- Image Name: Reasons Why Insurers Might Deny Miami Car Accident Injury Claims
- ALT-TEXT: Learn the Reasons Why Insurers Might Deny Miami Car Accident Injury Claims
- Image Description: A Document Titled Insurance Policy
The rising number of car accidents is becoming a serious concern in Miami, the city that attracts a large number of tourists regularly. These accidents result in huge losses for the victims in terms of medical costs, lost wages, and property damage. Filing a claim is necessary to recover these losses.
However, filing a claim does not mean you will definitely get the demanded compensation. It’s not easy to figure out how insurance companies operate, and they can deny your claims for various reasons.
Listed below are the reasons why insurers might deny Miami car accidents in Florida. For further information, Miami Car Accident Lawyers are always there to help you.
1. Lapse of Deadlines
The aftermath of a car accident is both physically and emotionally taxing. It takes time to recover from the shock of an accident. You might not feel like dealing with the legalities immediately in such situations. However, you must remember that there are certain deadlines for reporting and filing an accident claim.
· Reporting the Accident
Insurance companies require you to inform them about the accident within a certain time frame. They might deny your claim if you miss the reporting deadline. Reporting deadlines are usually short, ranging from a certain number of hours to a few days. Therefore, you have to be prompt in informing the authorities.
· Filing a Lawsuit
The statute of limitation for filing a lawsuit after a car accident in Florida is four years. That means the insurance companies have the right to deny a claim filed after four years from the accident.
· Deadline for Seeking Medical Care
Florida follows a 14-day rule which states that a victim should seek medical care within fourteen days of the accident. Your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claim will be denied if you do not visit a doctor within two weeks.
2. Contributory Negligence
Insurance companies can deny your claim if they find out that you were partly responsible for the accident. Your compensation will be reduced according to the percentage of fault attributed to you after the investigation.
Example: A speeding car hit a vehicle, but the victim was not wearing a seatbelt. Consequently, the victim was ejected from the car and suffered severe injuries. Although speeding is the primary cause of the accident here, the insurance company will argue that the victim’s injuries are partly a result of them not wearing a seatbelt.
3. Medical History of the Victim
Insurance companies can also use your medical history to deny your personal injury claim. They might argue that you are in pain because of a previous accident, a recent surgery, or a pre-existing medical condition. In other words, they will try their best to divert the blame from their client. Moreover, they might also deny your claim if your medical costs seem unnecessarily excessive to them.
In such cases, you will need help from medical experts. They can examine your injuries, compare your medical conditions across each incident, and prepare a detailed medical report. Their report will prove that your pain and injuries resulted from the recent crash, and you should be compensated for them.
4. Insufficient or Contradictory Evidence
Reports by the police and doctors are a major form of evidence in a car accident case. If you fail to submit these reports, insurance companies can deny your claim on the basis of insufficient proof. They can also refuse to compensate you if the reports contradict your claim.
5. You’ve Committed Fraud
Insurance companies investigate car accident claims thoroughly. They look at your history, background, and other relevant details to confirm your credibility. Your claim will be canceled if they find out that you lied to them about something, even if it was years ago. In fact, they might even cancel your policy for providing false information.
6. Suspicious Behavior of the Claimant
Insurance companies search for red flags in the claimant’s behavior. They often deny a claim if the victim refuses to call the police, delays asking for medical help, or does not inform them about the accident immediately. Such actions convey that the victim is not truly injured. In such cases, the victim will need to prove that they are not faking their injuries.
7. The Invalidity of the Insurance Policy
Your policy becomes invalid if you do not pay your premiums on time. Insurance companies can deny your claim saying that your policy had lapsed due to unpaid premiums at the time of the accident. If you think that’s not the case, Miami Car Accident Lawyers can help you prove that the policy was still valid when the accident happened.
Moreover, insurance policies have different kinds of coverage for different situations. For example, damage to your car does not come under Personal Injury Protection coverage; you will need collision coverage to recover your repair expenses. Insurance companies will deny the claim if your policy doesn’t cover certain damages.
Insurers can also deny your claim if the car you were not driving your own car or did not have a current driver’s license at the time of the crash.
8. Uninformed or Unapproved Modifications to the Vehicle
Your claim can be denied on the basis of any uninformed modifications to your vehicle’s appearance or performance.
Changing your vehicle from its original design requires additional or specialized coverage because modified vehicles have higher chances of being involved in road accidents. For example, modifying your car’s engine to improve acceleration or changing the brakes and suspension to go faster may raise your premium rates.
Final Words
Dealing with insurance companies after a car accident can be too stressful. They can find numerous reasons to deny your claim. You need the expertise and experience of personal injury lawyers by your side to justify your claim.
Get a free consultation from Frankl and Kominsky Personal Injury Lawyers to understand why your claim was denied. They will help you appeal against the denial and gather additional evidence to support your claim.
