North Chicago & St. Louis Injury Updates
If you or somebody you love is involved in a car accident In Illinois, then you are probably aware you will be dealing with insurance carriers. This can become complicated, and there are times when the insurance carrier will dispute liability in an effort to pay less money in a settlement or even deny a claim. Here, we want to discuss some of the ways that insurance companies will dispute liability in an Illinois car accident case.
Which insurance company denies the most claims?
If you were ever wondering whether or not your insurance company has a history of denying auto insurance claims, we can turn to a study by the American Association for Justice. After analyzing documents, state insurance complaints and investigations, federal records, and news accounts, they found that the top two companies for denying auto insurance claims include State Farm and Allstate.
Both of these insurers have a heavy presence in Illinois. Other Insurance carriers on the list also provide coverage for Illinois drivers, including Farmers and Liberty Mutual.
Additional Information: What To Do If Your Claim Is Denied After a Car Accident in Illinois
How long does an insurance company have to investigate a claim in Illinois?
In Illinois, state law gives automobile insurance companies 15 working days (from the date the forms are requested) to provide a claimant with the necessary forms to file their claim. After an insurance carrier has received the completed forms, they have 60 days to investigate the incident and provide an explanation of approval or denial of compensation.
Additional Information: How Long Does an Insurance Company Have to Settle a Claim?
How do I dispute fault in a car accident?
Even if it is clear to you that the other driver caused the accident in question, you can be sure that their insurance carrier is going to work to limit their liability. They will do this by disputing fault in the case. Sometimes, an auto insurance provider of an at-fault party will outright deny that their policyholder was at fault at all. In these cases, they may simply deny a claim. At that point, you most certainly need to get a personal injury lawyer on your side.
Illinois Comparative Negligence Laws
What is more likely to happen is that an insurance carrier will try to shift some or most of the blame for the incident away from their policyholder and onto the other driver. Under Illinois comparative negligence laws, more than one party could be at fault for a crash. Generally, a person is able to recover compensation for damages if they are 50% or less at fault for an accident. However, the total amount of compensation they are awarded will be reduced based on their percentage of fault.
That is why an insurance carrier will work to show that the other party was at fault. If you are struck by a negligent driver, but their insurance carrier is successfully able to argue that you were 40% at fault for the crash, then they would only owe you 60% of the final judgment amount. If they are able to show that you were more than 50% at fault, they would owe you nothing.
It is because of the tactics that will be used by the at-fault driver’s insurance carrier that you need to secure a skilled Chicago car accident attorney to stand by your side and dispute these claims.