It happens to everyone, you get involved into an accident, but there’s no need to worry, you have insurance, right? Sometimes, though, auto insurance companies are the worst pain to deal with in an accident. They are not into paying out claims, but that’s what they are therefore and that’s what you payed your premiums to them for. They owe you your money and a lot better customer service than they have been providing you this far. So, don’t sit back and deal with all their ignoring, stalling, and plain rudeness. You have rights as a consumer and there are things you can do. This article will help you with that.
To start with, call your car insurance company’s claims department and speak with them. Remember, you are the customer and your car insurance rates that you pay are paying their salary as well. If the employee you are talking to doesn’t really seem to care about your situation and your claim make sure to record the name of the person you spoke to and the date you called them, then, ask for a supervisor and speak to them. Remember, the squeakiest wheel gets the grease, so don’t go down quietly, kick up a fight for your money.
Secondly, have all the documents about your claim ready at hand that prove your point and explain why you are not content. Send it to the employee you spoke to marked PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL. If they give you their email address, you could scan in into your computer and email it to them, just make sure it is their email address, as you do not want too many hands in the cookie jar.
If after explaining your issue without getting anywhere at all, try find out if your auto insurance company has a complaints department (most all companies do) and file a complaint with them, giving as much detail as you possibly can.
If you are still finding you are not going anywhere with your claim, relax, take a breath, and contact the supervisor of the person you spoke with at the complaints department. Email them all the documents and a list of all the people you have ever spoken to about this, with the dates you spoke to them on and what they said they were going to do, but evidently never did for you.
If you still haven’t solved your trouble, get through to your local insurance department. They often can be reached by phone, mail, or even online. Most insurance departments can supply you with on the phone assistance to help solve your dispute without calling for you to file a formal written complaint. Most times if they require a written complaint, you can actually just download it from their website, fill it out, and send it into them via the mail service.
Once you have registered your complaint, your local insurance department will give notice to the auto insurance company. The auto insurance company is obligated to answer to the insurance department within a limited amount of time, generally between 10 to 30 days, depending on where you reside. Once the Insurance Department has got a response from your auto insurance company, they will enquire as to what needs to be done and will advise you. This action can take often as much as 30 days.
Despite the painful amount of time, it will be worth it in the end, so stay strong and follow these instructions.
