What are the key steps involved in a claim settlement once you file an auto insurance claim?
In this blog, we will cover the fundamental phases of raising an Auto Insurance claim, and the steps that follow for the settlement process to give you a better idea of what to expect before filing a claim.
Let’s dive in!
-
Demand Letter
The Demand letter, which outlines the details of your claim, is one of the most fundamental components of the Auto Insurance claim process.
This step includes reporting details of your injuries, the evidence depicting the damage to your vehicle, and other losses.
- The amount of your demand depends on factors like injury severity, medical costs, and/or any other losses you’ve suffered. It is quite likely that your lawyer will us previous verdicts or settlements as references to determine a suitable amount for your demand.
- The demand letter also helps speed up the claims settlement process. This will also depend on the size of the insurance company, which influences how quickly the company responds to a compensation request.
- Larger companies with more resources and time will most likely respond to your request quicker. However, smaller companies with limited time and resources may take longer to process your claim. In case of long delays, your lawyer can help determine why the insurer is taking so long to respond.
- Sending a Demand letter also helps set a deadline for when you’d like the insurance company to respond to your request. In some off cases, the company might take longer to respond, which may take months to get settled.
- Your demanded amount should be sufficiently high to create room for negotiation with the insurance company.
-
Evidence collection
After receiving the demand letter, the insurance company will request evidence as a part of the claims settlement process.
Since this process might also require a testimonial from an eyewitness, it can often end up delayed by weeks or months. Coordinating between various parties and gathering all the necessary information might be a hassle.
- Make sure to prepare all the evidence necessary to make a claim. In some cases, the insurance company may request additional documents such as medical bills, which will help corroborate your claim.
- However, keep in mind that evidence requests are one of the many factors impacting the time taken for a claim settlement.
- Make sure to document any injury sustained during an accident. It is also recommended to receive proper medical treatment for these injuries and keep a meticulous record of every treatment. This evidence will be important for getting a fair settlement.
One very important step of the evidence collection process is recording the vehicle condition reports, and it is crucial to get your car inspected after an icident to establish an accurate record of the condition of your vehicle.
In a lot of cases, the insurance company will deploy a surveyor to manually inspect your vehicle and document every damage in detail to report to the insurer. This has traditiaonally been a very time-consuming process often taking weeks to complete, and will make it more complicated in case of a surveyor’s unavailability.
However, to tackle this problem, a lot of insurance companies are now opting for AI-based damage detection solutions like Inspektlabs that allow anyone to remotely inspect the vehicle and generate a detailed damage report within seconds, saving both you and the insurer a lot of time in the process, and making the process a lot more transparent and fraud-proof.
-
Negotiation
The next step after the evidence collection process is negotiation.
Once the insurance company validates your demand letter and the evidence collected, they will make an offer against the claim raised, which often ends up being the lowest possible settlement amount to save money.
In such cases, it is up to you to negotiate the terms and be able to request an amount that is justified for the amount of damage you’ve suffered.
- Maintaining detailed notes of the conversations with the insurance company is essential to help you negotiate better.
- Always insist on receiving written settlement offers and a signed contract during the negotiation process.
- In case the insurance company refuses to comply, seek legal advice to help you evaluate the accident circumstances and expedite the negotiation process.
- Make sure to collect all important documents such as the accident report, repair bills, damage evidence, and other expenses involved when negotiating the claim amount. While it is recommended to have a physical copy of all the records, a digital copy will still help in speeding up the settlement process.
How long does the settlement process take?
Once you submit a claim request, insurance companies generally have 30 days to investigate the claim, and this timeframe can extend in cases of severe accidents.
While the time taken for the claims settlement process depends on how quickly you’ve filed your claim, it can also be affected by factors such as the accident severity, need for further investigation, or the volume of claims at the insurance company.
It is recommended to immediately notify the insurer after an accident for a quick settlement process. Once you’re registered the claim, you’ll receive a reference number from the insurance company which helps you keep track of the settlement status.
The time taken for each claims settlement varies significantly, where they’re sometimes solved within a week, or might end up taking months depending on the factors mentioned above.