your legal issues. It is never too early to call the attorney, but it can be too late.

What Can I Do If I am Hit by an Uninsured Motorist in Washington State?

Posted on: November 9th, 2020 by Timothy Hendershot
A car crash with an uninsured motorist adds layers of complexity to an already big problem. Here’s what you can expect.

A car crash with an uninsured motorist adds layers of complexity to an already big problem. Here’s what you can expect.

Being badly injured in an a car crash could result in tens of thousands of dollars in medical care and lost wages. You need to seek compensation from the driver who caused the collision, rather than carry the financial loss yourself.

All motorists in Washington State are required by law to carry minimum liability insurance of at least $50,000 per accident, $25,000 in bodily injury liability and $10,000 in property damage. There are, unfortunately, too many people on the road without any insurance at all.

What are your options if the other driver is uninsured?

Option 1:   Your Personal Injury Protection Benefits

Various losses are covered by Personal Injury Protection, which is a no-fault insurance. This means you would be covered even if you were responsible for the accident. Some of these losses include:

  • Medical and hospital costs up to $10,000 (you can purchase more)
  • Lost wages at $200 a week up to $10,000 in total (you can purchase more)
  • Funeral expenses up to $2,000

Check if you have Personal Injury Protection benefits. Your insurer had to offer it to you, though you could decline. A relative in your household may have it and you could be covered under their policy.

Option 2:   Claim on Your Uninsured Motorist Policy

If the driver who caused the accident you were injured in, does not have any insurance then Uninsured Motorist insurance is specifically intended for this situation. Insurers must offer you Uninsured Motorist coverage under Washington law, which you could refuse in writing.  Hopefully you didn’t refuse the policy because you will be covered in this type of accident, and you will be able to make a claim for your medical care expenses and lost wages.

Keep in mind that Uninsured Motorist coverage only comes into effect if another motorist is the cause of the accident.

Option 3:   Pay for Medical Expenses with Your Health Insurance

If you have health insurance, either through a job, or a policy you bought, you should check whether your health insurance will pay for medical care if you are injured. Though health insurance cannot replace lost income, and you may have high copayments, it can at least reduce some of the health care costs of a live changing car crash.

Option 4:   Collision Coverage

Repairs to your collision-damaged vehicle can be claimed from Collision Coverage Insurance. Your lender may have required you to buy Collision Coverage if you took out a car loan.

Option 5:   Sue the Driver

The driver is legally liable for the damage caused by his or her negligence even if he does not have insurance. This means you can sue him and try to recover a jury verdict from his personal assets. There are, unfortunately, not many drivers who have sufficient assets to compensate you for your injuries. Frankly, they would most likely have bought liability insurance if they did.

Do not give up hope, even if you have been hit by an uninsured or underinsured motorist. There are options available for you. Cunnane Law serves clients all over the north Puget Sound area. We will identify the best way forward for our clients after a car crash which will allow them to recover as much as possible. Don’t delay, contact Cunnane Law today.

Three Tricky Tactics of Car Insurance Companies

Posted on: November 2nd, 2020 by Timothy Hendershot
Car insurance companies are looking after their interests. Who is looking after yours?

Car insurance companies are looking after their interests. Who is looking after yours?

If you have recently been in a car crash, it is likely that you were contacted by a car insurance company.  Typically, they are very friendly in the beginning when they reach out to claimants. However, as nice as they might be, you need to remember that, as with any company they are in business to make a profit, which means your best interests are not their priority. So, when an auto insurance company tries throughout your claim to use clever tactics to save their bottom line at your expense, you should not be surprised.

Lowball Settlement Offers

One of the most common car insurance company tactics is offering a “lowball settlement.” An offer that has been deliberately calculated lower than what a claimant needs or deserves after a crash is referred to as a lowball settlement. Often, they can be less than 50% of what the claim value is.

Lowball settlement offers are irreversible once accepted, which is the reason why insurance companies love to use them. Your claim is closed and is almost impossible to reopen once you sign a settlement offer, irrespective of the amount. Let your car crash attorney review any offer and advise you before you accept it. Insurance companies will say the offer is only good for a few days to rush you into signing, but the truth is that actual offers are valid until the claimant has responded.

Recorded Statements

Another tactic insurance companies like to use is to call a claimant soon after an accident to try and get you to provide a recorded statement then and there. To keep you from getting scared and hanging up, they’ll probably not be very aggressive on the phone. They will probably use professional or confusing language to keep you on the line and hopefully say something on the record.

The reason why they want your statement on record is so they can find something to misinterpret into an admission of guilt which will increase your liability or decrease the  nature and extent of your injuries, either way leaving you with a lower settlement value of your claim.  Your safest option is to tell the at fault party insurance company, you will not be giving them a recorded statement. First, call your car crash attorney to talk about it.

Delaying Tactics

There are deadlines and statutes of limitation that insurance companies must follow with every step of a car crash claim. For example, in Washington State, car insurance companies must acknowledge their receipt of the notice of a claim within 10 working days of its original filing. WAC 284-30-360. Every insurer must complete its investigation of a claim within thirty days after notification of claim unless the investigation cannot reasonably be completed within that time. WAC 284-30-370.

Some insurance companies want to make you feel discouraged and unsure about your claims validity by using every single minute of each deadline before doing anything. All this in the hope that you will either drop the claim or accept a lowball settlement offer. Sometimes they wait to see how desperate you are to accept a low offer.

Do not let delaying tactics get to you. Team up with an experienced personal injury lawyer who can monitor the progress of your claim and press the insurance company for missing required deadlines.

The bottom line is car insurance companies are looking after their own interests. When you’ve been in a car crash, you need an experienced, tenacious car crash attorney looking after your interests. Contact Cunnane Law today, and we can help you avoid every tactic the insurance companies use that might trick you and cause you not to get full value on your claim.  And remember, before you sign your name, call Joe Cunnane.

Note: This information was provided not for any specific claim and is written in board and general terms and may not be the right path to follow for a particular claim or case. This information is not intended to create an attorney client relationship. It is always best to receive direct legal counsel for your legal issues. It is never too early to call the attorney, but it can be too late.

(425) 672-7100