Filing an insurance claim after an injury or accident should be a straightforward process. You pay your premiums. You have adequate insurance. So, when you need it, filing should be a simple and fast process. However, this isn’t the reality of filing claims.
Insurance companies are businesses, and their main goal is to profit. Like any business, they’re going to try to make things as easy for themselves as possible. Unfortunately, this means complicating things for you, the individual. One of the ways they do this is by delaying the claims process.
It’s important to understand how insurance companies use these sorts of delay tactics. The more you understand about how they act, the better informed you are to fight back against these tactics.
The Strategy Behind the Delay
Understanding why insurance companies take so long to respond is important. To be clear, the delay is rarely ever some clerical error. They didn’t lose your file, misplace any information, or anything of the sort. Delaying a claim is a strategic business move that’s designed to put pressure on you, the claimant.
Burning the Clock on Statutes of Limitations
First and foremost, there is a strict legal deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit. These statutes of limitations change state by state; however, every state has them. If the deadline passes and you haven’t filed a lawsuit, then you simply are not allowed to pursue a lawsuit.
Insurance companies and their adjusters are very aware of these dates. While they cannot legally refuse to address your claim for the entire duration, they can still put it off for a long time. Companies drag out negotiations, request further documentation, and often outright ignore you. The idea is that the pressure mounts. You haven’t received any clarification, and the deadline is drawing close. They hope you drop it and back out.
Sometimes what they’ll do is take a really long time and then send an adjuster or investigator to you with a lowball offer. The thought process here is that you’re already so frustrated and tired of waiting that you’ll accept a low offer.
Exploiting Financial Vulnerability
Recovering from an injury makes people very vulnerable. Bills continue to stack up, medical expenses pile up, and other expenses just compound. Since you’re dealing with a loss of income and a lot of piling expenses, the insurance company is putting you into a pressure cooker.
They’re gambling on the fact that someone who’s stressed out and cash-strapped will become a lot more compliant. That’s another area where the lowball settlement offer comes in. It costs them absolutely nothing to delay the process. Then, once you’re underwater and too stressed out, they’ll offer less than 1% of what an actual legal battle would cost them. A lot of people are so underwater that they take these offers.
Common Delay Tactics to Watch Out For
The good news is that the playbook of delay tactics is pretty well-known and doesn’t often change. To know if you’re actually being played by an insurance company, there are signs that you can learn to recognize. This will help you decide whether you need a personal attorney to pressure the company.
1. The Endless Document Request Loop
The request loop is by far an insurance company’s favorite delay tactic. They ask you to provide proof of your insurance, loss of income, and a list of other requests. You do this and provide them with the information, only for them to request something else. Then something else. Then something else. It’s all a game.
Instead of asking for everything in one batch, they split things up. They request one thing at a time and then take weeks to review it. Then they simply ask you for something else that they suddenly need urgently, but then take forever to review it.
2. Sudden Changes in Claims Adjusters
You may find that you’re deep into the process of working with a claims adjuster, only to end up assigned to someone else. Don’t worry; your claims adjuster didn’t lose his or her job. The insurance company just shuffles the deck to waste more of your time. Once you get your new adjuster, they’ll inform you that they need more time to become acquainted with your case. They may also start requesting more documentation from you because apparently the previous adjuster had no record of it.
3. Ghosting and Avoidance
Total silence is often their most effective tactic. You send an email, but they take weeks or even months to respond. You call them but can never get through to an actual person. You write formal letters and receive no response. You get a bunch of excuses that they’re not in the office. You’re effectively being ghosted by a company whose only goal is to delay for as long as possible.
4. Demanding Unnecessary Internal Investigations
Insurers have a legal obligation to respond to and investigate insurance claims. However, their “investigations” are usually for show and don’t ever turn up anything of note. They just take a very long time. One of their favorite tactics is to claim that they have to independently investigate something about your claim. They can drag this out a very long time. It’s not about gathering facts; it’s about stalling until an easy payout is accepted.
Protecting Your Rights and Fighting Back
Insurance companies are legally obligated to respond to you. However, they do not care about this as it pertains to everyday people. This is why you have to protect your rights and fight back. You can take steps to avoid these delays.
Keep a Detailed Communication Log
Always document every interaction you have with the company. Take note of the date and time, and track the names of the people you speak with. Keep a summary of what was discussed. Record the calls if you have them; they’ll certainly record yours.
Know Your State’s Regulations
Look into your state’s information about fair claim settlement practices laws. You will find information about an expected timeframe for insurance company action. This is likely going to be different state by state.
Understand Bad Faith Practices
Insurance companies owe a duty of good faith and fair dealings with policyholders. When you file a claim, the expectation is an expedited process, not a slow crawl. The absolute best thing you can do in this situation is to contact an insurance bad faith lawyer like Matthew L. Sharp to help you. Insurance companies ignore you, but they will not ignore a lawyer.
When to Seek Professional Support
The fact of the matter is that you should start out your claims process by already having an attorney. A lot of people do not. Many people file on their own because they expect the insurance company to be fair with them. But there’s a reason billion-dollar companies are worth that much. They never play fair with anyone unless forced to.
An experienced insurance bad faith lawyer can help you handle things properly from the onset. Or, if you’re already dealing with delay tactics, a good lawyer can bust through their barriers and speed the process up for you. The point here is that having a lawyer fight for you is the best way to win your fight.