Car accidents are a fact of life, but no one has time for them. Even a minor collision involves paperwork and processes. And whether your accident was a simple fender bender or a multi-car pileup, there are deadlines you’ll need to keep in mind as you navigate your insurance claim.
Here’s an overview of the process and factors that can affect your own car insurance claim time limit.
[READ: You Hit a Parked Car — Now What?]
Insurance Claim Timeline
Before launching into specific deadlines, it helps to understand the general progression of a typical car accident insurance claim. Your claims process will include these key stages:
The Accident
Of course, every claim begins with the incident itself, and what you do at the scene of the accident can have a significant effect on the success of your claim later. Be sure to call 911 for any injuries or significant damage, take photos of the scene, collect contact information for witnesses, exchange names and insurance information with all involved parties, and write down names and badge numbers of responding police officers.
Notification to Insurance
The first car insurance claim time limit you’ll come up against is the insurance notification deadline. You should contact your and the other driver’s insurance companies as soon as possible after an accident. Your timeframe should be specified in your policy, but is often anywhere from within 24 hours to seven days. Your state may also require you to file an accident report with the police or DMV if anyone was injured or if the property damage exceeds a certain amount.
Investigation
One of the reasons insurance companies want you to report your accident promptly is so they can conduct an adequate investigation into your insurance coverage, the cause of the collision and the extent of the damage. How long does an insurance company have to investigate a claim? State law will specify how much time the insurance company has to investigate and respond to your claim.
Negotiations
Once the insurance company assesses the evidence, they’ll either deny your claim or make an offer to compensate you for damages. If they deny your claim, you can appeal the decision according to your policy and state laws. If you’re not satisfied with their offer, you can provide evidence and arguments to negotiate for a different amount. In either case, it’s a good idea to consult with an attorney to help with your claim.
Settlement or Lawsuit
If you accept the insurance company’s offer of compensation, you’ll be agreeing to settle the matter. It’s important to read the fine print before signing settlement documents–it generally says that in exchange for a specified payout, you agree not to pursue this or additional claims related to the matter. If you’re unhappy with the settlement offer and negotiations have stalled, you can file a car accident lawsuit.
How Long After an Accident Can You File a Claim?
While you need to notify the insurance company of the accident in a timely manner so that the claims process can begin, you don’t have to know and request compensation for every possible damage or injury in that same timeframe. After all, it can take a while for injuries to manifest themselves and for providers to make a diagnosis and treatment plan. Therefore, your auto insurance claim time limit extends well beyond this initial report you make to the insurance company.
[Read: Car Accident Demand Letter: Overview and Template]
How long do you have to make an insurance claim for damages? The answer will depend on the laws in your state. Every state has a deadline–called a statute of limitations–for filing a lawsuit related to a car accident. So, you can make a claim for damages with the insurance company or in a lawsuit anytime before that deadline occurs, and the clock usually starts on the day of the accident.
There’s typically one deadline for personal injury claims and one for property damage claims. For example, the statute of limitations on insurance claims in California is two years for personal injury and three years for property damage. For accidents in Illinois, you have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit and five years for property damage. Your state may have exceptions to these rules for certain situations, including those involving minors, mentally incapacitated people and late-discovered injuries.
How Long Should a Car Insurance Claim Take? 3 Factors to Consider
You know that you have to report your car accident to the insurance company promptly, but how long does it take for an insurance claim to be approved or denied? The answer will depend largely on the circumstances of your accident, but there are three factors that weigh heavily on the timeline.
1. State Law Deadlines
Each state regulates insurance claims and the lawsuit process. Included in these state rules are deadlines for various stages of the process that affect the car insurance claim time limit overall, such as:
Investigations: Insurance companies are often given a specific amount of time to conduct their investigations before they have to accept or reject a claim, or provide an explanation for their delay. For example, this initial deadline is 15 days in New York and 30 days in Florida.
Settlement payments: Once a settlement is finalized, there may be a time limit for insurance claim settlement payments. The insurance company is often required to pay the claimant promptly, usually within 30 to 60 days. Look to the laws of your state and the terms of your settlement to see what you can expect in your case.
Filing a lawsuit: State law also determines the deadline for filing a personal injury or property damage lawsuit. The further out the deadline is, the longer the whole claim can take if either side is in no rush to settle.
Each car insurance claim time limit imposed by your state’s laws will play a role in answering the question, How long can insurance claims take?
2. Types and Extent of Injuries
Car accidents cause a wide range of injuries and property damage, from bruised arms and minor windshield cracks to catastrophic injury and totaled vehicles. Additionally, some injuries take more time to properly diagnose and quantify, like internal wounds, PTSD and pain and suffering. It’s important not to unnecessarily rush the process so that all your damages can be adequately assessed and included in your claim.
3. Determinations of Fault
Understanding who was at fault is one of the first inquiries after a car accident. If you have dashcam footage showing the other driver ran a red light and caused minor damage to your car, you can probably settle your claim quickly and favorably. If there are multiple parties involved, disputes about fault and more complicated state laws regarding liability, the investigations and negotiations will probably take more time.
Considering all of these factors, the car insurance claim time limit in a given case could be anywhere from a few weeks to a few years.
[Read: How Does a Car Accident Release of Claims Work?]
Get Legal Help With Your Car Insurance Claim Time Limit
Another key factor that affects your car accident claim timeline is whether or not you have legal help during the process. Let an experienced car accident attorney keep track of your deadlines, assemble evidence and negotiate on your behalf to help you get the compensation you deserve.
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Car Insurance Claim Time Limit: 3 Factors to Consider originally appeared on usnews.com