Insurance Claim Denial After An Auto Accident

After suffering an auto accident injury in Maryland, you can pursue legal compensation from the at-fault driver in court. You also have the option to file a claim with the responsible driver’s auto insurance policy.

Review the common reasons for denial of an auto insurance claim in this situation.

COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE

Maryland uses the comparative negligence standard for auto accidents. Under this law, if you share any fault for the accident you cannot receive compensation. For example, the other driver’s insurance company can deny your claim if you had a headlight out when the accident occurred, even if the other driver ran a red light. In this case, you would have to file a claim with your own auto policy and pay the deductible.

LAPSED POLICY

If you file a claim but the responsible driver failed to pay the insurance premium on time, he or she may not have a valid policy at the time of the accident. As a result, the insurance adjuster will deny your request for compensation even if you are clearly free of fault. You can still sue the other driver for damages, however.

Even if the driver has a valid policy, your injury costs may exceed the policy limits. Maryland requires drivers to carry minimum liability insurance of up to $30,000 per person for bodily injury.

You may have a lawsuit against the insurance company if you can prove bad faith on behalf of the insurance adjuster. Examples of actions that constitute insurance bad faith include withholding evidence in your case, providing false information, ignoring communications from you about your claim or denying your claim for no reason.