For settlements, you can expect payment from your insurance company within 10 days from the date of the final decision concerning your claim.
There are several deadlines that insurance companies must meet, and they can vary from state to state. Georgia law establishes three primary process deadlines for insurance companies responding to claims:
- Acknowledgment: Insurance companies have 15 days to acknowledge that they have received your claim.
- Proof of Loss: From the time of acknowledgment, insurance companies have 15 days to supply proof of loss forms and guides on how to fill them out.
- Acceptance or Denial: Once they receive your completed proof of loss forms, the insurance company has 15 days to accept or deny your claim.
Additionally, your insurance company may request more information before accepting or denying your claim. They will have to make a formal request, and they are given a total of 60 days to inform you of their decision in this case.
Once you’ve been informed of an accepted claim, they will have 10 days from that date to pay out.
It’s important for claim filers to act quickly in sending evidence and responding to communications from insurance companies in this process. Their deadlines are often dependent on when you respond and provide adequate information for them to make a decision.
Why Is My Insurance Payout Taking So Long?
The complexity of filing a personal injury claim cannot be avoided, however, delays can be mediated by having a committed personal injury attorney on your team. Factors that may affect your payment timeline include:
- When you initially filed the claim
- Whether you are handling negotiation by yourself
- Negotiation complications
- Extensive investigation
- Dealing with an uncooperative insurance company
- Delays in determining the full extent of the injury
- Lack of evidence to support your claim
In serious or catastrophic injury cases, it may take weeks or months to ascertain the full cost of your recovery or determine whether you will ever be able to fully recover. Those determinations can have a significant impact on your claim payment. The cost of your claim may also influence the way the insurance company deals with you and how aggressively they try to deny or undervalue your claim or dispute your accident narrative.
Factors That Support a Timely Insurance Claim Payout Process
A key factor that can influence how soon you receive your insurance claim payout is how soon you take legal action after the personal injury. In Georgia, the statute of limitations provides you two years from the date of your accident to file a claim or pursue legal action against the responsible driver. Waiting until after this deadline may nullify any potential for receiving compensation.
You may be able to accelerate the payout process by connecting with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after your crash.
Additionally, make sure that you document any evidence that would support your claim, provide as much detail as possible to your insurance company and completely fill out proof of loss forms. Allow your personal injury lawyer to support you in this process. They can help gather relevant information for your case and provide clarity in communication to increase the likelihood that the outcome is favorable.
It may seem faster to file a claim on your own rather than finding and working with a personal injury lawyer, but many insurance companies are prepared to deal with victims who are more focused on getting paid fast than getting paid what they deserve.
If you file on your own, you are more likely to be offered a settlement that is less than you deserve.
With one of our Atlanta personal injury attorneys handling your claim, you can rest assured that we will pursue the maximum compensation available to you, even if that means turning down initial settlement offers or going to court. We will be right there to pursue the best outcomes.
What Happens If My Insurance Claim Payout Is Late?
A late payout from the insurance company is a severe inconvenience to those who need financial support for recovery from an accident. In some cases, it may rise to the level of “bad faith” insurance practices.
Being late on claim payouts is far from the only example of insurance company bad faith practices. Other examples of bad faith in auto accident claims may include:
- The insurance company provides vague, misleading or untrue explanations for why your claim is denied
- An insurance company employee knowingly and wrongly denies your claim
- The insurance company intentionally misinterprets information relevant to the claim, such as the proof of loss documentation
If an insurance company actively uses unlawful practice to deny, devalue or delay your claim, you may be entitled to additional compensation. If you are dealing with a late payout, you should connect with an experienced personal injury attorney to fight on your behalf.
They Want You to Settle – Our Atlanta Lawyers Want You to Receive All You Deserve
People involved in car crashes run into a lot of money problems. You might need money to pay for car repairs. Not having a car may prevent you from getting to work, or your injuries may keep you from working. If you feel desperate to get any money to pay for these unexpected financial problems, you’re far from alone.
Insurance companies know they can get away with offering far less than accident victims deserve due to this common post-accident desperation. Don’t settle for less than you deserve. With a Dressie Law Firm personal injury attorney, you’ll have an attentive litigator fighting on your behalf. For a free case evaluation to see if we can help, contact us online or give us a call at (678) 726-1429.