The test of an insurer’s dedication in the business is when clients come knocking at their doorstep holding on to car accident insurance claims. Although this is a scenario most providers and clients would mostly want to avoid, there are times when things get dirty – specifically in cases where the insured makes a claim and an insurer refuses to pay.
As a provider in the contract, how can you handle a person’s claim for payment without getting on each other’s bad side? There are two possibilities here: you can either grant or deny the car accident insurance claims that land on your hands.
If you’re going to grant the demand, here are practical tips to remember.
The first tip is simple: if a claim is legitimate, pay up. This is basically what your policy is all about. Car accident insurance claims are not supposed to take forever to process, especially because of circumstances involved. You will avoid a lot of inconvenience both on your part and a claimant’s part when you just grant what he is asking for when he has sufficient ground.
Now, if you do not yet have clearance to make a payment, ask your client to give you some time to make arrangements for release of funds. After all, financial institutions do not release money that easily. Of course, there is a lot of paperwork to be done so be sure that you will be able to handle all of the requirements without unnecessary delay. Always reassure your client that he will get the proceeds of the coverage. Nothing makes a transaction go worse other than a paranoid claimant.
If you give a promise to pay, make sure you hold up your end. If you do not, you run the risk of being slapped with a lawsuit in a matter of days.
However, if you are going to deny a demand, here are some pieces of advice.
We all know that the problem comes if a claim is not valid and a policyholder will not take “no” for an answer. What you can do is to deny the application, but be certain that you include in your communication the exact basis for this denial. This should be enough for him to understand that he cannot receive any amount from insurance. If a client asks for reconsideration, lay down facts in a more specific way. If he still persists (or threatens you with a lawsuit), report the matter to the proper office in your state handling insurance fraud cases. Remember, this may all be a test if you can hold your own when faced with car accident insurance claims.
