Can a Closed Car Insurance Claim Be Reopened?

If you are in a car accident, one of the first things you do is call your insurance company, regardless of whether you were at fault. While your insurance company might be telling you one thing, you might have questions, and you might not always trust the information your insurance company gives you.

If you have questions, want legal advice, or think that you might have a claim against an insurance company, you need to contact a highly skilled Atlanta insurance claims lawyer. An insurance claims attorney serves a vital role in protecting your interests. You should contact the “Strong Arm” John Foy & Associates today for a free consultation and case review.

What Is a Closed Claim?

Sometimes, the insurance adjuster assigned to your claim will simply tell you that your claim is closed. If your case is closed, that simply means that your insurance company has decided that your claim needs no further action. If they have not paid you yet, and they have determined that your claim is closed, you are not going to get paid.

If an insurance company decides that they are not going to pay you because they believe that your insurance contract does not require them to pay you. If your insurance company refuses to pay you, the only way to force them to pay you is to take legal action.

However, other times, insurance companies might close your claim for other reasons, such as if you did not pursue your claim or if you did not pay your insurance premiums. If your claim is closed for one of these administrative reasons, you might be able to get it re-opened without having to take legal action.

What to Do if Your Claim Gets Closed

If your claim is closed, there are a few different things that you should make sure to do. The first thing that you should do is make sure that you let your insurance company know that you are still pursuing your claim. You can do this by calling, sending emails, sending letters, or by any other method that will create a record of your communications.

That, on its own, will often make your insurance company reopen the claim. This is because a lot of the time that your case is closed, it was closed by accident, and just informing the insurance company about the mistake is enough to reverse this. If your case was closed because of a lack of payment, it is also often enough to pay your overdue bill to reopen your claim.

However, if your claim was closed because your insurance company denied it, that is an entirely different case. It is unlikely that your insurance company will have any desire to review its decision that it should deny coverage. If this occurs, you will most likely have to take legal action by first contacting an insurance claims lawyer.

What to Do When Your Insurance Company Refuses to Reopen Your Claim

If your insurance company refuses to reopen the insurance claim, you should immediately contact an insurance claims attorney because your only remaining options are legal ones. This is true no matter what the reason the insurance company gives you for refusing to open your claim. 

Your legal remedies against your insurance company will arise out of your insurance company’s breach of your insurance policy agreement. This is often grounds for a bad faith claim. Your insurance claims lawyer will scour over your policy agreement to find any clause that you can argue your insurance company breached. If there is anything at all in that agreement that can help you, your insurance claims attorney will use it to get you the justice that you deserve.

Other Reasons You Might Want to Have Your Claim Reopened

Other than the denial of your claim, there may be another reason that you want your insurance claim to be reopened. For example, the payout that your insurance company gave you might be insufficient or only partially pay for your damages. This is because people often do not discover the full extent of their claim until weeks or months after the accident.

In fact, it may be the case that you suffer injuries that are not immediately apparent. Sometimes insurance companies work a little bit too quickly, and you may want them to reopen your claim and make sure that everything is covered.

In other situations, you might find new evidence that was not considered in the insurance company’s initial investigation. You might want them to reopen your case in order to have the insurance company keep that evidence in your case file, which can be helpful for you if you file your own lawsuit later on, or if your insurance company reconsiders the amount of money to offer you.

When Should You Contact a Lawyer

If you are in a car accident, you should contact a lawyer immediately. You never know whether you will discover injuries later on, need legal advice,  or need to file a lawsuit. If you are in a car accident, the best thing you can do for yourself is contact a highly skilled and professional insurance claims attorney to protect your interests.

Contact John Foy & Associates Today

If you have issues with an insurance claim or insurance company, you need skilled legal assistance from a compassionate insurance claims lawyer who can help you with whatever legal services you need. The “Strong Arm” John Foy at John Foy & Associates is a compassionate and experienced lawyer who cares deeply about the Georgia community and wants to help you.

If you are having issues with insurance companies, you need the legal assistance of a highly skilled and professional insurance claims lawyer. You should contact John Foy & Associates today for a free consultation and case review.