People trust car insurance because they have to carry coverage to legally drive. West Virginia state law sets minimum liability coverage requirements, and many people’s financial advisors will tell them to purchase 10 times the required coverage or even more to protect them from the potential financial devastation a major crash could cause. That way, their insurance will provide enough protection against even major injuries or fatal collisions.
Unfortunately, it is common practice for drivers to have very little insurance despite the risks, and not all insurance companies will manage a claim properly. If you are not at fault and don’t have any extra protection on your own policy, you will be dependent on the coverage carried by the driver who caused the wreck.
What can you do when the other driver’s insurance company denies your claim?
Submit additional evidence
Sometimes, a denied claim is the result of the insurance company having incomplete or inaccurate information. They may not know that the driver they insured made some kind of major mistake at the wheel, or they may not have up-to-date information about your vehicle repair expenses and medical costs.
Sometimes, what you need is to gather appropriate documentation about fault and consequences to submit to the insurance company after a denied claim. Other times, you may need to invest in a crash recreation to prove that the other driver was to blame for the wreck.
Take the insurance company to court
If you have provided clear evidence that the other driver caused the crash and that you suffered significant financial losses because of the wreck, an insurance company refusing to abide by the policy it underwrote may have violated federal and state industry statutes.
You may have grounds for a civil claim against the company. Other times, you may need to take the other driver to court to recoup your losses, and they can then settle the matter with their insurance provider. The nature of the crash, the kind of coverage involved and the losses you suffered will all influence the appropriate way to address an issue caused by an insurance provider refusing to pay benefits as they should.
Negotiating an insurance claim after a car crash is sometimes a complicated process that a driver will not be able to handle on their own.