If you were injured in a bicycle accident due to the negligence of another driver or other party, you may have filed an insurance claim with the at-fault party’s insurance carrier. If your claim was denied, that does not mean your case is over. You can file an appeal to seek the financial relief you deserve.
Follow these steps to do so:
Read Your Denial Letter
Carefully review the denial letter to see why the insurance company is claiming that it denied your claim. The denial letter may outline the grounds for rejecting the claim. By carefully reviewing this document, you can determine the opposing party’s position and potentially overcome it.
Common reasons for claim denials include the following:
- Lack of evidence: Insufficient evidence is one of the most common reasons why insurance companies deny bike accident claims. In this situation, you may be able to supplement your claim with additional evidence, such as medical records, accident records, and witness statements.
- Disputed liability: The insurance company may say that you or someone else was responsible for the accident, not their insured.
- Statute of limitations exceeded: The statute of limitations is the deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit. If the deadline has passed in your case, the insurance company knows that it can’t be sued. However, there could be exceptions that apply to your case that may still allow you to file a claim.
- Pre-existing injuries: The insurance company may try to claim that the bike accident was not the cause of your injuries, but that some other cause was.
- Policy exclusions or violations: The insurance company could cite policy exclusions, such as that you were riding your bike while intoxicated, not on the insurance policy, or using your bike for business purposes. Policy violations could include not reporting the accident in the time required in the policy or not providing accurate information when making the claim.
As you review the claim denial letter, take note of any discrepancies or misinformation so that you can effectively communicate about them in your appeal.
The denial letter may also provide information about how to appeal the denial and your deadline to do so. Note this information, too.
Read Your Insurance Policy
Also, review your insurance policy, especially any clauses that are specifically noted in the denial letter, to see if the language says what the insurance company says it does or if there are any discrepancies.
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Consult an Experienced Lawyer
It is important that you don’t try to handle your appeal yourself. Your case could involve complex legal matters. You could also be subject to a very tight deadline. An experienced lawyer could investigate the reasons for denial, supplement your claim, handle communications with the insurance company, and take further legal action, if necessary.
Depending on the circumstances, your lawyer could file an internal appeal, explore alternative dispute resolution methods like arbitration or mediation, or file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf.
Your case is far from over. Contact Dulin McQuinn Young for a free consultation.