At some point in your life, there may be a need to resolve a dispute with your insurance company. Disagreements are often a result of an amount due on a bill, the amount a company paid on a claim or nonpayment of a claim. These claims, however, can be resolved.
Continue reading for four important steps to handling a dispute with your insurance company.
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Know your rights
Every insurance company in the industry is regulated and has laws (set forth by individual states) dictating what they can and cannot do in terms of bill collecting, settling claims, and other matters. To learn about the laws in your state, call your state’s insurance department or check its website.
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Using an agent or broker
Having an insurance agent or broker can be a valuable resource when resolving disagreements. One thing that helps is your agent or broker will have an established relationship with insurance companies. Usually, an agent or broker can have your issue resolved over the phone, but be sure to give them your policy number, copies of disputed bills, canceled checks, any written correspondence and records of any phone conversations.
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Write a letter
If you’ve run into a roadblock verbally communicating, try writing a letter to the appropriate manager at the company. In the letter, you should ensure that you clearly state the problem you’re having and to describe clearly how you think a fair resolution would look. You should include policy number(s), your daytime phone number and copies of any documents you have.
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Involve a third party
Luckily, disputes with insurance companies rarely involve third parties. Nevertheless, if you feel your claim has not been resolved, you still have options. You can call your state’s insurance department. If none of this helps, you can try an out-of-court settlement because most likely, once you’ve hired an attorney and they contact your insurance company, the dispute will be settled out of court.
Insurance companies mostly work in your favor in the event you have to file a claim. However, sometimes things go wrong. If you’re having a dispute and you’ve exhausted all of other options, please schedule a free consultation with Colorado insurance dispute attorney R. Mack Babcock today to discuss your case.
NOTE – just because the insurance company issues a decision you don’t agree with doesn’t mean you have grounds for any sort of lawsuit. However, if the insurance company misleads you or refuses to examine your claim, you could have grounds for a bad faith lawsuit.
