Closed Insurance Claims In Florida

A Pinellas claim becomes inactive when an insurance company closes a case. When an insurance adjuster closes a case, the process stops. This means the insurance adjuster won’t be taking any further action. The case will no longer be investigated, and no further payout will be sent. The insurance company may have closed the claim, but this does not mean that it has denied it.

In other words, the insurer does not feel it is worth continuing to work on. But they haven’t exactly refused to pay you yet. The claim will be archived if you don’t dispute this decision, and any compensation due to you will not be paid. Uncontested claims are closed by insurance companies. It is possible to reopen an insurance claim in Florida if you have incurred additional expenses since the incident or if you are unhappy with the amount.

Insurance companies can close claims in Florida for any reason they choose. When an adjuster says that he or she has closed your claim, it is usually just a way of saying that the claim has been made inactive. Generally, an insurance company closes a claim because they haven’t heard from the person who filed the claim for some time. It’s important to understand that a closed claim is different from an insurance company denying liability or coverage. Whenever you receive a denial from an insurance company, they are telling you that they will not compensate you.

Depending on the details of the accident, it can take as long as a few months to settle an insurance claim. The timing will be determined by the circumstances of the accident and factors such as state laws, the severity of the injury and damage to the property, whether lawyers are involved, and how quickly the claim was filed. Additionally, you may receive separate payouts for each type of coverage applicable to your claim at different times. The settlement check from your bodily injury liability claim may arrive before the payment from your rental car reimbursement coverage.

Most insurance companies have about 30 days to investigate your auto insurance claim, though the number of days varies from state to state. It can take longer to process and settle claims, especially if the accident was serious or there was a coverage investigation required by law. The investigation process can have the most significant impact on the time it takes for your settlement check to arrive. It can take longer to investigate a serious car accident involving multiple injuries and a question about who was at fault versus a minor fender-bender in which the at-fault party is apparent.
One of their tactics is called the “fake deadline”.

Here’s how it works:

1. A settlement offer is made;
2. Discussions may ensue, maybe even a counter proposal from the injured party;
3. A second offer may have been made;
4. If the injured person hesitates, a letter or phone call is made stating that the offer is only valid for ‘X’ days, and if not accepted, the case will be closed.

Clearly, the injured person loses any claim they may have, and will not be able to recover any compensation for their injuries. However, what is actually happening here?

Yes, the adjuster may close the file at any time and withdraw any settlement offers (this does not occur very often). However, you have a limited time limit to pursue your claim, not the adjuster.

What is the goal? An insurance company’s goal is to resolve the claim as quickly and cheaply as possible. Getting you to settle your injury claim for only a small amount of money as soon as possible after the collision or injury is how the initial adjuster saves the insurance company money. And they often get rewarded for their efforts. It’s usually the adjuster you deal with first who isn’t all that experienced, but who trains to get you a quick and low settlement.

Florida is one state where you can reopen a closed insurance claim after it has been settled. The statute of limitations, however, is currently five years. You cannot reopen your claim after this period as it will be officially closed and cannot be reopened. There is the option of reopening claims, but you should know that you will possibly need the help of a Florida insurance dispute lawyer. The insurance appraisal process can take some time if your provider isn’t persuaded initially to reopen the claim. Furthermore, your insurance company will scrutinize all the details. Additionally, their adjuster may be tempted to lower the amount if you have already received a payout.

Almost certainly, you’ll need to submit new evidence in order to reopen the case and seek more substantial damages if it were settled. In some cases, medical fees may be a result of treatment received post-settlement or repair bills resulting from accident damage that was not discovered until later. Your case can and should be reopened if it was closed due to nonpayment. As mentioned earlier insurers do this to avoid flatly rejecting a claim, which usually leads to a quicker response.