Making Sure the Law Is On Your Side

Every day, drivers across the country take a chance when they drive their vehicle onto the roadway. You never know when there is something or someone out there who can cause you to be in an accident, which is why carrying auto insurance is important. You probably fully expect the insurance company to be there for you after an accident, but this is not often the case. In fact, the insurance company will oftentimes come up with all kinds of reasons why they should not pay the claim. Here is a look at some of the reasons car insurance companies refuse to pay a claim, leaving you to seek help from an attorney. 

The insurance company refuses to pay because you did not immediately report the claim. 

Any lapsed time between the time of the accident and when you file your claim leaves an intermittent period of time when an insurer may try to interject their own ideas about what happened. This is especially the case if you did not report the accident to the authorities right away. The insurer may claim that an accident did not happen like you say so they should not be held responsible. 

The insurance company refuses to pay because you failed to report a change. 

Maybe you did something to change the value of your car or perhaps you forgot to update your insurance policy when you added a new driver. These are definitely mistakes on your part, so if you are involved in an accident and the insurance company finds an oversight, they will almost always use these mistakes to refuse to pay a claim. Depending on the extent of the oversight and how much your oversight has to do with the accident, you still may have a claim. 

The insurance company refuses to pay because of proposed coverage limitations. 

It is not uncommon for insurance buyers to believe they have substantial coverage for specific scenarios when they really don't. This may sound like something you cannot fight with a car accident claim if the insurance company refuses to pay, but there can be some situations when there are other options. For example, if there are questions about what caused an accident, the insurance company may claim you should have had full coverage. If you and your car accident attorney can work together to prove you were not at fault for the incident, you will be entitled to a settlement.