Four Key Timeframes Affecting Payout of Miami Insurance Claims

You’ve paid insurance premiums on time for decades. One day, an inebriated driver sideswipes your sports car, putting your job and health at risk due to an extended hospital stay. Thankfully, injuries aren’t life-threatening, but your livelihood is quickly headed toward dire straits. 

No worries! My insurance company will quickly pay my claim, restoring law and order to my life, a little voice whispers. Not so fast, says the mighty insurer you’ve paid thousands to over the last decade alone.

Insurance companies are notorious for taking premium payments, and have no problems issuing threat letters or imposing a lapse in coverage upon the late-paying customer. With these three important deadlines, you may be able to stop insurance claims bullying before it actually begins.

10 days

Perhaps the most important deadline one faces is the submission of your proof of loss statement. This worksheet, list or written affidavit shows the insurer what losses you’ve incurred, the amount of said losses, and what amount you believe should be reclaimed. Once received, insurers have ten days to initiate an investigation.

14 days

Most people speak directly to live representatives when reporting accidents to vehicles. However, sometimes operators simply don’t pick up, forcing you to speak to their voicemail. In the event dialogue isn’t established over the phone, insurers have 14 days to initiate contact with you. The same 14-day rule applies to additional inquiries made with the insurer, such as status updates.

30 days (PIP)

PIP (personal injury protection) deadlines differ from regular insurance claim deadlines. After you’ve done the examination within the 14-day timeframe, Florida Statute 627.736 (4)(b) mandates the insurer must approve or deny PIP claims within 30 days. Unnecessary delays are grounds for litigation, which may not only get your claim paid, but impose punitive damages and other payments deemed appropriate in accordance with Florida law.

90 days

After your claim has submitted, and all information has been gathered, insurers have 90 days to approve your main insurance claim, or deny with sufficient reasoning. The general rule of thumb in insurance nomenclature is the larger the claim, the closer to 90 days to expect your decision.

Uninsured motorist claims

The claims process is different when an uninsured motorist causes an accident. As Florida remains a ‘no-fault’ state for suing persons lacking insurance, an attorney should be your first point of contact as deadlines, paperwork deadlines and fair settlements are much tougher to achieve.

Your Contract May Differ

Some insurance carriers have different deadlines than those listed above. Always check the elusive ‘fine print’ which came with your insurance paperwork to determine what dates apply to various situations.

Always abide by deadlines, restrictions and paperwork submission rules imposed by your insurer to avoid a potentially unfruitful fight later on. These rules may seem unfair, but you’ll come out ahead when an attorney finds they’re not following rules in the very policy they wrote.

Let Us Help You Today

Is an insurance claim taking too long to process, or do you fear unwarranted delays will apply when submitting your claim? Allow the legal team at Payer & Associates to handle every aspect of your claim. Call our Miami office at 305-854-4442 today.

Resource:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0627/Sections/0627.736.html