You have paid your premiums loyally for years, counting on the policy to take care of you if you were ever in an accident. Now the thing you have feared has happened—you have been in an accident in Myrtle Beach. You have filed a claim with your insurance company but are shocked to find out that your claim has been denied. Why do insurance companies deny claims, and what can you do about it? We explain here.
Reasons a Myrtle Beach Insurance Company May Give for Denying Your Claim
Make no mistake—insurance companies are in the business of making money. In fact, the insurance industry as a whole is hugely profitable, making billions of dollars every year. One of the ways they make money is by denying claims. When they deny a claim, not only do they save on the payout they should be making, but the premiums they have collected stay in their pockets. In their push to make money, they may even deny perfectly legitimate claims. Some of the reasons they may give include the following:
Your Accident Or Injury Is Excluded From Coverage
Exclusions are listed in the fine print of an insurance policy. If you are making a claim for an accident or injury that is excluded from coverage, your claim will be denied. However, the insurance company may use this list to wrongly deny your claim.
Your Policy Has Lapsed
If you missed a payment—or the insurer accuses you of missing a payment—the insurance company may claim that your policy is not valid and deny your claim.
You Have Submitted An Incomplete Claim
If you don’t fill out forms completely or fail to provide all of the required information, your claim may be denied on a technicality.
Your Record Of Medical Treatment Is Sketchy
The insurance company may claim that you did not seek medical treatment quickly enough after your accident or that you have not presented enough evidence to prove that you were, in fact, injured. Without proper medical records, your claim will be denied.
You Are Seeking Coverage For A Pre-Existing Condition
An insurance company could claim that you sustained the injury you are seeking coverage for before the accident occurred. This is a tactic you will have to fight with medical evidence.
You Failed To Avoid The Accident Or To Mitigate The Injury
If the insurance company claims you caused the accident or contributed to it in some way, or that you failed to get the medical care you needed to prevent further injury, they could deny your claim.
Keep in mind that the insurance company can cite any of these reasons, with or without any real proof. If they wrongly deny your claim, you may have a case for a bad-faith insurance claim.
Was Your Myrtle Beach Insurance Claim Denied in Bad Faith?
If you were injured in a car accident, slip and fall, motorcycle crash, or other accident in the Myrtle Beach area and your insurance company unreasonably denied your claim, you may have cause to file a bad faith insurance lawsuit. Bad faith claims are not easy to prove, but with the help of an experienced attorney, you may be able to reverse the denial and win damages. You may have a bad faith claim if your insurance company did any of the following in denying your claim:
- Failed to acknowledge your claim promptly
- Misrepresented facts of the case
- Failed to promptly investigate and settle your claim
- Offered you less than what your claim is worth
- Threatened to rescind your policy if you filed a claim
These are not easy claims to prove, but the legal team at Derrick Law Firm is here to help.
Have You Been Denied An Insurance Claim? Is Insurance Delaying Your Payment?
If you've been denied an insurance claim or the insurance company is delaying your payment, you should to speak with an insurance claim attorney as soon as possible. Contact us online or call our Charleston, South Carolina office directly at 843.488.2359 to schedule your consultation. We are also able to meet clients at our Conway, Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, Mt. Pleasant, North Myrtle Beach or North Charleston office locations.
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