Why Would Auto Insurance Companies Refuse to Pay a Claim?
rachel uchitel : Why would auto insurnace companies refuese to pay a claim?
Why auto insurance companies refuese to pay a claim?
Response : There are alwyas a number of reasons why auto insurance companies refuse to pay a claim. You should also understand that auto insurance companies have their legal department, and when they refuse to pay a claim in most cases they have given utmost considerations for this.
It is essential to point out that most car insurance companies are pretty quick to pay legitimate claims and do not look for excuses to get out of it. However a vehicle insurance policy is a contract and they would not pay anything out of or contrary to that agreement.
Basically auto insurance policies are based on the information you provide. It is totally up to you to provide correct and accurate details about you, the car and other drivers. You need to provide these particulars to the best of your knowledge. And when the new information that might affect your insurance comes to your knowledge you will need to update it with the insurer.
Auto insurance companies do not need to make sure that every detail is correct in anyway. They take a view that there is no reason why they should not believe you. In fact there is no reason for them to check it unless there is a claim. So you could claim that you have had your license for 10 years when you actually do not have one. They will let you pay the premium. But if there is a claim and they find out you have been lying they will simple not pay it.
First of all there are cases where a driver may not even have a claim but he might think that it is denied by the insurance provider. For example if your insurance is expired you can not make a claim although some vehicle insurance companies would allow a grace period of few days. Another common one is that drivers buy a state minimum and they think it covers everything. So if you do not have a comprehensive coverage you do not have a claim even when your vehicle is stolen.
Secondly, they would pay the claim but not all of it because it has exceeded your limits in the policy. One thing is worth emphasizing here that auto insurance rates have a declining tendency. You would pay high premiums for the initial part of the policy but any increases on say state minimum coverage would not incur that much premium increases.
Therefore, you could always check how much more you need to pay when you double the minimum legal limits. You will not pay double the premium but maybe only 20-30% of the initial amount. It might be worth taking it as state minimums might not be enough to cover any serious accident especially if you hit a high worth car.
Insurance companies employ sophisticated methods to detect fraudulent claims. They would investigate any claim that does not add up or suspicious. Most people need not worry about this one as honest people would not even dream about swindling money from insurers.
Another one is unauthorized drivers with the permission of the policyholder. An insurance company could technically deny any claim when a driver not listed in the policy caused the crash with your car. Classic case is when a teenager crashes the car when he was not insured under parents’ policy. You will need to inform the insurance company when you are allowing another person to drive your car and pay the difference.
Finally you will have to make sure that your driver license is kept valid all the time. If you drive a vehicle without a valid license and involve in a crash your problems might be much bigger than insurance company not paying your claim. Renewal might look to be technicality only. But if your license expired you do not have permission to drive a vehicle at all.
These are probably the most common reasons for a claim refusal. Nonetheless there could be many other reasons. Remember that insurance companies have been doing this business for many years and would be able to quote you for nearly anything you would want to include in your policy.
If you are not sure about having an acceptable claim or not you could hypothetically run it with the insurance company and see what they would say. If it is a small claim you could save yourself the aggravation and your claim bonus by just settling it.
Wheter it is a geico claim, gecio auto insurance, allstate claim, progressive claim – always talk to the auto insurance company. You would get the information and the reasons why they are denying an auto insurance claim.
Compare auto insurance

