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The case when the insurance company takes forever to pay out your claim is a normal thing since they may further examine your case. At the same time, you need the payout as soon as possible. Then, what to do if insurance company is stalling?
You may face the experience where they take longer in the process, but you have to know how to face this case. Though it doesn’t always happen to all insurance companies, it should be understood by the insured party. Here is the information to know why and what to do.
What to Do if Insurance Company is Stalling
1. Complete the documents
Some insurance companies take longer to pay out your claim because they find out that the document is not complete to fulfill the criteria. As the insured party, you can ask them what kind of document to complete, including photos and reports to proceed faster.
2. Keep your evidence
Since it takes forever, you should keep the evidence with you. the insurance company can keep a copy of the document. Don’t lose the real evidence during the waiting period. This is an important step of what do to if insurance company is stalling.
3. Follow up with the insurance company
Though this step is draining and wasting your time, you should be able to follow up on this case with the insurance company. Ask them regularly about the process and the time they will pay out. You can ask them what you need to do to proceed with the claim faster.
4. Asking the date for further notice
You have the right to ask the insurance company about the date when they will pay out the claim. It is important to record the conversation with them by phone, so next time you have the reason why you follow up.
5. Making a report
You can write a report to the insurance company as the action of what to do if insurance company is stalling. The report is helpful to state your thought. This report can consist of your complaint that the process has affected your life, especially when the case is severe for your daily life.
6. Get an attorney
The last step that will help you is getting an attorney. They will examine the case, but you need an attorney who has handled a lot of experience in this field. An attorney will help you to get fair treatment and usually, the insurance company will act faster to solve the case.
The Signs of Stalling from an Insurance Company
1. Asking for more documents
Though this is not always stalling, the insurance company will ask for all documents at once. If they are asking for more documents again and again, even when the documents are not related to the case that happened to you, it is a sign that they are stalling.
2. Denying fast
When you want to claim the payout but they immediately deny it too fast, it is also a sign they might be stalling in the future. You can do what to do if life insurance company is stalling and request for more information. They usually deny even though the claim was valid.
3. Asking for unnecessary documents
Another sign that could be a warning is when the insurance company asks you for more unnecessary documents that are not related to your case at all. They do it continuously so the claimants will give up and will not follow up for more.
4. Asking for medical records
The claimants might have sent a valid claim document without medical records, but the health insurance company might ask you for this report. This is a passive-aggressive move that you should be careful. The evidence might have vanished in the period when they ask for medical records.
5. Asking for additional statement
What to do if insurance company is stalling by asking for additional statements? It is a sign that the claim will take forever. Even though you have submitted multiple statements, the decision is not reached yet. You can ask for the whole list of additional statements they need.
6. Not responding
This case often occurs to the claimants. They ignore your email or phone calls because they also cannot determine the exact date of payout. When it is hard to contact them, you can hire an attorney for the best solution since they want you to give up following the case up.
7. Switching adjuster
This case happens when they want you to settle a lower amount of payout. The new adjuster may miss something that is in the actual case that happened to you. At the same time, the old adjuster may have explained the laws and regulations around your case.
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The Possible Reasons for Stalling
1. Adjuster doesn’t understand
The adjuster from the insurance company might not understand the policy at all, so they don’t think that the claimants experience high urgency to get the payout. Even when they are given the laws that surround the case, they deny all those claims immediately.
2. They take an extended period
Taking an extended period happens to many claimants. They have lost their patience because of waiting too long. Meanwhile, the insurance company insists to use the extended period to proceed with all the claims. They might lower the settlement using the reason that the evidence has been lost over time.
3. Letting the claimants use their own money
Some cases such as accidents and getting sick are urgent. However, the insurance company is stalling the claim because they want you to pay the bill from your pocket. After that, they might pay with a lower settlement or maybe zero dollars.
4. Passing the limitation
This is the most hurtful case for the claimants because the insurance company rejected the claim after the limitation period. They will say that the case has passed the date, so they don’t have an obligation to pay out.
Those steps above are what to do if insurance company is stalling. You can always follow up on your case and get your right as long as the claim is valid. Get an attorney if you think the payout is unfair compared to the experience you have.
