How You & Your Tampa Auto Accident Attorney may Push Back when Insurance Companies Deny Coverage

As you drive through Tampa, Brandon, Carrollwood, Clearwater, and St Petersburg, you have to carry at least a minimum amount of car insurance on your vehicle, and you better believe that insurance companies love to collect your car insurance premiums. However, insurance company profits come from not paying out expenses, and when you make a claim on your insurance policy, that is an expense.

Many times, an insurance company will process your claim without problems, such as when you have some vehicle damage from a Tampa area auto accident but no injuries. On the other hand, there will also be a number of times your insurance company will deny your coverage. When that happens, don't despair. There are several avenues that you and your Tampa auto accident attorney can take to get the insurance company to live up to the terms of their policy with you.

Whether your coverage is denied for an automobile accident or a property damage claim, you do have rights that can force the insurance company to do the right thing. In this case, prevention is the best medicine. In order to prevent a situation from arising, it is important to approach your insurance company properly. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to take a look at your insurance policy that you stuffed in a file and never bothered to read. Now is the time to read it.

Pay particular attention to the language regarding what is covered under the policy and any limitations of that coverage. Also look for the specific words that the insurance company uses to describe the type of loss you have. That way you will be sure that you are speaking the insurance company's language and you will know their obligations under the insurance contract. Before making a call to your insurance company—or to the other party's insurance company if someone else is at fault for your car accident damage or other type of claim—it may make sense to speak to a Tampa auto accident attorney to discuss your rights. Talking to an auto accident and personal injury attorney should be an easy decision because almost all of them work on contingency and will eventually provide you the advice you need without charge.

When you begin the conversation with an insurance company, they will have to let you know if they are recording it. Recorded statements can be used against you at a later time, such as at trial. So if possible, if the insurance company requests a recorded statement, explain that you would like to do it at another time with the hope you will have an attorney with you during the recording. Although you will be as honest and accurate answering the insurance company's questions whether the call is recorded or not, insurance company adjusters are well-trained to ask questions in a manner that will illicit certain answers—answers that ultimately do not prove favorable to you. In addition, after an event that causes injury or property damage, you may not be in the best state of mind to answer questions accurately or completely. You will not want to go on permanent record until you feel physically and mentally up to it.

Although these things will help to ensure that you are provided the coverage you deserve, these strategies are not always effective. So when an insurance company does actually deny your coverage, you then should most certainly at that point consider contacting a Tampa auto accident attorney, or you might decide to begin the process of trying to resolve the matter on your own. Trying to resolve the matter on your own is something that should be handled carefully and with a significant amount of forethought. One of the things you will want to do is make sure that you document everything. For example, if you have the insurance company adjuster explain the reason for their denial in great detail, you'll want to write that reason down as you're speaking to the adjuster. Shortly thereafter, write your insurance company a letter about the reasons for the denial and fax it to the adjuster. This can be very valuable evidence in the future.

If you're not able to resolve the matter with the adjuster you're speaking to, you might politely ask or otherwise firmly demand that you speak to the adjuster's supervisor and continue up the chain of command until you feel you've exhausted the insurance company's resources in providing the help you deserve. If ultimately, despite your best efforts, pushing back on the insurance company fails, you might have no choice but to file a lawsuit. Although the prospect of filing a lawsuit against your insurance company may feel daunting, there may be provisions of receiving reimbursement for attorney's fees and costs if you are victorious. If the insurance company is denying coverage for a car accident claim, then as discussed above, a personal injury law firm may be willing to take the case on a contingency fee basis so that there will be no out-of-pocket expenses to you.

The Tampa personal injury law firm of Dale Appell, P.A. does take cases on a contingency fee basis, which means there will be no costs to you unless we win a financial recovery in your case. Please contact us today for a free initial consultation about the ways we might be able to help you recover the compensation you deserve for your injuries.