by Guest » Tue Jul 29, 2008 01:15 am
well here it is, my truck was stolen july 5. when i found out i reported it to the the police and insurance company immediately. The claims rep so far is very nice and helpful. they found my truck 3 days after i reported it stolen, the claims rep calls me and tells me that it is a total loss and that it has been burnt up. the claim rep came to my house and took a recorded statement from me with the details of what i was doing during the moment the truck was parked at a train station. of course the insurance company give me a rental, i ask my claims rep what should i expect next? he says that they have to actually check the truck out and do a couple of other thing in regards to paperwork. I then explained to him that i have to drive roughly 30 miles a day each way for work how long will i have the rental for. 30 days, so now we are 23 days into the claim and everytime the claims rep "updates" me he basically says it is still being investigated. But no one is actually telling me what is goin on, at first they were checking at the train station for cameras, i havent even heard anything about that. i tried to call my claims rep today, he is off on mondays. so i spoke with another claims rep who left a message for a supervisor to call me back. i explained to the claims rep that im getting concerned because we are coming up on the 30 days on the rental and i need to figure out how i will get to work everyday, it would be nice if i had a time frame in which this will be wrapped up. he left a message for the supervisor to call me bcak, i was at work and couldnt answer my phone. the supervisor basically said in a very authoritative tone that the rental expires on the 30 mark and that i am responsible for anything after this, and that they reserve the right to investigate the claim beyond this time frame. not once did i ever yell at anyone or the tone of my voice ever go beyond being polite. whats the deal here, i dont appreciate this guy basically just tellin me so what its your problem. I mean that is how i feel right now, he also went on to say that the claims investigator will be contacting me to collect a statement from me. i already gave a statement to my claims rep. what should i expect from here, i have no other way to get to work and i have a feeling that this is going to beyond 30 days. thanks
Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 01:28 pm Post Subject:
thank you for your encouraging words. i tried to do a search for bad faith claims lawyers and i cant even tell who is truly experienced in this field. i have done some research and there a lot of cases simular to mine where the claim was denied, the insured fought it and the insurance company ussually settled once the insured can prove the company wrong in their decision. but i am a little worried because i have read cases where charges have been put on innocent people, the insurance company speculated that the insured had something to do with the loss and the insured ended up getting the shaft. well, we will just wait for the letter and see what happens.
Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 08:44 pm Post Subject:
hang in there, we'll see how it looks for you keep trying to find an attorney that will take this on a contengency basis, if indeed you can prove bad faith that is big money, and most atty's will jump on it, but it takes a long long time, minimally once you know all the facts you need to file a complaint with your states DOI, however I assure you your carrier has already filed a report with them...however, they should and will complete their own investigation once you file a complaint...i think that you need to wait though until you get all the facts.
Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 02:16 pm Post Subject:
If I wanted to get into the business of insurance at a later time, how would this affect my chances of getting a license from the doi
Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 03:38 pm Post Subject:
also how is this going to affect our rates when we shop around, how do i explain this to the agent im shopping with? should my wife and i get seperate policies?
Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 07:10 pm Post Subject:
If I wanted to get into the business of insurance at a later time, how would this affect my chances of getting a license from the doi
Course it will depend on how this ends up...and honestly I don't know..also how is this going to affect our rates when we shop around, how do i explain this to the agent im shopping with? should my wife and i get seperate policies?
Doubt separate policys would be the way to go....you will have to disclose this, just the claim if it's on the application for insurance never never never lie or mis rep on an app...you entire policy/period can be voided....
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:57 am Post Subject:
Also, why would they be fileing a report with the doi? I've done some more reading online and there has been a few cases like mine, the insured got a lawyer to persue their case and then the insirance com threatened to press charges on them. Well they did press charges and the insured was determined to be inocent in the end but they lost their job, amongst other issues that arose from the situation. He was cleared of the charges and compensated an undisclosed amount after about 1 and half yeara after his claim took place. Why is so east for the insurance company todo this to people? Yes there those that commit fraud then there are those that are legit. Truly, we are guilty until proven innocent with no help but our own. I'm so disgusted at this situation.
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 12:59 am Post Subject:
What rights do I have as far as getting any and available items from them to support their denial
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 10:09 am Post Subject:
Also, why would they be fileing a report with the doi
I don't know if it's a state thing or what..I do know that in MO they file some kind of report, guess maybe 'fraud denial' with the DOI here when a claim is denied based on fraud...As far are the info they will need to provide you (you might have to request it) detailed information regarding their reason/basis of denying your claim...
Frankly it's not easy for carriers to do this...they have to be very careful and have all their ducks in a row...That undisclosed amount I'm betting was a bad faith claim...
Let's see what information they provide regarding your denial, you will need all the info you can get for an attorney anyway...You might call the adjuster back and tell her you understand this was a decision she made alone, but if they are sending you a standard denial letter you need to have specifics, meaning you want the EXACT reasons they have denied your claim.
Have you found an attorney yet?
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 07:01 pm Post Subject:
called the cleveland barr association, they refered me to someone that experienced with insurance law. after they took all of my info they said that they can take my case however the retainer is $1500. i told them i dont have that type of money to spare right now, they went on to say that they cannot do it on a contigency basis. back to square one!!!! i havent recieved the letter yet, also i tried to log into my policy last night. apperently they are canceling my coverage effective 10/10/2008. thats ok, i planned on switching anyway due to the bad experience. should i also be talking to an attorney about them trying to press charges, or do they (the insurance company) have to have clear proof that i did this (which is not the case)? thanks for all of the advise.
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 08:10 pm Post Subject:
ok, i called the claims adjuster that is filling in for my original one. he has been on vacation for 2 weeks now. i kindly explained to her that i havent received the letter, and i was also calling to see if there is any info that she can give in regards to specifics for the denial. she said that i havent recieved the denial yet because it was fowarded to the original claims rep, she will get it and send it to me. she then stated that she would have to review my file and call me back later. so that is where everything is at this point.
Add your comment