It is often necessary to appeal a car insurance company decision when the amount of compensation offered does not match your idea of the claim’s worth. The ideal way to carry out this appeal is to be as systematic and detailed as possible in laying out your case.
This article walks you through the steps needed to document your appeal, follow through on your case, and involve the state as needed.
After reading through this auto insurance company appeal guide then be sure to also enter your zip into the free tool on this page so that you can compare car insurance options from many top car insurance companies online!
Document Your Appeal
Your best bet is to provide documentation not only of the accident details, but also of the amount of compensation you deserve. Police reports, photographs, car repair quotes and the Kelley Blue Book value are some examples of documentation that can bolster your case. Once you have determined that you must appeal a car insurance company decision, you should outline your case in a letter to the insurance provider. The information you provide should include the facts behind the accident or claim, the reasons you are appealing the car insurance company decision, and documentation backing up everything you state in the letter.
Photographic documentation will help give the car insurance company a clearer picture of the specific damage as well as the scene of the accident. This will allow the company to put the whole accident into proper context and to more accurately assess the needed repairs. Submitting many pictures from different angles will help your cause.
When it comes to getting repair quotes from area businesses, more is better. Appellants who provide only one quote are doing themselves a disservice by leaving the car insurance company room to refuse coverage or assign an insufficient amount of compensation. The insurance provider may believe the quote to be inflated.
By providing several different quotes, you will give the insurance company a more accurate idea of what it costs to a repair a car in your area. If you are working with a car insurance company that only covers certain repair shops, be sure that all your quotes are from shops on that list. Each quote should also come from businesses you know to be reliable sources of good repairs.
When you are making an appeal regarding car insurance company decisions that involve a totaled vehicle, you should have a well-supported understanding of the value of that vehicle. The Kelley Blue Book Auto Market Report is the go-to source for determining vehicular value today. It details the average price listed by dealers for almost every car out there. By flipping through the book to find your car’s make and model, you will be able to identify the condition and find out just how much cars like yours are being sold for these days.
Stay On Top of the Appeal
Writing your appeal letter is the first step. Next, you must contact the claims adjuster to drive the point home. It is in your best interest to foster a congenial relationship with the adjuster so that s/he is more inclined to support you in your appeal. If at any point it becomes clear that you are not getting anywhere, though, you should ask to speak with the adjuster’s superiors. You will then be asked to relay your case all over again. Hopefully the manager’s new perspective will help you move forward in your appeal.
Get the State Involved in Your Car Insurance Appeal
If you’ve laid out what you believe to be a good case but have not gotten the desired response, you will have to take your argument to the next level by going to your state’s regulatory agency in charge of insurance issues. This agency watches over insurance providers to make sure they are acting in good faith when it comes to their customers.
You will have to get out the pen and paper, or sit down at the computer, to write another letter. This one will be a complaint that outlines much the same information presented in your original appeal to the car insurance company. In addition, you will include the details of what you perceive to be the improper handling of the case by your insurer.
The state’s insurance department will respond to you with a letter assigning your case an investigator and a case number. You will use this contact and case number every time you communicate with the state regarding this matter as the investigator takes your version of events as well as the insurance company’s version of events in order to decide how to resolve your case.
Finding the Best Car Insurance
If you are proactive in finding the best car insurance company to fulfill your unique needs as a customer, you just may be able to avoid ever having to appeal a car insurance company decision. Our online quote comparison tool will allow you compare many different insurers using the same criteria. Doing so today will put you on the road to complete and reliable protection. Compare quotes today!
