Car insurance claims aren’t usually subject to a one-size-fits-all deadline; the timeline typically hinges on your car insurance company’s ability to investigate your claim.

here ‘s what you need to know about when to get the car indemnity claim march started after a car accident .

  • Any deadline for filing an insurance claim is distinct from (and not to be confused with) the deadline for filing a lawsuit after a car accident.
  • Most car insurance companies require you to promptly (or within a reasonable time) start any claim or report any incident that could trigger coverage.
  • Delay in reporting the accident or starting the claim is usually only an issue if it affects the insurer’s ability to investigate the claim, or if the delay comes at a financial cost to the insurer.

What Is a Car Insurance Claim Deadline?

A deadline for filing a car insurance claim refers to the sum of time that can ( or should ) passing between the happening of the car accident and your initiation of the claim process. Depending on the kind of coverage you have and the details of the accident, the indemnity claim could be filed with your own policy party, or with the other driver ‘s insurance company ( it ‘s called a “ one-third party ” claim in the latter situation ) .
Getting the insurance claim process started normally means letting a congressman of the insurance company know that you ‘ve been in an accident and that you intend to file a claim for your car accident injuries, your vehicle wrong, or both. These days you can normally do that on-line ( most bigger car indemnity company websites feature a “ Start Your Claim ” option ), but a telephone call constantly works to get the ball roll. Learn more about contacting your indemnity ship’s company after a car accident.

Car Insurance Claim Deadlines Versus Lawsuit Deadlines

It ‘s important to note here that the indemnity claim deadlines we ‘re talking about are distinct from the lawsuit-filing deadlines that might besides come into play after a car accident. Lawsuit deadlines are strictly enforced and are set by state laws called statutes of limitations. Get more details on car accident lawsuits and deadlines .

There’s No Universal Deadline for Filing a Car Insurance Claim

The accurate deadline—or, more accurately, the wording pertain to when a claim must be filed—will vary depending on your particular car policy policy. Most policies do not provide a nonindulgent deadline or window of meter ( 30 days, 60 days, and so forth ). rather, you are normally required to make your call “ promptly ” or “ within a fair meter. ”
Some states ( specially those that follow a no-fault car indemnity system ) have passed laws that specifically address this issue. For exercise, New York, which is a no fault submit, requires that you file your claim within 30 days of the accident, unless you have a beneficial argue for not doing so .

How Long Do You Really Have to File an Insurance Claim?

To answer this doubt, we ‘ll ignore states like New York that have an denotative deadline for filing a claim, or car insurance companies that have actual claim filing deadlines written into their policies .
To answer this interview for everyone else ( which will be most drivers ), we need to understand that the basis for any time necessity is to protect the car policy company ‘s ability to investigate your claim, including the specifics of the underlie accident.

Your policy company may have an obligation to pay you for a cover personnel casualty, but you as the policyholder have an obligation to take reasonable steps to help them confirm the claim damages and get to the bottom of key issues like fault for the car accident. adenine hanker as your delay in reporting the claim in no way prevents your car indemnity company from investigating your claim, then you can probably report the claim adenine long as you have existing coverage .
For example, let ‘s say your car door got badly dented while you were shopping at a grocery store store. Upon discovering this price, you took batch of pictures and even got a imitate of the grocery store ‘s surveillance tapes showing another driver parking following to you and slamming his doorway against yours, clearly causing the dent. Let ‘s besides assume the surveillance footage is time-stamped to prove when the price occurred and even shows the other driver ‘s license home plate number ( you recognize the license home plate as belonging to your neighbor ). For whatever reason, you decide not to immediately file a claim with your car insurance ship’s company. however, several months subsequently, the incision starts to bother you, so you call your policy company and report the damage .
Did you file your vehicle damage claim in a seasonably manner ? Your car insurance company will probably think not. They might argue that you waited excessively long and therefore, the company ‘s ability to assess the damage and identify the creditworthy driver is now compromised. As a resultant role, they can try to deny your call .

Did the Delay “Prejudice” Your Claim?

Continuing with our exemplar, if you show your car insurance company the television footage, your pictures which show the dent in your door, and explain how they can get in tint with your neighbor, your indemnity company may have a difficult time denying your claim .
This is because your car insurance company probably was n’t actually harmed or “ prejudiced ” by your stay in reporting the loss. In other words, your car policy company is n’t allowed to deny a claim based on the technicality of submitting a claim well after the accident. only when the late filing of a title actually results in detriment to the car indemnity ship’s company can they use the late filing as a reason to deny the claim. differently, the insurance company may be apt for bad religion abnegation of an injury call.

Is it constantly guaranteed to work out this way ? No, since you have probably violated one of your duties under your car indemnity policy. By waiting to file the claim, you have equitable given your cable car insurance company a quick and easy justification for denying your claim. Does this mean they ‘re correct and your claim is n’t covered ? not necessarily, but they now have a plausible reason for denying your claim. This means in holy order for you have your dent fixed, you may have no choice but to sue your car policy company. But the cost to sue will probably be higher than paying for that dented door yourself .

Why It’s Important to Start the Insurance Claim Process ASAP

After a car accident, getting the insurance title procedure started can be beneficial for everyone, including you ( the claimant ). That ‘s because :

  • accident evidence will be easier to gather, and investigation will be more effective
  • witness memories will be fresh
  • the details of the accident (and the impact of your injuries) will be clear in your mind, and
  • the sooner you get the claim process started, the sooner you receive a settlement.

Next Steps If You’ve Delayed the Car Insurance Claim Process

particularly if you ‘ve delayed filing a car indemnity claim after an accident that caused you significant injuries, it might make sense to discuss your situation with a skilled legal professional. Having the correct lawyer on your side can make a big difference if things get adversarial. Learn more about when to hire a cable car accident lawyer .

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